One star Michelin rated restaurant. Portions for each course were minuscule. Tuna appetizer was…read more2.5 bites, main was a piece of steak. The best part of the meal were the finger foods served with champagne.

We decided to spoil ourselves with a Michelin meal while in Provence. The restaurant and grounds…read morewere beautiful and the service kind and helpful. The meal however was not only subpar, but I would have expected better from any decent restaurant. The 5 course tasting menu consisted of big chewy bites of raw salmon in a mixed creamy fishy sauce, then a cooked fish course with fishy watermelon, followed by a nearly raw course of pigeon. This was followed by 2 dessert courses - which I chose not to partake in - but my partner did. Soapy bubbles with a raspberry juice poured on and a forgettable pear and ice cream course. I instead opted for a salad - and waited half an hour for a rendition on Caesar that was served with undercooked chicken. In spite of complaints, they didn't take a stitch off our bill. My partner and I both went home feeling sick. I have had fever and chills all night and still feeling awful the next day. What a disappointment. The most money I've spent for a horrible meal that I can remember.

Ambiance and service were fine. Squid was rubbery and absolutely tasteless, even with copious…read moreamounts of lemon and salt. Lettuce for salads was iceberg. Overall disappointing, but my daughter enjoyed her chicken tenders salad and the buratta heirloom tomato salad was good.

Seems like every place we found in Avignon just keep getting better and this was our last night in…read moretown before coming up to Paris for a week. I had the Iberico pork with ratatouille that was the best meal I have had in France so far! We were seated outside until a storm kicked up and the quickly moved us all upstairs which turned out to be a great choice! It was a great place that I would easily go back to again

A quite remarkable restaurant with great food and excellent service…read more I was looking for Provençal Cuisine and they had a couple of dishes that fit that description. Everything was creative and beautiful prepared. I had a lovely evening.

I ordered multiple pastries and they did not put the right amount and correct pastries in my bag!…read moreI was over charged and under delivered! I left a message without a return call!

I cannot speak highly enough of L'Essentiel, from their food, to their service, to the beautiful…read moredecor and table settings. Service is welcoming and accommodating for my poor attempt at culinary French terms. The Chef even came out to answer questions at three occasions. First up, a trio of amuse bouches called land and sea. I don't typically like foie gras but this was incredible. I would actually order this again if ever back in Avignon. The Parmesan biscuit was technically amazing, with such subtle flavor, crispy on the outside, and soft, light and creamy inside. The mushroom "egg roll" was crispy, flaky with great umami. The Jerusalem artichoke risotto was my absolute favorite; I'll likely dream of this dish and try to replicate the recipe. It's unlike anything I've had before, so creative, unique and insanely delicious. The artichokes were cooked perfectly , tender but still firm. The risotto was actually a thick, creamy foam, packed with bold creamy flavor and truffles on top. The sea bream was glistening with the crispiest skin, along with carrots and a silky champagne sauce. The veal was so tender with the most delightful sweet onion tart. The tart was surprisingly good with the best onions I've ever had. Kudos to the chef for shopping the market everyday for the freshest and highest quality products! The scallops were sliced beautifully and were balanced so well with the acidity of raspberries and pomegranates. We started out with the strongest amuse bouches, and Chef didn't disappoint from there, maintaining and exceeding our palette's expectations. Chef Mohamad deserves a Michelin rank!!

KenScale: 8.0/10…read more It's not often a restaurant boldly comes up with a name "essential". When I was looking up different restaurant options during our stay in Avignon, I initially chuckled at the name and figured why not give a chance at the place. My wife Jun and I were coming back from a full-day wine tasting tour with a rather big lunch, so we were not completely starving when we entered L'Essentiel's lovely courtyard. Still, we ended up having a very solid meal here, as all the dishes we ordered had something nice to say about. You can go with either one of the tasting menu options or simply go a la carte at L'Essentiel. Given that we weren't terribly hungry, Jun and I opted for the latter and ordered one appetizer, two main dishes and a dessert to share together. I don't know why we saw tomato gazpacho only just now near the tail end of our two-week honeymoon/summer vacation; in any event, the one that the kitchen put together was quite refreshing, perfect for a summer appetizer with mozzarella di buffalo cheese in the middle. While cod with orange sauce infused into jasmine and creamy polenta looked pedestrian in plating, there is no denying that the fish was expertly cooked with ideal temperature and texture. I was initially worried that the fried foie gras accompanying the beef Rossini filet might simply overpower the meat with too much richness, but the server assured that won't be the case. Listening to her turned out to be a smart idea because the foie gras had a surprisingly delicate side to it that complemented the beef filet quite well. With roasted potatoes on the side, the filet was a winner dish. For dessert, a rather artful display of chocolate ganache and crispy peanut on top of chocolate dulce emulsion (with black chocolate ice cream submerged below) was as delicious as it looked. I secured a reservation at L'Essential through my credit card concierge service so I don't know how difficult it is to get a table at the restaurant; if you want to go for al fresco dining in the summer season at the courtyard that makes you feel like you're eating inside a small but lovely palace, it does seem like a good idea to book in advance. There is a multi-page wine list focusing on the wines from the region; we ordered a bottle of nice vacqueyras that worked well with the dishes we had ordered. L'Essentiel is somewhere in the middle in terms of value proposition; it is not as pricey or fancy as three Michelin-star haute cuisine establishments but it certainly is more refined than an everyday bistro, which also means it works on a more variety of different occasions. If you are staying in Avignon and feel like you want to have an elegant meal without breaking the bank, L'Essential is a good option to consider.

My wife and I visited this restaurant last October 2023. The service and the food were extremely…read moregood and very reasonable. I would definitely recommend

This is a very nice small restaurant with outside seating and English is spoken well. I was able…read moreto make reservations and we were sat upon our arrival. I ordered the summer Profiteroles, Tiscan cod and finished with the Pavlova sunrise. Each dish was perfect. The starter had such great flavor that I used the fresh bread on the table so that I could get every last drop. The fish was expertly prepared with the flavor of the cod dominating yet enhanced by all the other flavors on the plate. Dessert was insane, just the fact that decorum dictates that I not have two is the only reason I stopped. With one small and one large carafe of wine and one large bottle of Pellegrino we were just shy of €70. Worth every cent, I'm here for another 8-9 days so I will definitely be back.

Small menu, but everything is great. Beautifully cooked Provençal bistro classics like boudin noir…read moreand crespeou, plus properly cooked fish and steaks, beautiful complements on the plate, friendly service and a lovely atmosphere make for a great overall experience. Prices are very fair for the quality and the accompaniments of the plate, which are by no means afterthoughts. There is a 3-course fixed price option, but you'll have a very nice budget meal if you choose to order a la carte.

This restaurant was disgusting. Avoid at all costs. Lunch is "homemade" pasta that tastes like…read morewatery soup. They serve you in these massive pans and you will be charged 12 euros extra if you share. Such a waste bc you won't finish your big nasty pan of watery pasta. They are also understaffed so the service was awful. Couldn't even get a second glass of wine - they couldn't care less. I wish I could get my time and money back for going here. First gross place I've ever been to in France. Avoid avoid avoid.

First visit to Avignon and we found this charming place for dinner. It has a Huge wine list and…read moregreat staff helping us decide. Tomahawk steak split with 2 people, plenty of food. Wonderful food and drinks.

La Cour d' Honneur was recommended by our receptionist. We had a wonderful lunch!…read more Service was fast, friendly and efficient.

First on our list of restaurant contenders in Arles was Le Galoubet. The woman at the front desk of…read moreour hotel happily made a reservation for us, since pretty much everyone says you need a reservation to get a table there. She seemed to be on a first name basis with whomever it was on the other end of the line. It was warm enough to sit outside, and we were given the last table on the patio out front. The starters were a mixed bag. I ordered the octopus salad, which was bland and uneventful. My wife ordered an incredibly tasty leek salad with sardines and hazelnuts, which she happily devoured. But the highlight was the mains. I ordered what was basically a New York strip cooked medium rare in a morel mushroom sauce. The steak was cooked to perfection - and on the rarer side - while the sauce was very subtle, but you could still get a bit of that earthy, mushroomy flavor. I'd been craving a dish like this for several days, and it totally hit the spot. My wife's dish may have been even better: cornish hen bathed in a creamy, herb-infused sauce with freshly sautéed shitake mushrooms. My god this was delicious. The hen was amazingly juicy and tender, and generous amounts of rosemary and flat-leaf parsley made this dish explosively flavorful. The potent shitakes were rich and earthy, and perfectly suited/melded with everything else. For dessert, I had this chocolate thing with nougat inside and a nice caramel sauce, while my wife had this thing that was a pile of whipped cream and broken pieces of meringue with raspberries, raspberry coulis, and red currants. I liked mine better, but the wife's was light and refreshing, which suited the summer-like weather. And before we were halfway through our meal, the place was full. We saw the hostess turn away at least a dozen people, so good call on the reservation.

It's super excellent! The anglet de beouf is super. The terrase is beautiful and the waitress is…read morenice. I would come back to arles for the beef here.