AREV — Restaurant in Aix-en-Provence

I have travelled the world extensively over 40 years. I ate at all restaurants ranging from pop & mom’s to Michelin three stars. This is my honest review of the restaurant AREV in Aix-en-Provence, France.

This restaurant is located on a vibrant square in the heart of Aix-en-Provence, where several terraces from neighboring restaurants spill into the same area. The mood is lively, with street musicians moving from table to table and a great buzz in the air — definitely a fun and social setting. That said, the tables are extremely close together and space is quite tight, so it’s not the place for a quiet or spacious meal.

Our waiter was young, friendly, and attentive throughout the evening. He checked in regularly, provided helpful explanations, and service was generally quick and pleasant.

Unfortunately, we were disappointed by the overall quality of the food. The tomato and burrata starter was decent, though the pesto was slightly overpowering — probably one of the better dishes. The foie gras came in generous slices, but lacked seasoning and was served with too much jam and not enough toast to balance it.

Things went downhill with the main courses. The shrimp were tiny and overcooked, and the side salad lacked freshness and flavor. We also ordered côte de bœuf, which turned out to be a major letdown — tough, full of gristle, and difficult to cut even with the provided knife. While the cooking temperature was correct, the cut itself was poor, and nearly half the meat was inedible. For the price, this was especially disappointing.

Desserts (a rum baba and a molten chocolate cake) were forgettable — overly sweet and lacking depth or balance in flavor.

In short, while the location is lively and fun — and might suit a younger crowd looking more for ambiance than cuisine — we would not return based on the food experience. A place for drinks and atmosphere, perhaps, but not for a...

We had high hopes for this restaurant given its inviting outdoor dining area, but unfortunately, the experience fell far short of expectations. While the ambiance was pleasant, nearly every other aspect—from the food to the drinks—was underwhelming.

To begin with, the cocktails were far too sweet and lacked balance. Our starters were equally disappointing. I ordered the oeuf minosa which was a devilled egg with truffle mayo, but what arrived was simply hard-boiled eggs over some greens with an overly truffled, runny mayonnaise—not remotely what was advertised. My fiancé ordered the beef carpaccio, which arrived brown. When we questioned the meat colour, our server explained it was due to the use of Black Angus beef, but this seemed like a poor justification. Our guess is it was left out too long or overly oxidized. The flavor was passable, but the presentation and quality raised concerns.

For mains, I had the steak tartare, which was just okay. Unfortunately, the dish was presented sloppily. A side salad had been hastily dressed, with the vinaigrette seeping into the tartare, and a broken, runny egg yolk on top only made it messier. My partner’s main course, the “dorade” (sea bream), was also broken apart on the plate with little care for presentation. (Our guess was the kitchen staff broke the fish to check for cook temperature, as the table beside us sent back their fish and their duck 10 minutes before us because it was undercooked).

We chose to skip dessert after observing the offerings at nearby tables, which also lacked any visual appeal. The staff were offering limoncello to all tables but we passed that as well.

Overall, this meal did not live up to its price tag or our expectations. With so many excellent dining options in Aix-en-Provence, this is one we would...

We came to this restaurant based on the very high score, but I have been living in Aix for many years and I suspected that this could be actually a touristic restaurant. The service was nice and a part of the food was decent , I am talking about the fois gras. I had eggs as a starter with mayonnaise and truffles which were served warm , personally I would recommend this to be served cold . The tartare de boeuf was decent. The biggest dissapintment was spaghetti with gambas. These were cooked in a very heavy tinned tomato sauce that gave a bad taste , the serious issue was that one gambas was overcooked and one was totally raw , when I opened it the raw juice invaded the pasta. I am very sorry that I did not return the dish in that moment . I have mentioned my dislike to the waiters and there was a formal apology. Just now I read the negative reviews regarding the food of this restaurant . In conclusion I can not recommend this restaurant due to the high prices and non...