Drôle d'Endroit — Restaurant in Aix-en-Provence

I was deeply disappointed with our experience at this place that came highly recommended. We were there to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

First impressions were already poor - the maitre d gestured us to our corner table, then promptly blocked me from accessing it (the place is very tight) when another guest waved at her. I politely wait for a full minute, then she impatiently and very condescendingly pointed out I could walk around the table - which I wound up doing, but it required me to awkwardly squeeze between multiple other tables and chairs.

Then there was the wait between entrées and the mains. A full hour and 20 minutes. My husband was ready to walk out. In fact, we really should have. The waitress was deeply apologetic and comped our second bottle of wine, which we did appreciate.

The food was actually stunning, which is probably why people put up with this poor standard of service - we saw some people seated for an hour before being served their wine. The experience, being our last meal together on our holiday, left a sour taste in our mouths. I do not recommend this...

Really wanted to like this place- it was highly recommended by a local and the person who greeted us was very friendly and took the time to explain the menu to us (the menu is on a chalkboard only, which I appreciate because it saves paper). We started with the salmon terrine, which was okay. Perhaps I am just not a huge fan of terrines to be honest. I then ordered the guinea fowl, which I have had at other places before, and it was actually quite disappointing. It was large pieces of mostly white meat that tastes.. well .. like chicken. They didn't bring out some of that tender gamey taste that I have had before, it wasn't even seared to bring out any flavors- it tasted like steamed chicken with non-crispy skin and smothered in goat cheese sauce that didn't save it at all. Paired with a cold polenta cake and a cranberry bread like side that was also not very good- this dish was honestly very disappointing in terms of flavor. Maybe I chose the wrong thing ... I would probably recommend anything but the guinea fowl. The service was...

This restaurant was an unexpected delight - booked at the last moment on the premise of an interesting menu and the prospect of genuine French cuisine as opposed to a tourist trap.

We got there early, at 7.15 and we're glad to have reserved since

And the food and service lived up to the promise - super friendly staff, such fresh ingredients and generous portions! Had the burratina tart to start which was served on a tasty cake-like bed of bread. Followed by an amazing cod dish with a really flavoursome putanesca (tomato based) sauce. Very reasonably priced and a very relaxed atmosphere - like we were in a comfortable living room that happened to be a restaurant. Will definitely visit again when in...