L'Atelier Du Jardin — Restaurant in Avignon

Category: Bistro. Having a free night during a culinary tour based in this great little town, we found this warm spot online and our host confirmed it as a good choice. When we arrived, we learned that the restaurant offers two experiences, a more gastronomic prix fix and a more casual bistro. Comparing menus, which change with the wind, it was a tough choice, but we chose the heavy, rustic wooden communal table in the bistro. The decor was a funky blend of colorful dried squash, hairy chestnuts, and a Carole Channing statue, and a statue of a chef watching over the dining room from a high corner. Although we didn’t expect any of the staff to speak English, our server did and she was very helpful. The menu was small but well-curated, as was the wine list: only a few local reds, all of which were delightfully inexpensive (we don’t like to spend very much money on restaurant wines). We started with the L’oeuf Mayo (kind of like deviled eggs), which we learned are a Big Deal in France, with many chefs competing to have their eggs selected as the National champion. This chef won second place 🥈but I would have voted his eggs number 1. Unlike common deviled eggs in the U.S., the yolk, which was cooked to a little more than “perfect” (65C, though Chefs fight over this), was intact in the halved egg 🥚. This chef’s particular mayonnaisey mustardy mixture was then spooned on top. Excellent. I’ll be doing a lesson on my version, which I have not invented yet. For our mains Sarah chose the steamed cod with vegetables, which was beautiful, aromatic, and delicious. I was torn between the trotters sausage and the seared tuna with Avo and cherry tomatoes. I chose the latter and much enjoyed it, but later coveted the aroma of the trotters wafting from the bowl of the guy to our right. We finished with an excellent Creme Caramel. Incidentally, the restaurant’s name derives from a sprawling garden outside the two restaurant buildings. Although it was dark and too cool to dine outside, the garden looked like it would be a fantastic place to spend a warm afternoon or evening. YouTube’s...

Firstly the positives, the restaurant is in a beautiful setting so we were really excited to dine there as a couple on a warm August evening.

The server was initially very nice and helped us with the menu and ordering.

The starters were fine but I’d describe the food as below average - both dishes lacked real flavour.

My partners main was again fine, he ate it and said it was ‘ok’ but given the price it was disappointing. My main (Caesar Salad) was poor, the leaves of the salad lacked freshness - it tasted like a soggy bowl of leaves with no flavour and chicken with zero flavour. I decided after two mouthfuls that I did not want to eat anymore and when paying the bill I politely asked if the salad could be removed from the bill. The server did not respond well to my request and told me that she had served me the salad and it was not her fault if I chose not to eat it. I then paid the full bill and left disappointed by the experience and still hungry.

I will add that we have spent two weeks travelling across the Provence region dining at many different restaurants and this was by far not only the worst food but the worst customer service I have dealt with.

I was not surprised to see other comments regarding the quality of the food. I wish I had read these before...

Après une réservation par téléphone au numero indiqué sur internet quelques jours plus tôt, nous arrivons le dernier soir de nos vacances pour manger au restaurant. Nous sommes accueillis par une personne qui nous indique ne pas avoir de réservation pour nous. Il nous fait un signe de main en nous disant que ça doit être au restaurant à côté (beaucoup plus honereux). J insiste et lui dis que j'ai bien réservé dans ce restaurant mais les 2 restaurants ont, à priori le même numéro de téléphone. Ne semblant pas vraiment se soucier du problème la personne nous demande si nous avons précisé lors de la réservation ou nous souhaitions dîner . Si le restaurateur qui a le même numéro de téléphone pour 2 restaurants ne le précise pas lors de la réservation comment le deviner ? Le plus frustrant dans l'histoire, outre le fait que nous avions pris la peine de réserver et que nous nous retrouvons à 20h un vendredi soir sans table, c'est que la personne qui nous a accueilli nous plante la, sans se soucier le moins du monde de nous trouver une solution. Bref très très déçue par l'accueil très limite qui nous a été réservé. Pour le reste je ne peux pas en juger car je n'ai pas eu l'opportunité de dépasser l'accueil...