Cafe Provencal — Restaurant in Kirkwood

Well, I've had several Birthday dinners here, but last's night birthday dinner was sorely disappointing. Last birthday was good. Have had a few other visits, mainly lunchtime - that were - "okay." So I don't know what has changed in the kitchen since last birthday, August 2013, but the main ingredient for last night courses was SALT. First course - our appetizers, the French onion soup was extremely hot and yes, soup needs to be HOT, but this was so hot my husband could not eat it until I was almost finished with my first course, which I played around with for over 10 minutes. The soup was also too salty and did not show off enough topped cheese. My first course was a Provencal medley and the tapenade was extremely salty and which I could not finish, as was the eggplant caviar. The spoonful of roasted pepper - no flavor whatsoever. My main dish was lamb shanks and that was cooked perfectly, but the sauce - too salty. My husband's beef daube had a mystery sauce that neither one of us cared for or could figure what strange ingredient was in there that didn't go with Beef Daube. We could not finish our meals. They were very large, so that is good (for some), but we should have actually shared our meal . Plus, we didn't finish because it was just not palatable. The Chocolate Mousse, wowie, is all I can say......sickening sweet, terribly, awful sweet AND heavy. Could not finish it. My husband's dessert, Chocolate Tarte -(2 huge pieces) heavy , sweet, and rich, without substance, without soul. I'm pretty much done with Cafe Provencal and feel sad about that. Oh, the wine? It was a glass of Cabernet. Sharp vinegary tasting. I really should have spoken up, had it changed - had a lot changed, but didn't want to break the happy mood of my birthday. August 13, 2014 - Pretty sad about this. PS Perhaps we should have realized that this might not be the best place to return for a birthday celebration because when my husband called to make the reservation he asked if there was something special they could do for a dessert for his wife's birthday. The person who answered the phone said, 'Well, I guess we could stick a candle in it" . Hmmmmmmm, not the best answer or...

Comment et pourquoi?! I literally work a stone's throw from this place and never knew it was there. My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed our lunch from start to finish! The staff is ultra professional and attentive, clearly working as a beehive of energy and teamwork. Jason, our server, who has a delightful "radio voice" I might add, maintained the perfect balance between providing great service and allowing us "space" to visit. He's awesome. The crusty bread served at the start was delicious. When I ordered "only" French onion soup and a Caesar salad combo, I was not expecting such a treat! The soup had a perfectly baked ultra-full-flavor cheesy topping with a nicely salted broth with the expected croutons and onions within. So good! The Caesar had just the right amount of anchovy-based dressing that was soooo good, tossed with croutons and grated slices of parmesan. It doesn't get better than that! Of course, how could we leave without having dessert? I had creme brulee that had a touch of cinnamon. It had a nicely crisped topping with a beautiful custard below. Delicious! My friend's flourless chocolate cake reportedly was equally good. Thank you for a sweet lunch with my good friend, Cafe P. We will be...

On a recent Saturday night our party of 4 had a horrendous experience and the manager had no interest in helping the situation. We had a reservation at 7 and got there early. The manager said he is waiting for tables to get up. after 50 minutes, we saw 5 tables leave and others were seated ahead of us. He said they got there first. How can they mismanage the reservations so bad that 5 parties waited this long for a table? The worse part was the manager's attitude. All he said was there is nothing he can do. Didn't offer to help the situation in any way. One of the persons in our party has diabetes and was feeling woozy. When my friend went to the manager and told him this he said " what do you want me to do?" His attitude was condescending and my friend who always sees the good in people said, we're out of here. I have tried for a couple of weeks to tell the owner of our experience but he is never there. I have been patronizing this place for over 25 years, back to when they were in Clayton. I will never go back again. The manager is a horrible representative of this establishment. If his attitude is this awful, then the restaurant likely takes on...