One thing that I love about France (among the many) is that there always seems to be a food festival happening just around the corner. And this week one of the biggest gourmet “festivals” of the year is taking place: Tous au Restaurant.
Much more than a typical festival, Tous au Restaurant is a chance to discover new places to dine all around France as select restaurants offer 2 for 1 meals. Oo la lahh, if that isn’t a sweet deal.
We’ve narrowed down our “wish list” (participating restaurants can be found on the website) to about 4, so this weekend we’ll be seeing how many we can actually fit in. Thank goodness swimsuit season is almost over…
Which brings me to another great “food find” we discovered over the summer: Le Poivre d’Ane. Now a trip to Aix-en-Provence is always pretty wonderful, but I have to confess that during past trips we’ve been quite overwhelmed by the number of restaurant choices.
Admittedly, I’ve had more than a few tacos at the only Mexican restaurant to be found in a 2-hour radius, but I wouldn’t exactly call that “haute cuisine”. Although the “peppers” they use for the salsa are certainly intriguing… So in preparation for our last weekend trip, we combed guidebooks and websites looking for a good recommendation. As with any restaurant review, it still feels quite a bit like taking a stab in the dark, but luckily, this was one tasty stab…
At €35 for the set dinner menu, Le Poivre d’Ane is a fair deal for Aix and the food & service were excellent. Part of the gourmet hit parade we were treated to included:
Tartare de filet mignon de porc noir ibérique au piment d’Espelette, filet de bœuf « Angus d’Aberdeen » piquillo façon Rossini, and cheese-cake á la framboise….
(featured in order in the photos above)
I don’t think I can even translate all that, but trust me, it was all very very bon…
Le Poivre d’Ane
40 Place Forum des Cardeurs
13100 Aix-en-Provence
PH : 04 42 21 32 66
Click for website here.
Belle Provence Travels 
Your post starts off with a picture of my second favorite fountain in Aix. We have struggled over the years trying to find good restaurants. We really liked Le Millefeuille in Aix and from the pictures and your description, it sounds like Le Poivre D’Ane is another good choice. We will have to check it out when we are there in a couple of weeks.
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Thanks Michel, I’m sure you would enjoy Le Poivre D’Ane, and I’ll make sure to check out Le Millefeuille, it’s tough to know where to eat in Aix…thanks for the recommendation, bon weekend.
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I LOVE le Poivre d’Ane. One of my favorite restaurant discoveries. They are incredibly creative and thoughtful in their recipes. And they season it to perfection. Their presentation is sometimes a bit crazy though. The piling of the different aspects of the plate on top of each other annoys me (personally). It’s difficult to eat without making a mess.
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Yay Holly… I am glad you liked (loved) le Poivre d’Ane too… iI think it’s a real “find” in Aix given all the different restaurant choices…and prices… We’ll have to go back soon so I can see what kind of presentation they come up with next… this last time I was completely lost in then tenderness of my fillet de boeuf 🙂
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