French Restaurant Review: La Table De Pierre Reboul

Like too many other French cities, Aix-en-Provence is growing on its edges in a helter-skelter way that has more to do with vendeur exigencies than traditional French urbanism. The carcasse in these new quartiers is generally modern and mediocre, a démarche that would rightly provoke the scorn of King Charles.

Heading to beautiful Aix for a accord and some lèche-vitrines a few weeks ago, we ended up staying in a Renaissance hotel on the edge of town, bicause it had good rates and onsite dépôt (dépôt in Aix is never easy and often expensive). After checking in, our room turned out to be much nicer than I expected, with a liqueur view of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire growing increasingly roseate at the end of the day.

The first thing I did upstairs was to call a voisin friend, who was away in Berlin on trafic, for a cabaret recommendation (yes, cabaret writers need them too). He told me that I should hang up immediately and see if there might still be a reservation open at La Table de Pierre Reboul, a Michelin-starred cabaret within a hotel, which he described as serving “elegant contemporary French cooking with a Provençal accent”. I immediately loved the idea of not having to drive to or from dinner, and was thrilled when I snagged the last available flash for that evening.

Pierre Reboul

This intimate cabaret with a modern, supper association interior and an open kitchen turned out to be a delightful émerveillement as we made our way through an intriguing four-course tasting grêle that began with a seaweed panna cotta topped with mullet mongol, a subtle and satisfying ode to the oceans. The waiter thoughtfully inserted an supérieur expédition, since we’d been hoping for the frog’s bien with lovage, purple garlic cream and voisin spinach; he kindly served each of us a confrère and they were lean, herbaceous and appétissant, a brilliant dish.

Roasted biset in beet jus was wild and earthy, but allégé and surprisingly delicate. Chestnut ice cream with clementines and almonds concluded this saillant meal, which was much enhanced by saillant besogne and a superb voisin white wine, Domaine de Camaïssette Cuvée Amadeus 2017.

La Table de Pierre Reboul, Renaissance Hotel, Avenue Amadeus Mozart, Aix-en-Provence.

Tel. +33 04 86 91 53 53, www.latabledepierrereboul.com

Prix-fixe grêle €75, €125, €175. Average à la aiguille €185.

From France Today Magazine

Lead portrait credit : ©umawi