Where to Eat

The Alpilles & the Garrigues: Where to Eat

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Le Petit Bru in Eygalières (18 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 13810 Eygalières, ☎ 33 04 90 95 98 89, closed Thursdays, Friday lunch and from November 12 to December 12, €€). We ate here under the stars before a sudden summer storm. The menu, prepared by Irish chef Helen O’Neill (poached by the owners from a resort in Rosslare, Co. Wexford), was simple – a mille feuille of grilled feta, a filet of salmon, guinea fowl in a cheese sauce – but perfect. The ambiance, on a terrace hugged by the bare stone walls of

DINING PRICE CHART
Prices are for a typical prix fixe menu of two courses and a glass of house wine for one.
	€14-€19
€	€21-€34
€€	€35-€49
€€€	€50-€69
€€€€	€70-€140
€€€€€	The sky’s the limit

adjoining village houses, was laid back and welcoming. When the storm surprised us, a cream protective canvas was unrolled in seconds.

Well-heeled gourmets head for Le Petit Bru’s Michelin-starred big brother, the Bistro d’Eygalières “Chez Bru” (Rue de la République, Eygalieres, ☎ 33 04 90 90 60 34, sbru@club-internet.fr, €€€€), under the same ownership and right around the corner. Le Petit Bru is still little known. It won’t remain so for long. At €30 per person for a prix fixe menu that includes three courses, cheese and a bottle of wine for two (lunch or dinner) and a simpler pasta menu at €11 in the winter, this is top value for cooking of a very high standard.

Also good value for excellent cooking is L’Ail... Heure in Beaucaire (48 Rue du Château, Beaucaire, ☎ 33 04 66 59 67 75, lunch i, dinner, €€). It occupies a vaulted stone “cave” and a terrace under the town’s castle. The chef, Luc Andreu, is just beginning to build a national reputation in France for his unusual dishes (sea bass with truffles, bull steak, wheat risotto) – so much so that the French magazine Le Point said the €15 prix fixe lunch was “like a gift.” If you visit Beaucaire, try to have one meal here.

Oustau de Baumanière (Val d’Enfer, 13520 Les Baux, ☎ 33 04 90 54 33 07, fax 33 04 90 54 40 46, contact@oustaudebaumaniere.com, www.oustaudebaumaniere.com, €€€€€). If you are thinking about pulling out all the stops, and I do mean all of them, this is the place. Founded by a legendary chef, the late Raymond Thuilier, in 1946, Oustau de Baumanière was once considered the best restaurant in France. It still holds two Michelin stars and the wine list is amazing – 1964 Petrus, 1870 Château Lafite Rothschild Paulliac. I fondly remember enjoying ravioli of leeks and truffles while sitting on a plane tree-shaded terrace beside a swimming pool. A small wedding lunch was underway at the next table. That was years ago but the dish is still on the menu and the pool at the base of a cliff looks just as inviting today. The restaurant is a sort of foodie pilgrimage place. And, as you might expect, the prices are high. You can easily spend more than €250 per couple here.

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