A Vintage guide to dining in Provence

Vintage Travel’s guide to dining in Provence, including some lesser known treats!

Understanding a local menu can prove fairly difficult, even if you consider yourself ‘competent’ in the language.

Words describing dishes and food have a tendency to not have been entered into the dictionary, making a puzzled tourist’s task of translating a menu, pretty nigh impossible.

In the towns and villages of Provence, tourists are faced with two dilemmas – trying to dissect and understand a menu before they give their order to the waiter, but first choosing which, of the many delightfully quirky yet wonderful ‘off the beaten track’ restaurants, to eat in.

Maussane-les-Alpilles in the Valley of Baux

Serving traditional Provencal cuisine at Maussane-les-Alpilles in the Valley of Baux, the restaurant Avi Prouvencau, with its rustic charm and rustic dishes, is a wise dining choice if you are in the area. Its ‘Pieds et Paquets – lambs feet and tripe packages – is a particularly delicious dish, if you are not squeamish about eating such components of an animal.

Chez Freddy Plage de l’Estaque

‘Panisses’ are literally chick-pea flour fries and are a regular feature of dishes in Provence. Chez Freddy Plage de l’Estaque is a small but delightful kiosk on the beach promenade in Estaque and has a reputation of serving the best panisses in the whole of Provence.

Lou Fassum in Grasse

‘Fassum’ is stuffed cabbage, is truly French and truly tasty. As its name suggests ‘Lou Fassum’ in Grasse, is a fantastic restaurant to sample this delicious local dish. Described as being “absolutely divine” and “typically Grassiose”, with its views stretching over to the Esterel and the ocean, Lou Fassum’s position and ambience is as inspiring as its food.

Foougassettes Venturini in Grasse

If your taste buds crave ‘sweeter’ tastes, then sampling the fougassettes and Echaudes – dessert breads – at Foougassettes Venturini in Grasse, has to be high on your priorities during your holiday in the south of France.

Authentic French delicacies and a devotion to customer care are at the heart of Fougassettes Venturini, and with their products being described as the “purest spirit of tradition”, a visit is imperative.