I will be going to Avignon this weekend for an anniversary and was considering visiting one of 3 restaurants: Christian Etienne, La Mirande, or L%26#39;Hotel d%26#39;Europe.
Has anyone had experience (good or bad) of these and would be willing to give a recommendation?
May other favorite restaurants in Avignon are (in no order) L%26#39;Orangerie, L%26#39;Opera Cafe and La Cour de Louvre.
Worst? The Hiely Lucullus - good food but atrocious service. I%26#39;m still angry about it to this day!
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I should recommend these restaurants in the order in which you have listed them. Christian Etienne is arguably the finest dinning in Avignon.
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We have crossed La Cour de Louvre off our list.
The last visit there we were asked to move in the middle of our meal to another table so that the table for two we were sitting on could be added to another so that a party of 6 could be accomodated.
We don%26#39;t mind helping out but in the middle of the meal! No apologies and no option given - mind you the gentleman at the adjacent table to our new one was sympathetic to our treatment and shared his wine with us!
La Mirande gets our vote every time.
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Sarastro, Boucheboy,
Thanks for your comments. I%26#39;ll probably try the Christian Etienne or failing that La Mirande.
That%26#39;s a shame about La Cour de Louvre, we%26#39;ve had two very good meals in there and no problems. I guess it depends on the night.
For the Hiely, I went there for a special treat with my girlfriend for a birthday, and had a terrible experience. We arrived at the same time as another couple (having pre booked), and were seated not far from them in the restaurant. 20 minutes later they were drinking their aperatifs and were ordering their meals. After 30 minutes of being completely ignored, I had to go and politely get the waiter to take our order, who seemed put out because apparently we not in his %26quot;area%26quot; of responsibilty (there were only 20 people in the restaurant in total!). The starter was OK (finally eating 50 mins after arriving at the restaurant). When the main course arrived, mine was ok but my girlfriend was surprised to find a plate of fish put in front of her instead of the rabbit she had ordered. When we pointed this out to the waiter (still miffed at being inconvenienced), he replied, I kid you not, %26quot;don%26#39;t you like fish?%26quot; Dead pan, no apologies. Now my girlfriend is French so there can be no excuse about him not understanding the accent, and was gobsmacked by his reply. As it happened, she doesn%26#39;t like fish, so the waiter dolefully removed the plate and slumped of to the kitchen. 15 mins later, the rabbit arrived, which was good, and despite this bad start we resolved to make the best of the situation. Cheeses and dessert were top drawer. When the bill came, I made a point of checking (I don%26#39;t normally bother), and couldn%26#39;t account for 10 Euros that had been added. I queried this, and was told that my main meal was 10 Euro extra for the menu I had chosen. This was certainly not the case (I had chosen the more expensive menu). The waiter then shrugged and admitted he%26#39;d noticed his mistake earlier but forgot to remove it from the bill. Again, no apologies. At this point, tired, fed up, and incredulous, we left, but to this day cannot believe how bad the service was. Maybe it was an off day, but we would certainly never set foot in there again. There are far better restaurants in Avignon which are far cheaper.
OK, sorry for the rant, had to get it off my chest!
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try %26#39;Au Tout Petit%26#39; - 04 rue d@Amphoux. (close to Les Halles) Highly recommended.Tel 0490823886. Owner speaks good English www.autoutpetit.fr
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AndyJ29,
When you return, tell us if you got into your first choice, as we were unable to get a reservation during the week. We did get into Lucullus, and had no problems like you mention.
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Wtilford,
Managed to get a table for Saturday at the Christian Etienne which I highly recommend.
The service was excellent, and you are made to feel %26quot;special%26quot; throughout the meal, which is no mean feat when the restaurant is full (there was a table of 20 cyclists that arrived 10 minutes after us but there was no delay with the food). + I have a weakness for the amuse bouche that are provided and in this respect we were well catered for. Within 5 minutes we were drinking aperatifs, and 30 minutes the starters and wine arrived. For the food itself it goes without saying was first class. Also, the young waiting staff explain exactly what you are eating and the preparation involved when it arrives (no mean feat with all the choice on offer). For the wine - I%26#39;m no expert - I explicitly asked for a cheap bottle and the waiter carefully went through his recommendations and chose a bottle for 15Euro that was really excellent.
Also, the chef (Christian) appears at regular intervals to check if you enjoying your meal - and at the end makes a point of saying goodnight to all the guests.
Overall, if you can get a table then you will not be disappointed.
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