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And don't forget the Provençal people are not at all snobbish about food. On the contrary, they genuinely appreciate tasting and talking "cuisine" and they are especially delighted if you appreciate their local dishes and their local wines.
Below is a list of some of our favorite restaurants in Lourmarin or within easy reach of the village. You'll notice that Elisabeth, who loves food and is not great with a camera, figures in a lot of the photos. The man behind the lens is Joe. The dogs are Tatu (white) and Fifi (brown).
| Fine Restaurants in the Luberon |
| Bastide de Capelongue |
 
Edouard Loubet (seen here with our children Claire & Pierre), Gault-Millau chef of the year in 2011, made his name at the Moulin de Lourmarin. He was the youngest chef ever to receive a Michelin star,and the youngest to receive two stars.
He is now at the nearby 'Bastide de Capelongue' in Bonnieux. Edouard's cuisine involves strong, clean flavours, fresh and unusual local ingredients and extraordinary originality. Our guests particularly appreciate the friendly, unpretentious service. You can have lunch or dinner outside, in a spectacular setting overlooking the village.
www.capelongue.com
Tel : 04 90 75 89 78
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Auberge
la Fenière |
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Lourmarin's own Michelin starred restaurant. The chef, Reine Sammut, has twice been voted Best Woman Chef in France. The cuisine is light and very Mediterranean, with a fresh approach to traditional ingredients and methods of cooking. Little butter, but olive oil instead. And the setting is really beautiful, with extensive and well kept gardens for strolling in.
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| Liz & Fifi at "la Fenière". |
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www.reinesammut.com - France Tel : 04 90 68 11 79
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| La Petite Maison de Cucuron |
The Petite Maison is located in a lovely village house overlooking the pond in Cucuron. The imaginative dishes in this fine restaurant are created using local, seasonal ingrediants. There are two 'prix fixe' menus, one at 35 euros and one at 55 euros which change every week. The generous, genial chef, Eric Sapet, was chef at the Moulin de Lourmarin and before that the Mas des Herbes Blanches in Joucas, where he earned one star from the Michelin Guide. This is one of our very favourite restaurants.
Tel : 04 90 68 21 99
www.lapetitemaisondecucuron.com
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| Other Fine Restaurants nearby: |
| l'Antiquaire |
Chef David Dubouchet is a long-time friend and former protégé of Reine Sammut from"La Fenière",. This young talented chef has been influenced by her approach to cooking and serves excellent light cuisine using the best local ingredients, at very reasonable prices. Michelin recommended. This beautifully-decorated air-conditioned restaurant is in the centre of Lourmarin
www.restaurant-antiquaire.com
Tel : 04 90 68 17 29
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| La Place des Délices |
A new restaurant run by old friends, chef Patrick Barbaux and his wife Patricia. They run a sunny, informal Provençal restaurant and an excellent bakery in the heart of Lourmarin. Light, fresh salads, beautfully prepared and presented, and authentic local hot dishes. You can also have tea and patisseries in the afternoon on the terrace.
Tel : 04 90 79 00 46
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| Restaurant de l'Horloge |
 In Cucuron. Also one of our favourites for its very reasonable prices as well as its excellent cuisine. Listed in the Michelin Guide as well as in several other fine dining guides. A good place for lunch on a hot day, perhaps after the Cucuron market on a Tuesday morning.
Tel : 04 90 77 12 74
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| Gourmet Restaurants in nearby towns : |
| La Closerie |
In Ansouis. This small, beautifully decorated restaurant has over the last couple of years become a firm favourite among discerning local diners, as well as with our guests. The set-price menus are very reasonably priced, particularly at lunch time, the wine list has a good, representative selection of regional wines, and the cooking is excellent - light, balanced and beautifully presented . |
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Le Clos de La
Violette |
This is Aix-en-Provence's only Michelin two-star restaurant. You can eat top-quality traditional French Cuisine in a particularly elegant town-center setting.
www.closdelaviolette.fr
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| Christian Etienne |
This Michelin one-starred restaurant in Avignon is tucked into the walls of the Pope's palace. Cetienne serves contemporary Provençal cooking in a medieval setting. There is a delightful terrace. The restaurant is well-known for the chef’s use of local ingredients, such as olive oil and truffles, and particularly for his tomato-based menus in the summer.
www.christian-etienne.fr
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| Lou Marqués |
This is the restaurant of the Hotel Jules Caesar in Arles. It provides simple, light and extremely tasty versions of classic French dishes, using the very best ingredients. You can eat outdoors on the gracious terrace overlooking the old city, or indoors in a traditionally sumptous French restaurant - all draped velvets and wood.
www.hotel-julescesar.fr
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| Prévot |
  This is Jean-Jacques Prévot’s Michelin-recommended restaurant in Cavaillon. The chef is a master and a magician. Everything is centered around Melons and everything is delicious. The establishment is not only a restaurant, but also home to the "Melon Museum of France". As soon as you enter the premises, you will notice that the chef is quite single-minded! He is also very talented and imaginative. |
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We also like to eat on the terraces of the cafés in Lourmarin. There are three to choose from, and they all offer copious good food at reasonable prices. You will find Café de L'Ormeau, Café de La Fontaine, and Le Café Gaby side by side in the center of the village. All three have good lunch menus and daily specials.
The Café de l'Ormeau This is probably our favourite, although all the cafes in Lourmarin have their different advantages - the fountain outside the Cafe de la Fontaine, the friendly waiting staff at the Gaby. Here at l'Ormeau the cooking is excellent, and very good value for money. Since Martine and Jean-Claude, the new owners took over, the decoration has become delightfully chic and urban. Nevertheless, the Cafe de l'Ormeau remains a real village social centre, the best place to hear the latest Lourmarin gossip while soaking up the sun, sipping a Pastis and watching the world go by.
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