Le Parvis
Jean-Michel Berengier’s 20 years in front of the stove in a rather plain dining room
just behind the famous Roman amphitheatre in Orange, show remarkable consistency
and staying power. Fresh local produce is the order of the day, offered in various
menu combinations including a children's menu.
Dinner is, of course, more elaborate than lunch and here we enjoyed a little salad
of fennel with citrus fruit with a jellied bouillabaisse and a rouille sauce - deliciously
light and refreshing. Croustillant d’escargots, tomates aux piments doux et crème
de persil consisted of snails in puff pastry decorated with sweet peppers and served
with a parsley sauce, beautifully and tastily produced. A trencherman portion of
quails breasts (4 of them, in fact) was served with a lacquered spice and chutney
sauce and accompanied with beetroot, apricots and tomatoes. Again, the combination
of sweet and savoury was intriguing and well balanced. Pot au feu de la mer aux petites
legumes printanniers was a delightful combination of fish and seafood with chopped
up fresh vegetables Ð once again a light and summery dish.
A good selection of local cheeses was followed by a crumble with strawberries and
rhubarb topped with a mascarpone ice cream and a mint sauce. Crumbles seem to be
one of the “in” dishes in France this year - we came across many places serving them
- some were better than others and this was in the former category.
Lunch the next day started with a sushi gazpacho with fennel, rice and shallots,
which Sonia found very refreshing and my rabbit rillettes were chunky and tasty.
For main courses some guinea fowl with apple in a puff pastry stuffed with duxelles
of chopped up vegetables and accompanied with glazed carrots and potatoes was another
wholly satisfying dish. A tiramisu with strawberries and crème de menthe rounded
off the lunch nicely.
What we found so good was the total unpretentiousness of the cuisine. No fireworks,
no silly mousses, no items on the plate that were not meant to be eaten and really
solid dishes which were patently prepared by a chef who could combine traditional
cuisine with some modern twists without going over the top. The added bonus is that
the prices are very reasonable - €26 for dinner and €17 for lunch. There is a good
selection of local wines with Domaine Bosquet des Papes 2005 at €65.00 an absolute
winner. Several wines are available by the glass at prices between €3.00 and €5.50
which are certainly not rubbish.
Service, led by (presumably) Mrs. Berengier, can be a little dour, but by the end
of our second visit, we did manage to get a smile out of her although her willing
but inexperienced assistant made up for it.
Whilst you could never call this a destination restaurant, it is more than a useful
stop in one of the major tourist towns in Provence.
Restaurant Ratings
Food: 45
Wine List: 11
Service: 5
Ambience: 3
Value for Money:14
Total: 78
(For an explanation of the ratings - click here)
Restaurant Le Parvis, 55 Cours Pourtoules, 84100 Orange France
Tel: 04 90 34 82 00 Fax: 04 90 51 18 19
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday lunch and dinner
Closed: 8 November to 1 December, 10 January to 1 February
Credit cards: Amex, Visa, Mastercard
Service: Included
sushi gazpacho with fennel, rice and shallots
Quail breasts served with a lacquered spice and chutney sauce and accompanied with
beetroot, apricots and tomatoes
