9 Best Restaurants in Provence, France

For a fresh, seasonal lunch, try this chic little outpost that is part restaurant and part gourmet grocer. Imaginative Mediterranean-inflected salads and light dishes are healthy and delicious, and they pair well with a gourmet soda, Marseille microbrew, or a local rosé. After your meal, you can stock up on such southern delicacies as unrefined olive oils from Tête Dans Les Olives, tinned bonito fish, and handcrafted local herbs.

A cave (wine store) by day and a happening wine and tapas bar by night, this is a great place to sample the famous wines of the Côtes du Rhône—perhaps a local Beaume-de-Venise, which goes nicely with the house-made foie gras. Whether you sit inside or out on the terrace, charming, knowledgeable staffers will pour samples until you've found the perfect pairing for your charcuterie or artisanal cheese plate.

Who would have thought that you could find a 100% organic, raw, gluten-free, and vegan restaurant of this caliber in the heart of meat-centric Provence? It's foodie heaven to those with restricted diets, offering a tantalizing range of cold-pressed juices, salads, pastries, and smoothies so good that even carnivores will appreciate them. The rustic dining room is adorable, and there is a sunny terrace overlooking the village.

You'll never feel more like a kid in a candy shop than when you feast your eyes on the scintillating pastries, candied fruits (a specialty of the Vaucluse since Roman times), chocolates, and other local sweets sold here. At the charming café next door you can enjoy your selection with tea or coffee; there's also a small menu of savory lunch dishes.

To experience all of the city's culinary diversity under one covered-marketplace roof, head to the food stalls at the new Grandes Halles du Vieux Port, which is open 9 am to midnight. Here you can order the freshest catch of the day or vegetarian dishes, as well as gourmet sandwiches, classic pizzas, and authentic tapas to take away or to enjoy on the outdoor terrace. There's also a year-round farmers’ market, a central wine bar, local craft beer, and much more.

You couldn't have a more perfect setting for chef Marco Casolla's delicious pizzas and pasta dishes—inspired by his native Naples and the bounty of the sea—than the white sands of Toulon's Plage du Mourillon. At this beachside terrace restaurant, diners cool off with an apéro spritz in the shade of umbrellas at lunchtime or wrap up a day at the beach over a sunset dinner.

If you're hankering for a good cup of coffee (not found in the more standard cafés around Aix), you won't go wrong here. The clientele is mainly students and locals—who know a reliably excellent brew when they taste one—and breakfast pastries and a small menu of snacks accompany the long list of coffee drinks, teas, and other beverages.

Since the 1970s, this quaint (there is no other word for it) English tearoom—dark wooden beams, teapots on shelves, a table laden with cakes and pies—has catered to locals and homesick expats, all of whom are intrigued by the pieman's tempting wares and properly brewed teas served in silver pots. Owned from the beginning by a Frenchwoman whose mother was English, Simple Simon is a real ode to British tradition, with Cornish salad, bacon and eggs, and hot dishes like shepherd's pie, cheese-and-onion crumble tart, or turkey hot pot at lunch. During the theater festival, it's also open for dinner.

The scent of roasting coffee emanates from this popular spot on the lively Canébière, Marseille's central spine. The coffee is good, but the hot chocolate is famous (it's so thick you may need a spoon to finish it); enjoy either option and a homemade pastry at the counter, alongside locals sharing the day's gossip.