Cafe Provencal

My favorite part was the desserts. I thought the dark chocolate mousse was the best thing ever. I always love cream brûlée though.

Took daughter to lunch here, been here many times but my first review, and she loved it. She had the tomato quiche special and I stuck with my favorite scallops in the sauce so good I spooned it up. Service has always been impeccable and the pomme frites are to die for with aoli sauce.

Very good dining experience. Three course menu options a fine way for two diners to share four courses and enjoy plenty of well prepared, good tasting offerings. Service was excellent with the right amount of attention without overbearing the table. Wine selections were more than adequate for our taste and the prices reasonable. Overall, a thumbs up for Café Provençal.

I don’t take kindly to being stolen from. Couple that with below average food and you have earned a 1 star rating.
I phoned in an order to-​go from their lunch menu, I went with the reuben sandwich. Their website says it is has been voted best reuban in St. Louis and fail to list who voted it such. Perhaps by family and friends? Because no one else would vote it «best» anything.
I was told my order would be ready in 10 minutes, so I showed up in 10 minutes as my office is nearby. My order wasn’t ready for another 8 minutes past that. Now in most circumstances I would gloss over this, but this is my LUNCH break. Saying an order will be ready and being wrong about it is completely unacceptable. Strike 1.
I looked at my receipt and they charged me $ 11 for the sandwich while their website currently says it is $ 10. I didn’t complain about it because I’m not that type of guy, but I don’t like being tricked. Strike 2.
The reuben sandwich tastes BAD, and there is more saur kraut on it than meat. Just look at the picture I uploaded! Yuck. Instead of swiss cheese (as is traditionally used on reubens) they use Gruyère cheese which I don’t think goes as well. They also use a Red Rouquefort Dressing, which I really couldn’t stand. It just doesn’t taste good. They also have trouble with spelling. On their website they call it a «rueben» but it’s actually supposed to be «reuben.» As for the Gruyère cheese, between their lunch and dinner menus they spell it right once, but also spell it as «Gruyree» and «Greyer.» So they have a lack of detail clearly. I know, I know, words are hard. Strike 3.
The next day I checked my card transactions and found a charge of $ 14.34 from this place. Now how can that be? Okay, so it was supposed to be $ 10 and they charged me $ 11, I know, and then tax which brought the total to about $ 12. This means they had to have added a tip. I intentionally did not tip them, so this would be theft. NOT okay. Strike… 4??? Yes, strike 4 damnit. Screw this place, never coming back.
Before they tricked me into paying more for my lunch than their website said I’d have to pay, and before they stole from me, I was going to give them 2 stars based primarily on the bad tasting food, but was going to give them another try. But now? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Go home Café Provencal, you’re drunk! And you’re bad at restauranting.

I had a very nice lunch here. The bread is delicious the ambiance is nice. I also loved the French onion soup and mixed greens salad.

My husband and I celebrated an anniversary and loved everything about the dining experience: the food (we had prix fixe meals), the drinks, the service, and the atmosphere. I thoroughly enjoyed a glass of champagne, a glass of cabernet, escargots, poulet in puff pastry, and chocolate mousse. My husband reported equally superb his choices of a Bombay Sapphire martini (he’s picky), a glass of cabernet, Coquilles St. Jacques, the pork entrée, and chocolate mousse. Jason our server exhibited exquisite timing and advice. The atmosphere is cozy and romantic. A plus: we could hear ourselves speak! I love Café Provencal!

If you like total salt and sodium infused food, then this is the place to go. I kid you not. I do not believe the food at this restaurant is freshly prepared. We were in shock at the salt factor and the $ 122.00 tab. Will never go again.

I love the prix fixe meal here at dinner! Better yet, on a nice night, sit outside on the patio. For one set price, you can choose 3 courses. You can mix up what you want for the other two courses. It can be salad, appetizer, entrée. It can be appetizer, entrée, dessert. If there are at least two of you, I’d recommend this:
Complimentary bread
Two salads (or soup if you prefer)
1 Appetizer
2 Entrees
1 Dessert
That’s 4 courses (not counting bread) for the price of two prix fixe meals! It works out so well!
Then yeah, grab a bottle of wine while you’re at it!
What I ate:
1) L’Escargots (⁴⁄₅) — pretty good, not for everyone, if you don’t like the texture of mushrooms, you’re unlikely to like this
2) Salade César (⁵⁄₅) — one of the better Caesar salads I’ve had
3) Poulet DeBergerac (⁵⁄₅) — had no idea how good this was going to be, would definitely get it again
4) Steak Frites (⁴⁄₅) — Yay, it comes with bearnaise sauce!
5) Chocolate Torte (²⁄₅) — Decent, wayyyyy too rich, couldn’t eat beyond a couple bites

Next stop on the girlfriend Kirkwood Romp yesterday.
After all our shopping in Kirkwood, we came here for lunch. Sustenance time.
#1 got Salade des Betteraves ($ 8) — beets, goat cheese, warm bacon, and a fried egg; and Coquilles St. Jacques ($ 12) — scallops in cream sauce.
#2 got Supreme Sandwich ($ 8) — chicken breast with Provencal relish, goat cheese and pommes frites — a whole lot of pommes frites
#3 got Salad Niçoise ($ 12) — grilled tuna, greens, hard-​boiled egg and vegetables — potatoes, green beans, cherry tomatoes and other. She subbed salmon for the tuna, and it was a massive piece of salmon.
I got Coquilles St. Jacques. Six scallops in the dish. The scallops did not have a good sear. They were just mostly white. I ate two. First one had some grit. Second one had grit in every bite. I could not continue.
#1, who also got Coquilles St. Jacques, didn’t run into grit until her sixth scallop, and she said it was only one grit.
I just asked them to take the dish away, and they didn’t ask me to pay for it.
Everybody liked their food for the most part. Salad Niçoise was the winner, IMO.
I’ve had this place bookmarked for ages, so was incredibly disappointed.
Service was impeccable. Water was refilled readily.

My boyfriend and i go here for every anniversary and it is spectacular! Wonderful ambiance, fantastic staff, wine and food. Very pricy but you get what you pay for. The escargots is to die for and you can’t miss with any entrée! I highly recommend.

I ate lunch with a friend today and it was wonderful. The food was terrific. Bread was warm and soft. The Salad Nicoise was a large plated salad and I chose smoked trout for the fish. Every ingredient was fresh and flavorful. Fresh green beans, new potatoes, capers, olives, hard boiled eggs, tomato, onion and lettuces. It was a pleasure to look at. Balsamic vinaigrette was in a dish «on the side». Just perfect. I ended up taking some home. They have a nice outdoor seating area which we took advantage of. I can’t wait to go again to try other menu items. The quality of the food is wonderful and service was prompt.

Last night, we had dinner. I had escargot and my wife had cucumber bisque. Both great. We split a Ceasar salad, just the right portions. My wife order the trout and I had the pork chop. The portions were generous. My pork was flavorful and perfectly cooked to a light pink. The trout was melt in your mouth. We each had a cocktail and a glass of wine. The bill was $ 104. Well worth it.

It is still the best place to go for delicious French food. The service is awesome and the wine selection is the best. They are very knowledgeable about their wine. The bread is really outstanding. I could eat just that and be happy. Very nice patio for outdoor dining.

Delicious good and wonderful service. The atmosphere was perfect, dim lighting and cozy. Casual dress is ok.

My wife and I have been here at least 3 times, and not once have we been disappointed. Lunch portions are huge and difficult to finish if not careful with the warm bread in front of you. Nice simple menu, wine choices, and very friendly but not overwhelming service. This place is always a great choice.

In the last several weeks I have had lunch and also Valentines Day dinner at Café Provencal. I am so pleased with this place that I am sure to frequent it OFTEN. They are smart not to have too large of a menu so it allows for proper turnover and freshness. It’s better to have a smaller menu and nail it, than try to please every kind of palette and fail. They nail it. Bread was excellent, sauces were great, doneness was perfect (sorry culinary technical term). My only, albeit small, complaint is that the Caesar dressing was a little bland. It seemed to be missing the bite and edge of the anchovy. But that is only a minor issue, everything else was spot-​on.
The wine list was also excellent. It was great to see the different styles, varietals and regions of France represented without the list being too big and unwieldy.
Service was also great, the waiter was familiar with the menu (trust me, I don’t take that for granted) and was attentive even on a very busy Valentines Day dinner.
Keep up the good work!

Thank you to the staff at café Provençal !
We had a baby shower there, they were more than accommodating to our wishes.
Great food fantastic staff thank you for Making our afternoon special!

Ooooooommmmmmggggg!!! You better shut the front door on this one. This place is off the chains amazing!!! We came for lunch to try it out and eat STL’ s best french onion soup (read the article in St. Louis magazine) and left with our socks blown off. I mean from the moment we stepped in the door I was in love. Our waiter was Adams… amazing!!! (From start to finish) also have to shout out his fellow wait staff because they work together as a well oiled team, assisting each other in every aspect of your dinning experience. The restaurant is charming, nicely decorated with an upscale vibe but with a cozy, casual twist.
We ordered a bowl of the onion soup. This was undeniably the best french onion soup I’ve eaten since Famous stopped serving their soup. This soup had a well balanced broth, was perfectly seasoned, oozing with beautifully cheesy goodness and utterly delicious (Voted #1 in STL magazine). Next was the ceasar salad with homemade croutons, absolutely lovely and we split the croque madam with pommes frites. Our waiter surprised us and had the kitchen divide the meal on separate plates-​amaze balls!!! This dish was visually stunning and the sauce was wonderfully rich, the sandwich as a whole was mind blowing. I’m talking, delicate layers, complex favors, gorgeous presentation and generous portions. The pommes frites were seasoned to perfection and ooohhhhh, how I loved dragging them through that sauce. I forgot to mention their house made bread right out of the oven with butter while you’re waiting… TASTY. They offer a diverse lunch menu, which I like. The options range from your casual cheeseburger, but their burger is far from your ordinary run off the mill casual to steak and fish entres.
Our new favorite French restaurant, I can’t wait to return, on my quest to dive into their menu with a vengeance. I’ve been raving about this spot since trying it out for lunch.

I can’t believe it took me so long to try this place out! I mean, I’m about as French as they come… I believe my maiden name even translates to «Taking in a view of the magnificent Eiffel Towel while sipping a warm café au lait.»
I met a friend for weekend lunch, and was in love with this cozy little café the moment I walked through the door. It was so charming! I almost forgot I was in St. Louis until I looked out the window and was brought back to reality. Darn.
Although the lunch menu was on the smaller side, several items were begging me to give them a try. Upon recommendation of my friend, I opted for a grilled chicken sandwich on brioche bread topped with a creamy goat cheese spread along with a tomato and olive oil mixture. The flavors blended so well together. The sandwich was served with pommes frites, which were some of the best I’ve ever had. These addicting fries were thin, crispy, and simply perfect.
I can’t wait to come back here with my husband. Café Provencal is the perfect spot for a romantic date night where I could try another amazing dish from the menu. Until then… au revoir!

First of all, I will add the disclaimer that I was going to dinner with my boyfriend’s parents for the first time when we went here so I was not doing my usual fine-​tooth-​comb of the facilities and services offered… as I was, well, let’s just say more than a little nervous!
They had a great selection of red wines, and French reds and Napa reds are pretty much my favorites hands down and they had a lot of good ones. The Bordeaux and their house Cabernet are both delicious.
We all got different appetizers so we could try different things. I had never really had French food.
It was here that I realized I had never had a properly cooked scallop. I had spent my entire life boycotting scallops because they were gross rubbery balls of wasted calorie intake. Blegh! Who wants to eat something with the texture of an inedible gummy bear?! Not this girl. However, Provencal served us four perfectly cooked scallops in a delicious creamy butter sauce. I dipped my bread in the remaining butter sauce (I know, I know the chef was probably like «For real!!! Oh I see my bread alone wasn’t good enough for her!») but the truth is the butter sauce was just that delicious and renewed appreciation for properly cooked scallops.
I got the roasted red pepper bisque — absolutely delicious — it was on a prixe fixe menu for that night. Amazing.
For the main entrée I got the steak and frites. The steak was probably the best steak I have ever had… I couldn’t finish it all, and it reheated beautiful and it was excellent «brunch» the next day.
The dessert, that I can’t remember the name of, was also delicious. I told you I was distracted… and a little nervous considering the context of the meal… LOOK! Just eat there, OK? I promise it’s delicious.