Château de la Pioline, Restaurant Gastronomique à Aix-en-provence

The restaurant is within the walls of an ancient castle. This castle was once part of a hotel, but the establishment faced challenging times, leading to its closure and leaving behind a restaurant that has endured and flourished. Despite the absence of tablecloths on the worn tables, the culinary experience was taken for granted for the Michelin-star excellence. Each course is a revelation, filled with surprises and emotions that delight the palate. The deer meat, in particular, is incredibly tender and fresh. While detailing the appetizers here would spoil the surprise, Each dish is crafted to evoke wonder and appreciation, making the journey to this historic restaurant worthwhile.

Gastronomic cuisine with finest wine. The service is great. You can have great culinary experiment, with local foods (olive is the main theme). I won't spoil because you need to be surprised to fully enjoy the experience. The chef is very nice. You can directly talk to him through the view on the kitchen.

We had a great dinner here. We met chef Pierre Reboul upon entry and we were sat on the terrace as requested. Food was well paced, although the tables could have been wiped before sitting us down, they were very dusty and dirty (can't complain when on the terrace but a higher attention to detail necessary when receiving such high quality dishes and presentation). There were a few absolute standout dishes. The green and black olive course in oil was absolutely incredible - one of my favourite bites at a restaurant - ever! The smoked haddock cream amuse bouch with lemon caviar was absolutely amazing, and I additionally loved the eel and beet amuse. My wife was absolutely in love with the dessert which tasted like the best creamsicle flavour (I know - very western for me to compare to something so basic) but it was divine. The Arctic char and wild leek tempura was also an absolutely stellar dish. The only thing we were too fond of was the anchovy mousse as part of the anchovy dish, it was acidic and quite pungent, although my wife (who hates sardines and anchovies) said the fried sardine with the cream sauce was amazing. I don't know why it wants you to rate rooms, service and location, but if I were to rate as normal restaurant in here; Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 4 (it just didn't seem super well kept up). Amazing dining though. Thank you.

We could not understand the rave reviews. We have dined at countless 1-3 Michelin star restaurants around the world and we thot this was the worst. No effort, chef seems jaded, service is poor and dining room had kitchen clutter next to us. Amuse bouche was de-constructed olives. The way it was served was pretty crude (El Cellar Can Roca had them hanging on a small olive plant over 10 years ago)… and desert was “Olives Again!” Rest of dishes was uninspiring. The fish dish was served skinless. Instead of crisping up the skin, the chef coated in batter n fried it.. now who can’t do that. Petit fours was literally 4 little lumps. The restaurant charged €8/pax for water. They served us 1 glass each. period. We had to go hunt down wait staff for more water. The restaurant/Chateau location was close to industrial area. It was a French holiday and Aix was jam packed but the restaurant had 3/4 tables booked… says a lot

A truly memorable experience! The setting and ambience of the room had a truly royal atmosphere, and apparently is, in fact, a former residence of a King's wife from 3-400 years ago. Gold Leaf and plaster abound. The food is exquisite and inventive as well as fabulous. Each dish was potent in flavor and well-executed and thought out with sublime intention. We did the 3 course, but i feel as if we may have had 10 courses or more including all the extras in-between and after. The service was just as good, if not better. Not stuffy or pretentious, but quite hilarious and genuine, our Waiter and the Sommelier were just as much a part of the experience for me and my friends as the food. I never write reviews, but this was truly deserving!It was not an inexpensive meal, but was one of the few that was truly worth every penny. I would give more stars if i could! Bravo to Pierre and the entire staff!

The food, wine pairings, and ambience were all good. The service was not. We were left waiting long times between courses—at one point as long as 45 minutes. The server forgot to bring the wine we had ordered with our cheese. This level of service would have been unacceptable even for an everyday restaurant. We were disappointed.

An outstanding culinary experience. The chef has a flair for the extraordinary and the setting is absolutely beautiful. Even in the middle of a heat wave the outdoor setting was relatively comfortable for the evening. We only ate the three course meal and were completely overwhelmed by each presentation. I am rating at three stars only because as we were leaving and asked for a taxi it became evident we were stranded outside the city center and received limited assistance from the staff. I would think a Michelin star would have some clout with local transport to get their guests back to their hotel. Perhaps this is purely an "American" perception but regardless it was very frustrating. If you go - arrange for transport to and from.

I'm really struggling the understand why this only has 1 Michelin star... For me, it was right on par with certain of my favorite 3 star restaurants. It is quite amazing how they are able to bring such flavor to each dish, each bite. The combinations of ingredients / flavors are so unique and surprising and work so, so well. What a treat! Such an incredible experience, so much more than just a meal.