01/18/09

Great experience.Loved the food

by nvinnik

I went to La Provence for my dad's birthday this weekend. It was a great experience. The place looks like a simple cafe from outside so when we got there we were a little bit worried that it wouldn't be very good but there was nothing to worry about.

Everything we ordered was delicious and service was great too. We started by having a bottle of champagne to celebrate. All waiters wished my dad happy birthday and were very tentative. Since everything that I wanted to get was on a "dine about town" prefix menu i went for it. I really recommend it. It's a great deal.

We ordered appetizers. My parents got Veal Carpaccio,i had duck pistachio "rillette" all of it was delicious.

My dad really likes rabbit and its really hard to find restaurants that serve it. At this place they had Rabbit Confit ravioli. I tried his dish and it was amazing. I was afraid it'd be hard to taste the rabbit in ravioli but you can definitely taste it and it was very good. I had pork and my mom had Bouillabaisse and it was very good too. Boullabaisse had amazing sauce, it was creamy but not too heavy. Pork was very tender and had a great sauce with it.

For dessert my dad had oconut pana cotta and my mom and I got molten chocolate cake. Pana Cotta is usually very sweet this one wasn't too sweet and it was very light. Chocolate cake was served with creme anglaise. The cake was amazing. I usually don't like chocolate cakes but this one was amazing.

The portions were small but filling. Food wasn't heavy and we left very happy and satisfied. The place wasn't crowded but wasn't empty either. Parking wasn't too bad. The prices weren't bad for such a great dinner.

04/01/08

Wonderful French bistro.

by CWSF

La Provence is our favorite neighborhood restaurant. We have been eating there frequently since they first opened. The food is consistently good, the appetizers are unusual and nicely done- try the octopus salad. The seafood stew and the pork loin entres are big hits in our crowd. When we're able we finish with the panna cotta or the molten chocolate cake. The wine list, while small, features hard to find wines from southern France. The service is friendly, professional and the owner Lionel is a wonderful host. It is a cozy, comfortable place where we take out of town family and friends, and go to ourselves when we want a treat.

• Pros: Everything
• Cons: Parking

03/31/08

Good food, Great price

by damjo

Go for the fixed price menu - 3 courses $29 - a bargain available all night during the week. Until 6.30pm on wek end. It's worth it. Dishes are not large but after having an appetizer, main course and dessert you should be satified. Service is good. Definitely a place to go.

• Pros: Great food, great price
• Cons: no enough Ca wines

03/24/08

Someone figured out how to cheat the system... for example, this 5 star system

by lifeiscarbernet

I got the recommendation from this site based on the comments left by other "patrons" (ex-patrons, current patrons, or simply staff of the restaurant??) of this restaurant. Most of the comments are about experiences related to great food and services these patrons received. What I didn't do, though, was to carefully read on the negative comments given to this restaurant. My fault... Now, after finally visiting this restaurant, I can conclude that I was misled. If I wasn't misled by comments that were supposed to bring in guinea pigs like myself, I would have given this restaurants 2 stars.

Services - Young and untrained waiters were young and untrained waiters. While I could think of them as waiters trying to give a friendly touch to their services, I just couldn't stand the way I was treated. I almost felt like they weren't expecting me to pay them tips.

Food - Soup was watery and ingredients were not fresh. There are problems in the kitchen. Taste is just average at best. I was expecting more when I was paying almost $50 per head... and it was French!!!

I really should have paid more attention to the negative comments left by others. I will not go back again.

By the way, it is almost impossible to find parking in that area.

• Pros: Nice attemps by the owner... too bad his efforts can hardly attract customers to return
• Cons: Below average food, below average service, below average location, below average vibe

03/07/08

You don't known what you are missing!

by Kmil

La Provence is definitely in our top 10 Favorites in San Francisco. The food and service is consistently excellent! The $29 3 courses pre fixe is a great find and can't be beat. You order from their regular dinner menu. If you are a fish lover, be sure to try the Grand Aioli or the marinated Salmon. Both are wonderful and always difficult to choose between. You won't go wrong with either one though. The filet of lamb is my other favorite tender and juicy, cooked to perfection. They have a short well priced wine list with a lot of wine from the South of France. On the cocktail side they have ?aperitif? . Bellini is my personal favorite. Make sure to have a chat we the ownner. He is very attentive and always fun. If you haven't been at La Provence , you don't know what you are missing! Be sure to save room for dessert - included in the pre-fixe dinner

• Pros: GREAT, CREATIVE CUISINE, PROFESSIONAL WAITSTAFF
• Cons: Too bad prix fixe is only for early bird on Fri/Sat

02/18/08

Excellent food, Great service, Nice atmoshpere, TOP SHELF DINING EXPERIENCE!

by ErickaLovesGoodFood

Oh My God!!!!!

Usually at restaurants one or two of the diners will be happy with their meal, but at La Provence all four of us had AMAZING meals!!! Everything was excellent from the Bellini aperitifs (I had a champagne peach Bellini), to the appetizers (We had an EXCELLENT Rillette de Canard for one of our 3 appetizers), to our main courses (Lamb, lamb, lamb, so tender and juicy- even the vegetables that were served with the lamb were out of this world!) Every dish was a culinary masterpiece!!!

(The other three diners had Soupe de Poissons Cannebiere, and the veal stew special that was superb!!!!)

The waiter was excellent, knowledgeable and helped us choose the perfect bottles of wine for the meals. The desserts (Tiramisu) was DEEElicious and the proprietor even stopped by to make sure that we were happy with everything!!!

This place is TOP SHELF and was an excellent way to spend my birthday!!!

For 4 people:

Including aperitifs, 3 appetizers, 2 bottles of wine, 4 main courses and 2 desserts we spent around $300- pricy, but well worth the cost.

• Pros: Excellent food, Great service, Nice atmoshpere, TOP SHELF DINING EXPERIENCE!
• Cons: No cons, but they could spend a touch more on ambience- Reservations recomended

02/05/08

You MUST check it out!

by jvatin

Another Friday night, another opportunity to wine and dine my significant other. This was my choice and oh, what a choice! The atmosphere was buzzing as were we when told that the requested table was ours for the night. Love the service, love the food!! Authentic Provencal cuisine in the heart of the Mission! Try the marinated salmon and the pissaladiere to start... you MUST check it out! You won?t be dissapointed

• Pros: Food, Ambience, Service

01/25/08

Another wonderful meal!

by fpat

A French friend stopped yesterday to visit and as usual we had a conversation about food and local French restaurants. We wondered should we try a new place or go back to our favorite: La Provence. In the mood for the type of food she cooks (she is from Marseille) we decided to go back to the latter and were not disappointed. They had a prix fixe menu 3 courses $31.95 (Dine About Town) We had each a different appetizer. The pissaladiere (onion pie) was moist and delicious, the duck rillette a home ?pate? was very tasty and the mussels in fennel broth, perfect. For main course we had the ?bouillabaisse? a fish soup with scallops and prawns, and the veal stew. They were delicious. As I wanted white wine and my husband wanted red, we ordered wine by the glass. A white vermentino for me and a cote du rhone for my husband. We finished with a coconut panacotta and a molten chocolate. One was light and flavorful and the other dark and intense -- we enjoyed both. The service was attentive, but not intrusive and the owner always available. Another wonderful meal at La Provence. It was as if we had left San Francisco for Marseille. You should try it.

• Pros: Warm ambience, tasty food, good service
• Cons: None

01/24/08

NEW FAVORITE

by SM55

I never knew a place like this existed in San Francisco. SF is said to be a culinary town, but I didn?t believe it until I found La Provence. Being a recent transplant from the East Coast, I felt starved for a dining experience that truly impressed me. I found it. The service at this place is good and the food, simply unforgettable. My friend had the pissaladiere and I, homemade "rillette". How genius to serve apricot marmalade with it. The salmon marinated was sublime. The filet of lamb was so tender!!!!!!!!! out of this world. Their wine list is short, but the choice of South of France wine is perfect with the food and also well priced. If you love food, you have got to try my new favorite find. Trust me, you will not regret it.

01/21/08

Enjoyable experience

by sylviazi

It's not our first time at La Provence and it's always EXCELLENT. A Provencal menu which doesn't disappoint. Signature marinaded salmon is superb. My dining partners ordered the filet of lamb. Incredibly tender and juicy. Try also the home duck "rillette"for an apetizer. The bouillabasie is a must. Chocolat moeulleux or the tiramisu is a perfect way to end a delicious dining experience. Excellent service by all - very helpful server guided us through choices. The owner is always welcoming and available Quietly chic and charming atmosphere. Subtle background music added romance to a wonderful evening. Go early and enjoy