Le Goût du Jour (Avignon, FRANCE) ★★★★☆

Our whirlwind 36 hours in Avignon is about to draw to a close. We are now down to our last meal in town with Le Goût du Jour chosen as our dining destination.



Chef Julien Chazal, who was borned in Avignon, took over the kitchen at Le Goût du Jour back in 2017 after successful stints cooking at a number of hotels in Europe including Hôtel de l'Europe (Amsterdam) and Le Cheval blanc (Courchevel). His cooking style is described traditional with a touch of modernity.

We were first started off with some homemade butter and brioche. 

The butter was beautifully presented and judging from the way it was displayed in front of us, I had a feeling that our chef here might not be as traditional as advertised.

The brioche was already sliced in half, ready to be served with the melting butter.

Our first amuse bouche was a parmesan shortbread topped with wasabi flavored mascarpone cream and green peas. 

A further amuse bouche arrived in the form of a chilled spinach soup with spring onion, chives, a drizzle of olive oil and crushed nuts on top. Some clean and refreshing flavors to get our palate ready. 

Trout, yellow melon, orange, radish, yuzu – The citrus marinated trout gravlax was matched with an array of ingredients including yellow melon, lime, oranges, radish and crispy croutons. As soon as we completed our photography session, our server promptly added the final touch on the trout fillet with his torch, imparting some lovely charred flavors to the fish. Just when I thought he was done, he finally capped things off with a nice pour of yuzu emulsion on top. Some delightful acidity to go with the freshness of the trout. A pretty refreshing start.

Pigeon, fig, carrot, chocolate – The pigeon was served in two ways with the breast roasted to absolute perfection and thigh candied. I love how they complemented the pigeon with the sweetness of the French figs and variations of carrot (mashed, confit and there was some which was stuffed inside the fig). The sauce made with pigeon bones, port wine, fig and chocolate came with rich, complex flavors, working well with the flesh and the rest of the ingredients. 

There was a second serving of the pigeon, with the roasted leg, fig and pickled carrots cooked with hazelnut butter.

Little nugget was enjoying every bite of his honey glazed duck breast and creamy mashed potatoes too.

Yellow and white peach, samphire – The mix of savory-sweet flavors from the yellow and white peach carpaccio, samphire sorbet, smoked white peach gel and candied samphire was a pretty nice touch. I am guessing that the caramelized grissini with samphire butter on the side was supposed to provide some crispy texture to the dessert so I broke it into smaller pieces before mixing it up with the other ingredients.

The mignardises tonight were chocolate ganache with sea salt and parmesan biscuit topped with citrus cream and orange.

I thought tonight's meal was a little better than the ones we had at a couple of Michelin-starred restaurants this week. A real testimonial of their exceptional food quality; perhaps a Michelin star is waiting for them on the horizon.

Food Rating: 7.1/10

Price: €€€

Address: 20 Rue Saint-Etienne, 84000 Avignon, France

Tel: +33 (0)4 3276-3216

Website: www.legoutdujour84.com

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 1:30pm, 7:00pm - 9:30pm (Thu - Mon)