L'Oustau de Baumanière (Les Baux-de-Provence, FRANCE) ★★★★★

We are more than a week into our journey in France and have spent the bulk of our time exploring different cities and their tourist attractions. It is time to shift our attention to the culinary destinations in this part of France where there are a fascinating number of three Michelin starred restaurants.

Our back-to-back three Michelin starred experience started off at L'Oustau de Baumanière. Nestled among the picturesque cliffs in the village of Les Baux-de-Provence, the restaurant is a culinary treasure with an illustrious history. Established back in 1945, it garnered its first Michelin star in 1949, a second in 1952, and the coveted third star in 1954 for its exceptional Provencal cuisine, a distinction they maintained until 1986. For decades, it was the go-to place for royals and celebrities when they were visiting Southern France.

Spanning over 50 acres, the property features an all-organic vegetable garden and beehives providing the kitchen with a bounty of fresh and home grown ingredients for the restaurant's amazing tasting menu.

The dining room of Ousteau du Baumaniere is set in an old farmhouse where some of the old farming equipment are still kept.

The kitchen is currently helmed by Chef Glenn Viel from Brittany, who was recruited by the owner and then head chef Jean-André Charial as his own replacement. Before joining the kitchen here in 2015, Chef Viel has worked at Le Meurice, Plaza Athenee and 1947 at Cheval Blanc in Courchevel. In 2020 and five years since taking over the helm, he had the restaurant back to its former glory with a third Michelin star.

The dining room stood out with its historic charm (as a restored farmhouse) and rustic elegance. Not surprisingly, it was absolutely packed on a Sunday. It took me some time to take this photo when everybody has finally left.

The ambiance is warm and welcoming offering diners a touch of Provence's rich agricultural history while also providing a sophisticated backdrop for the enjoyment of the exquisite cuisine served at the restaurant.

A trio of canapés to kick things off, including a small tartlet with langoustine tartare and caviar, a puff pastry with candied orange and mackerel, and last but not least, a sea shell with slices of marinated salmon and seaweed cracker.

We were told that each of our seven savory dishes would be paired with a different bread and for the first dish, it would be a small piece of brioche served with green olive oil. 

Snail, mushroom, garlic – One of Chef Viel's signature starter featuring well-cooked snails hidden under the powerful mushroom juice and garlic emulsion.

The mushroom jus came with very nice intensity to elevate the flavors of the snails.

Little nugget had his own starter and it was a dish with assorted tomatoes from the restaurant's own backyard.

Our server came over with a second bread pairing, a very tasty milk bun, in preparation for our second course.

Oyster, salad – Our second starter came in two separate plates. The first one consisted of a small salad, dried shrimps, shrimp head and sea whelk served in a chilled sauce made with shrimp heads and coral.



The second part of the dish featured a stone grilled oyster which our server cooked on the spot with a gel made with different types of seaweed. This provided the oyster with some grassy and burnt flavors on top. 

Another type of bread was brought over at this point (not a recording) while they served up the third dish of the tasting menu.

Between tuna and pork – A clever play of textures and flavors with thin strips of tuna loin matched against layer of pork lard, finished off with seasoning of lemon, basil, mustard seeds and vinegar. 



Carabinero prawn, fennel, lemon – Beautifully cooked carabinero prawn from Spain, was served with fennel, lemon cream and prawn jus.

The minimalist prawn dish was expertly executed, showcasing the delightful natural sweetness of the king prawn blending harmoniously with the aromatic flavors of the fennel. The unami-rich jus made with the prawn head and coral did an amazing job tying everything together brilliantly.

They have a roll specially designed for their signature king prawn.

Variations of carrot, periwinkle – Here we have thin sheets of carrot, crispy carrot noodles and carrot juice paired with a pretty intense periwinkle (I was told it was known as sea snail) emulsion which tasted almost like a purée. Jelloman didn't like the collection of contrasting textures and flavors but I found it fairly interesting.

Look who's here!? Chef Viel emerged from his kitchen to greet the guests just as our main dishes were about to be served.



Little one's eyes immediately lit up when he saw his chicken fricassée with mashed potatoes.

Milk-fed lamb cutlet, lamb jus – Some extra smoky flavors.

This was superbly cooked with melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Pigeon, rosemary, beans, lavender – The pigeon was cooked in a bread chest with rosemary, finished with a nice pour of pigeon jus flavored with lavender juice. I like the pigeon's leg and green beans, both of which have been stuffed with pigeon's liver for some additional flavors. 

Following three really impressive dishes, it was time for our cheese trolley.

I didn't have much room left so I elected for just two thin slices of cheese which were accompanied with honey chutney.

Our pre-dessert was a condiment of carrot (almost like a mochi with carrot purée and crunchy carrot in the middle) and a small bowl of refreshingly cold apple juice with olive oil.

Millefeuille – We have only one choice to make in our tasting menu and that was our dessert. 

This was the lightest millefeuille imaginable. The incredible lightness, paired with its flakiness, and the delicate vanilla cream and pistachio filling all made it one of the finest millefeuilles I have ever experienced.

It was served with vanilla ice-cream on the side.

This guy had his own bowl of ice-creams in three different flavors.

More sweet stuff, first some crunchy chocolates. 



Well, this was fun~

Some mini churros with a sprinkle of sugar on top.

Ad raspberry confit with cotton candy. 



Our delightful three-hour journey was finally wrapped up with a cup of chilled fruit tea with herbs and a hint of lime.



This remarkable culinary journey at L'Oustau de Baumanière showcased Provencal cuisine executed at the highest level. Each dish exemplified the rich flavors, traditional techniques and artful presentation (mostly minimalist) that define the esteemed culinary tradition.

Food Rating: 8.9/10

Price: €€€€

Address: 500 Rte de Baumanière, 13520 Les Baux-de-Provence, France

Tel: +33 (0)4 9054-3307

Website: www.baumaniere.com

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm, 7:30pm - 9:00pm (Fri - Tue)