L'Antiquaire - Lourmarin

L'Antiquaire is apparently now called "Le Bouchon". Why is France, and the Provence in particular, such a wonderful place to visit? Because of restaurants like Le Bouchon. Treat yourself to a wonderful meal with great wines in this fantastic restaurant. The chef and the waiter are wonderful and attentive. You can't really make a bad choice from the menu. Everything is tasty (we know, we were a party of five and ordered mostly different dishes from the menu).

A little more down market than the Moulin but a great meal. This place is a little out of the way and seems to be patronised by locals as much as tourist s. Seems to have the charm of authentic luberon cuisine. As with most good restaurants the menu has few offerings. Better to do a few things well than lots indifferently.The one cook and sole waiter spoke enough English to get by but the meals were great. Refreshing tomato on basil entree, delicious pan fried fish main and gustation ice cream/ fresh fruit dessert. Just over €100 incl wine.

We were met by a gum chewing waitress and seated at a table with a very wrinkled tablecloth. While we made a reservation, we were the only people in the restaurant. We had a few questions about the very limited menu and a pleasant but impatient gentlemen came to tell us they had made substitutions for the evening. Our first course was very good but that was about it. My meal consisted of odds and end of leftovers and a piece of fried tuna! Did I mention the little growling dog at my feet for most of the meal!!?The are so many excellent restaurants in Lourmarin, please don't waste your time and money. We have stayed in this lovely village many times and this was our first disappointing meal.

My husband and I had lunch reservations here during the height of the lavender season. Reservations really were not truly necessary, but we took this precaution. The kind gentleman who answered the phone did speak English, so that was a bit helpful, as well. We did not know exactly what to expect, but were so very pleasantly surprised by the beautiful presentation and great value. We ordered the "menu du jour" which consisted of an entrée of crisp and flavorful gazpacho... perfect for a VERY hot Provencal day! The gazpacho was prepared with fresh local tomatoes, tiny bits of mozzarella, and very flavorful basil.... beautiful and refreshing. Our main course, a nicely pan-seared white fish filet displayed attractively atop a serving of ratatouille; so delicious and perfectly portioned. Freshly diced local melon and raspberries topped with a beautiful dollop of whipped cream was served in a martini glass as a perfect finish to a very lovely meal. I highly recommend David Dubouchet's L'Antiquaire for lunch or dinner in Lourmarin. A young family was seated at a nearby table and the children also seemed to appreciate their children's version of the luncheon. The price was right at 50 Euros for lunch for 2 including two glasses of local wine and coffee.

We had dined at L'Antiquaire before, but never like our most recent experience. It seems that for a variety of reasons the staff was reduced to the owner and chef on the night of our reservation. David greeted us on arrival, but never mentioned that anything was amiss. We thought it curious we were the only patrons that evening, but declined to explore the issue initially. Our orders were taken and the courses began to appear from the kitchen - promptly I might add. At or about the time of the third course my wife could no longer contain her curiousity and in perfect French said essentially where are all the people. David explained the absence of staff, adding that he did not wish to disappoint his visitors from Iowa so he decided to close the restaurant for the night and serve only our party of four, acting as both server and chef. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, but more than that, at our invitation, David joined us for an after dinner drink and we grew to know a charming and affable host - a once in a lifetime experience ---- only in France!