LA FROMAGERIE DU PASSAGE (AIX EN PROVENCE)

La Fromagerie du Passage

Address: 55 Cours Mirabeau (Passage Agard)

Access: the entrance of Passage Agard is located at the upper end of Cours Mirabeau (near the café Les deux garçons and the King René fountain)

Opening hours : Tuesday to Saturday, 12:00-15:00, 19:00-23:00

Price : 20 to 40 euros (10% off with O'bon Paris coupon)

The restaurant is located in a very typical street of Aix-en-Provence, the Passage Agard. Constructed in the early XIXth century, it links two very important parts of the town: the “Cours Mirabeau” (a very wide street lined with many cafés and shops) and Verdun square.

The entrance of the passage is at the upper end of the Cours Mirabeau, not far from the fountain of King René. The narrow passage is very representative of Provence, with its ochre color walls.

THE CONCEPT

The “fromagerie du Passage” is a very particular restaurant: indeed, the first floor is actually a cheese shop, but the cheeses are also served in the restaurant which is located on the second and third floors. France is famous worldwide for its cheeses. There are more than… 1200 cheese types in France ! Almost every village has its' own cheese and its' own ways of making it.

Soft cheese, hard cheese, made from cow, goat or sheep milk, soft-ripened cheese, blue cheese… There are so many kinds that you will surely love some of them, if not all!

WHAT TO EAT

There is a large range of dishes that you can try at the restaurant. if you are afraid of trying French cheese, no worries, there are plenty of other dishes that you can try; for example “Tartare de Saumon” (salmon), “filet de bar” (bass fish), “entrecote”, several salads…

Planche du fromager (5 cheeses) and Planche mixte for two people (cheeses and meats)

We tried the planche du fromager (19,90 euros) which is served with salad. It's a best option to discover a different variety of cheese. You can ask them before which kind of cheese you would prefer to try (not too strong or not too smelly for example). For two people, the "Planche mixte" (45 euros) is a great choice, because it includes 6 types of cheeses and four types of meats. It's also served with salad.

If you order cheese, there is a funny and practical touch: each piece of cheese has a small label which gives you very useful information: the cheese name, the type of milk used to make it, the region where it’s coming from and the AOP (“appellation d’origine protégé”, a stamp of authenticity which protect, certify and control French products)

Cheese cake au coulis de fruits rouges

The restaurant has a lot of delicious desserts: moelleux au Chocolat, Tiramisu, Panna Cotta… We tried their Cheese cake (8 euros). Their famous fruit cheese cake: very sweet and soft, with crackers layer on the bottom and served with berries and fruit sauce, is an absolutely amazing dessert.

ATMOSPHERE

 The restaurant is the perfect place for a break during a busy travelling day. The second floor is really cozy, but we prefer the third floor which is a covered terrace. As the weather is usually very sunny, it’s the best place to enjoy a nice view without fearing the heat. The passage is quiet so it’s also a pleasing place to have a rest.

O’BON PARIS’ NOTE:

The restaurant also has a large selection of great wines, from Provence and elsewhere: the glasses of wine range from 5 to 12 euros. But the menu of the day (17,5 euros) can also be a good option as it includes one dish and a glass of wine.

Author, photos: Vincent Sacau