Cafe Provence

I came in around 5pm on a Friday, hungry and craving pasta. This was my first visit. While the food was satisfying, and the warm rolls were great, other pieces of the dining puzzle were missing.
First, the odor in the restaurant. I’m not even sure how to describe it, but it was enough to get my attention. It wasn’t disgusting but it wasn’t indicative of Italian food being cooked in the kitchen. It was an old, outdated place so maybe it’s just an odor that develops over the years. Also, there was chipping paint, dust, and a dead insect on the windowsill next to my table. The place just seems neglected.
Second, when I sat down at my table, I overheard a conversation at the table next to mine between the customers and the waitress/owner?/manager. They had presented a printed voucher from
for $ 15 with purchase of $ 30. She immediately dismissed them and states it was not her restaurant and she would not accept the voucher. The customers were very polite and agreed they would contact the website and address the issue with them. The waitress just came off as intolerant and uncompromising.
Finally, I had to ask twice for my iced tea… the first time when I ordered and the second time half way through my salad. There were only 2 tables occupied in the place… no excuse.
Just based on the odor alone, I won’t be returning.

I might have given this restaurant a higher rating if once, in many years, the owners would have put two cents back into the restaurant to modernize it, or at the least, painted it! The restaurant itself is located in the worst looking shopping center on Atlantic Ave.
Now for the review… the tables had white clean tablecloths on them, however the underneath burgundy cloths looked dirty. How often should the underneath cloths be changed?
The service was great. The owner Jenny greets you at the desk and makes you feel welcome. The server also a relative to the owner, was also warm and makes you feel like you are a valuable customer.
Their prices are fabulous. They come with soup or salad, entrée, dessert and coffee. You can’t beat that. Warm bread was served immediately. My salad was very fresh and tasty. I ordered Veal Madagascar, which was veal with artichokes and lemon. While it was very tasty and the veal tender, it needed salt, and the sauce it came in was a little too thick. The side of fresh steamed vegetables was that. fresh…Although bland and needed butter or seasoning. There also was a sliced potato and a little sweet and sour red cabbage.
Here’s a note about the red cabbage, I’ve never seen it served in an italian restaurant, but that being said, it was delicious and I would have had more of that over the bland veggies. I’m thinking the reason for the lack of salt and blandness of their veggies was the fact the majority of their cliental may be on a restricted diet. But I’m not.
My mother who was with me had mussels marinara with spaghetti. The sauce was good, the mussels fresh, but I was a little surprised that the mussels were not in the sauce, rather they surrounded a mound of the spaghetti. Not that this tasted bad, but it was a little weird with the way it was served.
The next was dessert. Because the dessert was included, I expected something plain, but the chocolate cake and cheese cake my mother had was delicious and fresh. I also heard their homemade apple strudel is great.
Ditto for the coffee…
Our dinners were priced as seen on the menu, (15.99) but a lot of these meals are only $ 13.99 M-​Thurs. Definitely a good deal, fresh food, friendly service.
Close your eyes regarding the ugliness of the shopping center and the old building the restaurant is located in. I do hear the shopping center is due for a makeover, however.
We were so pleasantly surprised about this restaurant, I booked a private party here this summer. BTW, after checking many restaurants in the area, this restaurant gave us the best deal…

Lintel soup was watered down. The chicken parmesan was cooked in burnt oil. Couldn’t put enough parmesan cheese to mask it.

Fabulous food, but unfortunately as you walk in the front door, a musty damp smell has slowly increased in stench over the years. Lately, I am finding it more difficult to return especially as my guests now mention it. Started to search for an alternative.

The food is excellent and so are the prices the whole menu is 15.95. The specials are tonight $ 2 off, $ 3 off etc. The only problem I have ever had was a friend was short and wanted to put half her bill on her charge and half in cash. The owner had a complete fit. Which totally embarassed my friend and was totally uncalled for, it isn’t a big deal to charge $ 15 and pay $ 15 in cash.

Very good family owned Italian restaurant. All of the fish dishes are excellent and very good value. Every thing is home made. Nothing canned or frozen here. We travel 30 miles just to eat here.