Pizza Provencale

Disappointed with everything here really. Food was average, beer choice was not exciting, it was cramped and the service was a little hit and miss.

I was excited to learn that they had gluten free options here but within a few moments of entering the restaurant it became apparent that no one knew what they were doing. I ask for the drinks menu and realise that this is separate to the wine menu (beer and wine separate? odd!) one of the chairs literally fell apart as we moved it-​leading to the obvious getting legless jokes. The waitress explained we have a rogue chair Next the food-​honestly it aint good. Overcooked gluten free options taste like cardboard and i had to drink lots of water-​while my friends complained theirs was too doughy. they only had one wine option by glass which i don’t like so ended up drinking water. there was a sense of confusion and disorganisation and its a tad dark. Wouldn’t go back.

If you like your pizza as thick as cake, go here! awful.

Words cannot describe my disappointment. After spending significant time in Marseille, i was excited by the name of the restaurant and hoping to find an authentic marseillaise experience in Bristol. To be blunt, i would’ve had a more authentic experience at Pizza Hut. The Pizzas are so bad it’s OFFENSIVE.
So what does this place get wrong? Pizzas from Marseille are pretty much the same as what you’d find in Naples.
1) Firstly, they DO NOT use thick, stodgy american-​style bases, that are cooked from frozen. If you’re not prepared to make a pizza base freshly, then you shouldn’t be in business.
2) Pizzas in Marseille are cooked in traditional wood-​fired ovens; that is to say cooked at over 400ºC for around 1.5 minutes. Not left in an oven for over 15, and then reheated because you messed up our order (main courses arriving at different times).
3) They have a rich, tasteful tomato sauce; the sauce here was thin and tasteless.
4) Wine in Provence, does not generally come from the South West of France!!! It’s simply another rip-​off.
To summarise, there is nothing «provencale» about these pizzas, or any of the food served here. It’s a disgrace that they are using the name of Provence and Marseille to serve what is basically frozen crap, with lame toppings at inflated prices. It’s expensive, tacky, and the food is awful.
My recommendation: Avoid at all costs, especially if you’re French!

I have to say I’m not an overly massive fan of this place; the restaurant itself could do with a bit of a revamp, but then it is meant to be a traditional authentic pizza place — so the old fashioned feel isn’t too out of place — but still, it’s pretty dingy and there’s something missing from the ambience.
On to the food: this place specializes in pizzas so you would expect them to be great, but in my opinion they are a bit of a let down. When I last visited I ordered a classic ham and pineapple pizza, but the underneath was a bit soggy and the experience was a bit of a let down. However, it could be the case that this was a bit of a one off, because I have one friend who raves about the place — but I’d say if you’re going to give it a go then just don’t go with too high expectations and you might be pleased!

This place ain’t up to much in my mind. In fact (and it pains me to write this) I would actually recommend going to Pizza Express instead. For practically the same price and probably cheaper you can get better food and service in your run of the mill high street pizza restaurant.
I had garlic bread with my meal and it was one of those frozen garlic bread french sticks you can get from the supermarket (I know this place is supposed to be French, but surely they can do better than that). The toppings on my pizza were thinly spread and the base was too thick and doughy. I basically didn’t enjoy it at all.

I went on a date here, and I wasn’t overly impressed (with the food, not the date!). I expected delicious Italian/​french cuisine, bursting with garlic and oniony flavours, lots of bread and oil… instead, the food was a little bland.
My starter, the Fish Soup was actually pretty good, I’d definitely order that again, but when the pizza arrived, it was pretty dry, and lacking in flavour. The salad also, was simply a plate of cut up iceberg lettuce, some tomatos and tasteless black olives. I couldn’t taste any dressing either.
Also, the beer wasn’t on that night, so I went for a Thatchers Cider bottle, but was warned it was a big drink (it was less than a pint!). I did really need that much liquid though, it was absolutely boiling and very crowded in the restaurant! I really wasn’t very impressed.

First and foremost its all about the huge pizza. Even a regular is huge, a generous meal for two people to share. As already said, it’s not in fact Italian but French. This means as well as pizza they’ve got traditional French dishes like Coq-​au-​vin. It is focused on the pizza here, so perhaps don’t come if you’re looking for the conventional French restaurant menu. This French with an Italian twist, or maybe the other way round.
The restaurant is cosy and warm, a good place to go with a big group and monopolise the back area. With that said, you see plenty of couples sharing pizzas. The waiters are friendly, on the ball and well preped on the the menu — make sure you take their advice when they tell you how many people it will take to finish the pizza
Although it is all about the pizza they haven’t neglected the other dishes. In particular If you can manage it (though this may well mean leaving a few slices of pizza), leave room for the deserts, the Banoffie Pie is especially morish. Pizza Provencale provides a high standard Italian-​French fusion with generously size pizzas in an attractive setting.

This may appear to be an Italian eatery but the French tricolore flying outside gives a clue as to this restaurant’s roots. It actually specialises in French fare but from the south-​east region of the country, which is of course highly influenced by the creations of their near neighbours.
The interior is pleasingly simple, with a taverna style which incorporates wooden benches and tables and a relaxed, open layout. I normally opt for the soup as a starter. This may seem like a boring choice — until you see the size of the pizzas! You really need to save a lot of room to put one of these away, and the delicious thin bases and liberal use of French cheeses mean that once you’ve started, stopping simply isn’t an option.
If you want to save yourself from having an accident, the 12″ may be the sensible choice, though the 16″ is great for sharing, which in turn is a great way of summarising this friendly little establishment.

Pizza Provencale is a reasonably priced Italian restaurant that offers a certain charm that chains like Pizza Express cannot provide. The homely interior with rustic furnishings is only slightly let down by the mediocre pizzas. The word that my dining friends and I agreed on to describe them is ‘stodgy’. They offer none of the thin base, wood-​fired oven trills and frills of an authentic Roman Pizza but they will fill you up. You probably won’t care as you’ll be so relaxed by the atmosphere. So who is it for? As a first date venue the informal unpretentious atmosphere is suitably unintimidating. For your friends Heston Blumental and Gordon Ramsey I would suggest taking them somewhere else.