Restaurant Le Petit Prince
15 rue Frédéric Mistral
06530 Cabris France
Open 12h – 14h30 and 19h15 – 22h
Closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, except in July and August where it is closed only on Wednesday.
The entrance (photo taken after the dinner)
The garden area
Overview
Back to the beautiful perched (550 metres high) village of Cabris! This time we went to the restaurant Le Petit Prince named after the book of the same name. Countess Marie de Saint Exupéry who lived in the village from 1934 to 1971 gave the permission for the restaurant to carry the name of her son Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s famous book. The interior dining area with stone wall and exposed beams is decorated with the “Petit Prince” character. We ate in the front garden since it was a nice warm evening.
We ordered the 4 course menu at 32 euros since it offered a good value for money and a decent choice of meals. As starters you can choose between Foie gras et magret fumé façon club, compotée d’oignons, pointes d’asperges et pommes vertes (foie gras with onion chutney, asparagus et green apples) or Tartare de saumon frais sur lit de salade, chiffonnade de saumon fumé, sauce au tarama (fresh salmon and smoked salmon with salad) or Eventail de fruits et légumes tout autour de l’assiette, buisson de salade (artichauts, avocats, tomates, mangue, melon et pamplemousse) which is a plate of vegetables and fruits (artichoke, avocado, mango, grapefruit, melon, tomato).
For the main courses, you have the choice between Gambas grillés, sauce vierge et risotto aux trois poivrons (shrimps with virgin sauce and risotto) or Saint-Pierre, mangue et marinade passion (John Dory fish with mango and passion fruit) or magret de canard poêlé aux pêches, sauce poivrade (duck breast with pears and pepper sauce) or pavé de selle d’agneau persillé sur poêlée de légumes grillés, jus au thym frais (lamb with grilled vegetables, fresh thyme sauce). Then you get the cheese course followed by the desserts, giving you the choice between Palet sablé caramel au beurre salé or coeur fondant au chocolat or douceur de pêches pochées maison et crème brulée pistache or nos glaces et sorbets. We also ordered a bottle of mineral water Badoit (4.40 euros) and a carafe of 50cl of red wine (4 euros) which was good.
A cat guest
Coming to say Hello
Resting... He eventually left when he saw the waitress
While we were waiting for our meal, we found we had some furry company. A neighbouring cat – who, from the look of the size of his belly, enjoyed considerable success in sharing the meals of many patrons – appeared. He took his time about making his presence known, exploring some nearby tables. But he disappeared rather quickly at the reappearance of the waitress. Clearly not a popular guest with everyone!
Complementary tapenade (olives paté)
Before our starters arrived, we were given a plate of tapenade and crostini. As in any decent restaurant, this sort of appetizer was complementary. The crostini were nicely crispy and just flavoured with olive oil – unlike the greasy hard fried bread concoction I had at Terroirs in London (and they had the nerve to charge for it, even for the bread, free here). The olive tapenade was excellent – neither too salty nor swimming in olive oil. A most enjoyable beginning to the meal.
The starters
Eventail de fruits et légumes
The starter was enormous It was a range of fruits and vegetables, nicely presented around a small bit of salad with asparagus. On my plate was artichoke, tomato, avocado, melon, mango, apple, and grapefruit. All were perfectly ripe. It was a nice balance between sweet and savoury. Definitely recommended.
Foie gras et magret fumé façon club
It was a delicious sandwich of smoked duck and foie gras
Close-up
The foie gras et magret fumé façon club was absolutely yummy 
Not only it was fun to eat foie gras with a layer of smoked ham in a sandwich, it was also excellent with the crispy bread. With the slices of green apples and the asparagus heads, it was quite an original and interesting meal.
Saint Pierre, mangue et marinade passion
The Saint Pierre fish (John Dory) was also nicely done. It came with a sort of mango sauce, which had me a little worried from the description, but actually was pretty good. John Dory is an underrated fish, that has firm and flavoursome fillets. It was served with some nicely cooked vegetables, including broccoli and saparagus. A perfect accompaniment, and overall a not-too-heavy meal.
Pavé de selle d'agneau
Close-up
The lamb was very good, perfectly cooked. It was easy to cut and the taste was excellent, almost smooth with a thyme flavour given by the sauce. I forgot how the tomatoes actually taste and smell like tomatoes here,with that fruity flavour. What a shock compared to what we usually get in London, but then the weather isn’t exactly the same 😉
Fromages sur lit de salade
The two desserts
Douceur de pêches pochées maison et crème brulée pistache
After the cheeses, very good by the way, the douceur de pêches pochées was very good – it was still quite firm, though not quite crunchy and still had some tang to the flavour. The top part was a sort of creme brulee with pistachio which completmented the fruit nicely. Not being too much into sweet things, I found this dessert to be excellent.
Coeur fondant au chocolat
The chocolate fondant was quite good. It was perfectly cooked with a firm outside and the expected soft flowing centre. It was just a little too sweet for my taste (though I’ve encountered many sweeter). But overall still good, and the sweetness would suit the taste of many people. It was served with vanilla icecream, which was also quite good. Bellevue Rendez-vous still does it better though.
Cost and conclusion: it was 72.40 euros. Overall it was a very pleasant meal, with good quality food and friendly service. The starters in particular were very good, but overall it was good also. I would not hesitate to return, and to take the same meals (unless tempted by something else on the menu). Highly recommended!
