Moulin de la Camandoule

Restaurant only. The setting and scenery are lovely, and the service was very kind. For €50 you get a simple, generous meal: a selection of mostly green starters, then grilled fish and meat with ratatouille and similar sides, followed by dessert and fruit. It’s good, plentiful food, though it isn’t haute cuisine and doesn’t pretend to be. A nice choice for a family outing, with wine and a relaxed meal. Recommended!

The people here have a warmth and good humour that made the burdens of life in 2025 fall away for a while. The family and staff made us feel optimistic about the future, and their hospitality made the stay feel like a moment in a friendlier, almost perfect world. Moulin de Camandoule is an ancient, beautiful olive oil mill, originally fed by a Roman aqueduct. Its surroundings feel enchanting and largely unchanged for hundreds of years, while the hotel fits in perfectly without losing any amenities, including a large swimming pool. The bed was very good, with beautiful linen and the best pillow I had in two weeks travelling around France. The food was distinctive, with what felt to me like a lost period of French cooking, also influenced by Italian talent. The wine list is well chosen and very good value. As a wine lover, I'd been shocked by the price of a good bottle in many restaurants, but here there are even some 50cl options. On two nights we had two excellent wines, a red Sancerre and a Beaujolais Cru. If you want to experience the real Provence, the bucolic, unpretentious place so loved by artists, with the light that mesmerised Van Gogh, treat yourself to a restful stay at Le Moulin. While there, walk around nearby Seillans and see the old doors on buildings that have stood the test of time.

The setting is lovely and the service was great, which makes the disappointing food all the more of a shame. For €80, the meal felt far too simple and uninspired, with no refinement. The set menu was a basket of vegetables to start, lamb shank with potatoes, then cut fruit and tiramisu. Many dishes were passed around for everyone to share, giving it a home-style feel, but the food was stodgy, including the potato cake. The frozen strawberry margarita sounded promising, but arrived in a huge tumbler with a straw and wasn't frozen at all. A far cry from what this place used to be, and not special at all.

Update 2025 The old mill is back. Hearing it had become an Italian restaurant first made me think, **Allarme Rosso**, but the outstanding hospitality soon won me over. We had a proper Italian-style meal for a very fair 50 Euros: generous antipasti, good pasta, then a main that was tasty but quite French in style and very large at that point in the meal. I'd have preferred something closer to Italian style. Dessert was a tasty double serving. The French wine paired well and was very good. I'll gladly return. Past experience: The food was great, the service awesome, and prices very reasonable. I like eating here whenever I'm in the area, at least twice a year.