aixcentric

With petits-enfants to cater for, I was so pleased to visit the family-friendly Italian Trattoria which replaced Quick in Aix centre-ville. I just remember searching for this very type of place with two increasingly-hungry little girls – we ended up with a ‘Pizza Capri’ while sitting on a bench. Not that that’s a bad thing with so much to see in the Cours Mirabeau, pigeons notwithstanding, but sometimes you want a bit more!

The Italian Trattoria offers pasta bambini, pizza bambini (both 4€90), high chairs and, mamma mia, colouring.

It’s pretty good for adults too who can enjoy the aperitivo bar while perusing the menu.  Then the drill is: place your order at the till, pay, wait at your table with your electronic buzzer, then collect at the kitchen counter.  So it’s still fast food but with a much more stylish twist.

You can sit on the terrace, or inside, or in the courtyard garden at the back. c200 seats.

Then add to your dish at the dispensers…

My surprise when I googled it was this place is actually a franchise, which I felt was disappointing as I had thought it an Aix-special.

But it’s the way of the world to have restaurant roll-out when the owners have found a good formula and I guess it’s good to know if you find youself somewhere unfamiliar.

The family come from Calabria – a village called Gizzeria to be precise.  Two brothers are responsible for the recipes (Renato) and design (Gio). They claim to only use Italian products.

Locally there are ITs in Avignon, Marseille and Monaco, also quite a few round Paris.

So, not a Provencal experience at all, but a really good solution for a hungry family.  It’s open daily, 11-22hrs.