Pollen

Pollen opened in 2021 as a 26-cover storefront restaurant in central Avignon, a three-minute walk from the Place des Corps-Saints. Chef-owner Mathilde Pollicina — Corsican-born, trained at L'Assiette Champenoise and Régis Marcon — and her partner, sommelier Julien Chevalier, built the restaurant around a single-tasting format at prices substantially below the city's Michelin norm. The Michelin Guide awarded Pollen a star in the 2023 edition, which the restaurant has retained through 2026.

The cooking is modern bistronomy with a specific Corsican-Provençal axis: a brocciu-cheese ravioli with wild garlic, a pork secreto from a Perpignan producer with chestnut purée, a poulet with citrus and Herbes de Provence, and a closing chestnut ice cream with Corsican honey. The format is a short à la carte at lunch and a single four- or six-course tasting at dinner.

The dining room is spare — 26 covers, polished concrete floor, white walls, an open kitchen visible from every seat. Service is led by Chevalier and is relaxed without being casual; the pace is unhurried, the explanations considered. The wine list is short (120 labels) but carefully curated around natural Provençal and Corsican producers.

Lunch à la carte is €35 for two courses or €45 for three. Dinner tasting is €75 for four courses or €110 for six, with pairings at +€55. The reservations open on the first of the month for the following two months and are typically sold out within two weeks.

Pollen is the Avignon first-date restaurant. The 26-cover room, the open kitchen, the €75 dinner tasting that is still a Michelin-starred evening, the chef-owned register — every element is calibrated for a conversation-first dinner without the formality of La Mirande or Sevin. It is also the best-value Michelin-starred dinner in Provence, which matters when the second date is the actual conversation and the first is just about not being forgotten.