charcuterie may not be the only gage of how French a restaurant is, but sampling its signature fare is without a doubt one of the most magnifique ways to start a meal.

Chef Carl Roder has replaced Chef Jannick Bouchard (Les Remparts), delivering a menu of items, albeit heavy on meats that are outstanding, complex and intensely flavourful. As are his braised Lamb shank, sautéed with wild mushrooms and rosemary, and the rack of pork, roasted to perfection and served high style with cabbage salad with apple slivers. The rest of the dining room sports a thick French accent, too - from the modern Proven decor in the lux setting within the Hotel Place d'Armes, to the dense cocktail list at the attached bar (the Dragon Cider Martini is alone worth the trip) - stages Aix a fine dining contender.

Even if it didn't boast a cosmopolitan interior of on exposed brick, bamboo screens, puffy banquettes, and a handsome, diverse clientele, and attentive service - Aix would be worth it for such culinary lovelies as the terrine of lamb confit with a tiny beetroot salad, and (the only seafood app) a seafood platter for either one or two.

In fact, Chef Roder's plates just get better and better, whether it in the lux space of Aix, or his own beloved Les Remparts. With great attention to ingredients and detail, Roder offers a Provence-focused menu of affordable first courses that includes a Steak Tartare, Pommes Frites and earthy oyster mushrooms, and a cream of fennel soup with grilled shrimp, spinach, and fig- and anise-flecked croutons. Entrées are just as ambrosial: local Salmon, Mushrooms and Fresh Peas and roasted potatoes. Even the bar snacks are above par: Roder’s rosemary-scented Goat Cheese Soufflés, quite simply, required eating.