La Note offers touch of South of France ~ January 9, 1998
Sunlight streams through the windows onto
our table. We sip from large bowls of cafe cremes and take bites from
our omelette au fromage. We notice the lavender. A french tune plays
in the background. South of France, you say. No, Shattuck Avenue in
Berkeley. Once you step into La Note, the new Provencal restaurant in
Berkeley, you are whisked into the atmosphere of a French cafe.... here
and there you notice the touches that set the French mood - the pretty
Provencal pillows, the bouquet of lavender, bold postcards of France.
Even the bathroom, which has a window facing a brick wall, has been
painted with the rooftops of a hilltop town invoking the countryside
behind Nice and Cannes. The restaurant makes a fine setting for whiling
away a Sunday brunch. The French bistro food provides a glimpse of Provencal
cooking that is as warm and bright as Van Gogh’s sunflowers.