Suggestions for Marseille

Regional Dining Discussions France
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Any suggestions for Marseille for dinner in june Here are some that have come across my radar
Sepia
Ideal
Chez Yassine
entre terre et mer

looking for modern french, fruits de mer, bouillabaisse and separate from dinner - great patisseries

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Did you find any of these things would love to hear about them going this summer!

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Here’s the report I posted last year I also had icecream at i think pink elephant - was fine but nothing super special. Found pretty good patisserie in street near museum with big fountains in front, one of few in area open on Sun. Here are some other that a local guide recommended. We did an amazing walking tour with him Marafiki le saf saf calambo pere et fils (fish not open sun). Some of the most fun and best snacks we had were from the market on Sun morning on quai at vieux port. definitely recommend that.
The first night I just got some take out Couscous royale. There is a vibrant north african frit/veg/meat market about 10mins walk from the old port. I tried 3 different kinds of pita/naan like bread - with and without yeast. All were excellent. Cous cous came from Le Saf Saf - a tunisian restaurant. Simple place, small, large portions, authentic dishes. Cous cous itself was good and sauce flavorful. merguez were nice and spicy, chicken perhaps a tad tough but overall a good experience. The market is definitely worth a walk through.
Next night we had booked at REGAIN - on a street that seems it still has upward potential, shall we say. Restaurant has nice but simple interior courtyard. The menu is ‘surpise du chef’ but accommodated my veg/pescatarian partner. Interesting salad with tomatoes, pickled radish, to start., followed by grilled octopus, swordfish, nice fruit dessert. Some of the flavors and combination were a little ‘out there’ but overall the experience was fun and very reasonably priced.
COQUILLE near the Vieux Port - classic seafood restaurant. Excellent oysters, mussels, swordfish with very nice aubergine and diced tomatto/zucchini. Agreable house rosé. Definitely need to book at weekends. We tried to go for lunch on Sun without a booking and it was no go.

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Bookmarked all of these

What is “Marafiki le saf saf calambo pere et fils” I googled this but nothing came up

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Those are 3 separate restaurant names. marafiki and le saf saf are both north african restaurants in the area around the market. I googled le saf saf marseille and it came right up. Calambo pere et fils is a fish restaurant https://www.maisoncalambo.fr/. Not sure why your search wasnt successful

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I searched it as one whole restaurant lol

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Marseille is changing, partly for the better, partly not. It is becoming very hyped as a foodie city day by day. Very worth visiting, but on the way to be spoiled, pretty much the way Nice was. The question is: is it possible to spoil a city that is so large, so complex, so bustling, with such a long and rich history, and with such a strong (sometimes rough) personality? I doubt it.

Great pùtisserie in Marseille = Bricoleurs de Douceurs by Clément Higgins. Tasty, innovative.

No experience of the other mentioned places, but Chez Yassine is the classic Tunisian place. For couscous lovers, they make it only once or twice a week, around weekends. Quite inexpensive, and most of the classics are well prepared, in a very rootsy, gutsy way. The big specialty is lablabi, a chickpea soup with various garnishings, can’t say it’s my favorite. The briks (Ă  l’Ɠuf, au thon, etc.) are perfect. The fricassĂ© (Tunisian sandwich in a fried bread) is supposed to be the best after the one made by Maison Journo. House made lemonade is good.

Maison Journo is a tiny pastry and sandwich shop nestled between the North African area (where Yassine is) and Le Vieux Port. It is delightful and always packed. The fricassé is the best in town, so is the house-made lemonade, and the salads are not bad either. Last week when I was in Marseille it was closed for Pessah, so it must have reopened now.

Fruits de mer are not a local staple (what I mean by that is that if you’re after platters of raw shellfish and oysters savoured while wiggling your toes in the Mediterranean, this is not the place, rather go to the coast of Camargue, or Bouzigues and l’étang de Thau, a 2-hour drive West). However Marseille has a reputation for great fish dishes. So, regarding bouillabaisse:

  • If taste, freshness and great cooking are important to you, go to Chez Michel. My favorite.

  • There’s also Chez Fonfon (fantastic setting) but last time I was there, we waited a very long time for our dishes. The bourride is out of this world.

  • Often overlooked because it’s at a certain distance of the city, but the place and the setting, right in the gorgeous calanque scenery, are heavenly. Le Grand Bar des Goudes is a classic for bouillabaisse and fish dishes, with a lovely view over the sea and a cute tiny harbor. The bouillabaisse is of a very different type than the one at Chez Michel, and very generously served. The broth is distinctly coarser than at Chez Michel (where it is a concentrated ambrosia of taste, spiciness and flavor), but everything is tasty and fresh. They also serve grilled fish, shellfish, oysters, fried cuttlefish, and aside from a beef tartare and a veal chop, they serve nothing but fish and seafood.

  • One important thing about Marseille; Much of the Italian food that ever entered France did it through Marseille, and particularly pizza. Italian, mostly Sicilian, immigrants to the city brought their own pizza style, which was soon transformed and adapted into a Marseille pizza style which is very iconic and unique. The crust is extremely thin and crispy, and the garnish has a very intense taste and goes to the edge of the crust (no puffy edge or very little of it). It is my absolute favorite pizza style in the world. It comes into only two flavors: anchovies and tomato sauce, or cheese. You’ll get the best example of it at Chez Etienne, in the Panier neighborhood (it used to be no reservations, now you can book).

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Great recs appreciate it! I will check out bricoleurs.

I had my eye on le grand bar de Goudes glad to hear it was worth the trek. Do you know if reservations are required?

I also heard that you have to call ahead to order boulaibaise is that true at goudes or Michel?

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Le Grand Bar des Goudes: reservation mandatory. It’s a good 10 miles away from central Marseille and you don’t want to drop by and find there’s not one table left, especially at night or when the mistral wind is blowing.
Yes of course you call ahead for the bouillabaisse — do mention it when you reserve. Thus they can get the right fish ready, rub them in a saffron marinade before they bring them to your table for oohs and aahs (before dropping them into the soup), and prepare enough of that soup for everyone.

Reservations required Chez Michel also, but since bouillabaisse is pretty much the only dish they serve (aside from bourride, which they don’t have everyday because it requires turbot or monkfish), you don’t need to mention it when booking your table.

One very nice thing about Chez Michel is the gigantic amount of sauces (rouille and aioli) they put on your table to season your bouillabaisse. They are delicious and you can literally pig out on them. Le Grand Bar des Goudes gives you a smaller amount but you can ask for seconds.

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Awesome thank you for all this information!