This is the best restaurant in Marseille. In French, just to make the point clear: Les Panisses est le meilleur restaurant à Marseille. I'm serious. If you go anywhere else, you'll regret it.
My husband and I went on our honeymoon to France in September and spent 8 days in Marseille. This restaurant was easily one of the best parts of the trip. We came here three or four nights- it would've been more if they were open every night- and it was better each time than the time before.
As Americans, one of whom spoke fairly good French and the other of whom knew some vocabulary but wasn't super comfortable speaking, this was a good place to go. We found that at restaurants where they didn't have an English menu for tourists, they would go through the menu and explain to you what each dish was. This restaurant did the latter- the man who I assume was the maître d' came over to our table and graciously explained every dish to us in great detail. He also suggested that we try les panisses- the namesake of the restaurant, small triangles of lightly fried chickpea flour, great with paprika- and brought us over a plate with our apéritifs (the best champagne that either of us had on the trip, which is really saying something). They were good, my husband was crazy about them, and I was happy to get to try the dish that the restaurant was named after. We ordered them every night after that.
Our dinners were delicious and creative every night. I even ordered the same dish two nights in a row and it was prepared differently to keep things interesting. I had fish every night because after all, we were on the Mediterranean; and my husband had different cuts of steak every night. We were both so consistently impressed- we got into the habit of using bread to soak up every last drop of the delicious sauces every night. The desserts were also creative and delicious, with different options every night.
On our last night in Marseille, we were so nervous that Les Panisses was going to be closed, as it had been the three previous nights (and we had been forced to have terrible dinners elsewhere, thus making this one night even more important!). Thank god, it was open! We had a great dinner and spoke to the staff that we had come to know well over the course of the week- they are all lovely, young Marseillais that we were so happy to get to know. Before we left that night, one waiter gave us each a shot of the most delicious homemade limoncello as a farewell, and we insisted (and the owner of the restaurant agreed) that he drink with us. It was just the best and is one of my fondest memories of our time in Marseille.
You just have to go. Trust me on this one. We tried a bunch of places in Marseille, and this is the only one that is worth going to, honestly. The food, the service, and the ambiance are all equal to restaurants in Paris. If you don't speak much French, don't be afraid- go into it with an open mind, display interest in trying new foods and getting to know the people there, and they will welcome you with open arms (even more so if you go back every night!).
Oh, on a practical note: Dress on the nicer end of casual. You don't need a reservation, they have more than enough tables, and if you get there closer to American dinner time, you might be the only ones there. And for two people getting two drinks, an entree (which they call "le plat principal" there- an entrée is actually an appetizer!), and a dessert each, plus tip (which isn't required in Europe unless the serve is exceptional... and it was), it was about 120 euros, so about the same cost as in Paris. read more