"If you've been to France, chances are you haven't been here, France's second-largest city, the…read moreoldest city in France. It sits right by the Mediterranean. The food is famously good. Yet it's a victim of bad reputation, bad history. Marseille--as it turns out, exactly the kind of place I like." In Marseille we followed in the footsteps of the incomparable Anthony Bourdain. We hit up this bar/bistro we saw on his Marseille episodes of 'Parts Unknown' for a quick bite. The vibes in the place were all around very cool and so were the guys running the joint, who spoke pretty good English. It was laid back and had killer views of the old port. It has a huge open front allowing for a nice flow of air. It's has a darker feel to it. It had vintage touches and was kinda imstagrammable. It was hip without wanting to be. I definitely pictured Anthony sitting in the corner with some pastis or something. We just relaxed with some espresso, although some of their crafted cocktails were calling my name. It was easy too early (for me, not for anyone else in town). We did indulge in some sumac hummus, which was topped with perfectly roasted eggplant, an flavorful lemony tahini drizzle, and tart pomegranate seeds. It was a gorgeous color, super creamy and served with baguette, which is new to me. A fabulous dish. Some of the best hummus I've ever tasted in fact! It left me wanting to dive into other plates, but we were so full from snacking around the city and they wouldn't do anything to-go. (I asked.) Other menu items include traditional as well as a fusion of Mediterranean and Moroccan dishes. Smaller plates for sharing mostly. Definitely a place worth checking out. I'm really glad we did! Even just for a drink. I can imagine it gets pretty interesting at night. Hours are funny. We tried to head here the night of The World Cup and they were closed. Perhaps call first if you're going out of your way. Parking is available on their street. It may take a circle or two to find a spot.

You have to hike a bit - and uphill! - to reach CdL'Abbaye, but every step is worth it. I happened…read moreupon it the night before England and Russia went at it/each other in the EUFA 2016 game in Marseille, and it was a nice getaway spot perched high above above the old port and the soccer crowd, who were already starting to show signs of rowdiness. Not here, though, with fine western and southern views over the old port, forts, and beyond, and a perfect sunset to keep everyone pleasantly relaxed. There's a good selection of beers, and the barkeep was friendly and even comped me a drink ... I think. I didn't try anything to eat; I don't believe they were even serving food at the time. Crowd is much more mellow than you'll find down below: families w/ kids, couples, friends, and everyone enjoying the view most couthly. Another great thing: almost atop a hill, it's a nice downhill stumble when it comes time to head back to your hotel ... or someone else's. NB: Forget trying to cut thru the neighboring Radisson Hotel - which is a nice hotel with a comfortable rooftop view bar of its own, BTW - because there's no direct connection to CdL'A. Not that the Radisson has blocked anything off to keep the trade to itself; the two buildings and the lots they sit on just don't "communicate," as hoteliers say. The stairs aren't that bad and when you get to the top, the view, the crowd, and the drinks make it all worth your while. You'll pass by La Passarelle, an excellent and acclaimed French country/seafood restaurant on your way up, and just might decide to dine in its delightful garden on the way down.

This night our search along the Old Port was for mussels. Le Bocal advertised several flavors at…read morereasonable prices on their blackboards, so we stopped. We started with the salade croustillions de chevre to share. I had the moules curry avec frites. We split the profiteroles for dessert. We drank a pitcher of the house white. The salad was my favorite - fresh greens with goat cheese in flaky pastry. The mussels and profiteroles were good, but nothing special. The server was very friendly, working hard to be charming and hospitable in English, busily attending all the patrons with ease.

I'm leaning more towards a 2-star rating, but I'm feeling generous today, I guess. We were wanting…read moreMussels and Yelp led us to Le Bocal. Look, the food is 4-5 star. It was very good. We really enjoyed the Mussels - they were big, plentiful and very well made. The rest of the night was what really put a negative spin on things. We get our food just fine. We eat the food just fine. We decline dessert. We ask for the bill. Then we wait. For about twenty minutes we see no employee. We figure they are busy and hell, what do we care? We're on vacation. But another fifteen minutes go by and I finally flag down a table busser. I ask him if he can get our bill. He explains that you can only pay inside. Umm, okay, why weren't we told that? Now, keep in mind I have nothing to show the person you pay with. The man standing behind the register inside the restaurant asks for my bill. I explain we never got one. I tell him what we ordered, even the wine. He gets pretty upset. Yells out to our server and he asks her where our ticket is. She looks confused and says she doesn't know, she gave it to another employee. He barks at her and she gets mad, replies and walks away to find that other employee. That employee says she doesn't know where it is, and walks away. Keep in mind I'm standing there watching all this, feeling like an idiot because all I want to do is pay and these people are fighting all around me. The first server comes back when the owner/manager/guy behind the register yells at her. She gets mad, goes into the kitchen, finds the ticket, comes back and slams it on the table next to him. Meanwhile, I'm standing there. He then looks at me, barks out a figure (I believe it was about 65 Euros). I hand him my credit card. He shakes his head and says "No cards. Not here." This is when I get mad. You mean to tell me that no cards are taken at an establishment where the bills must run over 30 Euros, even for a single diner? Hell, the table next to us clearly had at least a couple hundred Euros for a bill; are you going to tell them no card? Luckily we had cash on us, but this was really weird. The way they acted, the way they fought and then to drop the "no cards" on us at the last second? No signs anywhere indicating this, no mention when ordering that cash is the only accepted form of payment. For the food I would suggest this place. But that's it. I can't support the behavior of the guy manning the register. If he owns or manages the place then I hope he takes some training on how to speak to his staff. And damn, put up a sign that says cash only and you have to pay inside. It'll save everyone a headache.

Horrible first time.. dirty place.. smokers allowed in interior terrasse.. broken chairs .. no…read moreservice and when at last there was it was very unfriendly and then of course they brought me black tea instead of fruit rouges and my friend had to go ask for it .. anyways good bye Danaides !!!

What a charming find, thank you beautiful waiter Danny! The first charming discovery up the road…read morewas the beautiful Basilica of the Sacred Heart where I found some down time to meditate and appreciate their unique stained glass; then off for a tipple and bite. The Rue du Prado isn't exactly Chicago's Miracle Mile or even the Elysee of Paris, but it's still quite clean, easy to traverse as one of Marseille's major thoroughfares and chock full of charming restaurants, bistros, restobars and shopping. The street is 3 lanes in each direction but on each side of the street between the first and 2/3 lanes is a promenade where outdoor seating is provided for restaurants that are just open across the first street (which appears to get ever so tangled up in delivery, taxi and lost tourist services but also just as quickly untangles and speeds along). Some of the outdoor dining is as al fresco as it gets, which may include a little car exhaust in your meal; many of the restaurants, however, have divided up their territory with quaint plastic tents that provide either heating or air conditioning, as the weather may be, and also respite from both rain and pollution. I was drawn to Le Patio because of their choices of unique yummy looking pizzas - and pizza is big in southern France with their Italian cousins just over the border and just as many similar toppings (cheese, tomatoes, olives, what more do you need?). I opted for a small personal pie (that was still so abundant I couldn't finish it) that had a beautiful almost burnt crunchy crust, some succulent French sausage, light Emmenteler cheese and my personal favorite if fresh (and they were); anchovies! Little briny beauties of the Mediterranean made this an oh la la sensation with every bite. With a casual pitcher of the ubiquitous rose wine from the Bandol region of the south of France, I was in heaven - and the people watching was just as delicious!

Local restaurant off the main strip. We had the lamb and duck and they were great. Great and…read morefriendly waitress as well.

Great find. This place is small and under staffed. We saw one person all night. He was at the front…read moredesk and waited and bussed tables. So how a 5 for service? He never stopped moving. That said get there early for the best. Food was amazing and unique. They started with a tapenade and baguette followed by a cold carrot soup, both compliments of the chef. If you want Bouillabaisse, it must be ordered at least 24 Hr in advance. We both enjoyed their seafood appetizers and main courses and loved them.

Wow. Tucked in a quiet street away from the Vieux Port tourist bustle, this little gem is…read moreinconspicuous but certainly makes a grand statement with food. Options for à la carte, 3-course set, or chef's tasting menu (4 courses at €50). We were a table of 3 and chose the tasting menu. The complimentary amuse-bouche was a creamy asparagus soup. A little too rich in the cream but still bright flavors coming through. Foie ravioli: super savory and not as heavy as it sounds. Mmmmmmmm Langoustines with stuffed squash blossom and crusted polenta: deliciousness. The langoustines were sweet and fresh. The squash blossom was very satisfying in itself. All the elements complimented each other very well. Beef medallions with asparagus, quail egg, fried sweet potatoes and an explosive fried scallion cheeseball. Simple but still lots going on. And still delicious. Dessert: I had a rhubarb crusty whippy tart number which was good, although lot of tartness and sour so might not be for everyone. I liked more my friend's panna cotta. Creamy and not too sweet. AND the kitchen was able to make substitutes and accommodations for my Friend who is Celiac. Service was impeccable. If you have only one meal in Marseille, do it at this bangin resto.

I read the reviews and I am amazed how most of them are positive!…read more Peak of the season, July 16th, 2026, when most of restaurants in Sanary require a reservation, L'En K is pretty empty at 8:30pm. We don't want to walk around an hour, then after looking at the menu (not so convince for me) we sat down on the terrace in the street. It took 15min for our server to bring two carafes of water (It's canicule...), servers wearing very casual cloths, short and sneakers, yes it's hot, but really.... superb service!? Decent olive tapenade and a few croutons from a bag. Two guests ordered the menu with foie gras in first course. What a shame to call this French gastronomie; the foie gras is tastless, no a little bit of fleur-de-sel won't make it up, served on an industrial "pain d'épice" slice (gingerbread) from the bag, yes, the one I hated in my childhood called "Prosper"!!! OMG, are you calling this food?? not even toasted and I don't talk about the "mix green" from a bag, pieces of romaine stem, trévisse white leave not these nice mesclun you can find on Sanary market, served with a wedge of tasteless tomato, and,..... a slice of CUCUMBER!!! Look at the photos, we are back to the 80's, when industrial companies started with salad bags I had the ribeye, cooked medium rare, more rare than medium, no salt or pepper before being seared, porcini sauce from a bag, nothing is homemade there. A bunch of veggies soaking on a little bit of residual water...probably frozen vegetables, no olive oil...etc etc. Profiterole not homemade, same as Chantilly, chocolate lava cake, etc, etc... Don't waste your time and money and don't make these restaurants thinking that they are good, they are far from average and again this is a real shame from French food culture!!

Delicious food. Quaint location. The service was superb. I had the steak. My wife had the risotto…read morewith truffles. Both were flavorful and filling.

Stumbled across this restaurant while exploring Marseille. They're only open a couple hours for…read morelunch and a couple hours for dinner. We got the fish of the day, and it was absolutely delicious, the fish was soft inside and flaky outside. Everything else compliments it so well. From the sweet roasted tomatoes to the salty coastal veggie, everything felt in place and thought out.

9/12/15: One of the most beautiful restaurants we had the pleasure of eating at in France! The…read moreentire eating area is outside in their very eclectic garden, surrounded by lots of greenery, flowers, and custom modern art made to blend into the very picturesque surroundings. The waiter was extremely nice and courteous with us, despite our not being able to speak a lick of French. The restaurant was busy, but he took his time explaining every single item to us in English. We really appreciated that. You might have noticed now that many of the popular and best restaurants in France require reservations, even if not that fancy. We in fact were turned away at many restaurants previous to this one, and just happened by, and were extremely grateful they were able to seat us. 1. Cafe (coffee) 2 EUR 2. San Pellegrino 5 EUR 3. Beignets de legumes 14 EUR: Not what we typically call "beignets" in America--I think in this case they are referring to the deep fried clumps of vegetables. Lots of different kinds of veggies too--I think you can think of this as French tempura. To be honest, I forgot all the different kinds they had in there, but feel free to check out my picture to get an idea--but there's tons of really pretty colorful leaves, onions, and flowers. And it tasted really great--surprisingly refreshing despite being fried. The perfect fried dish, and dazzling in presentation too! 10/10 4. Veau braise & polenta cremeuse 21 EUR: This is a large single piece of braised veal, arranged as a circle topping polenta, along with eggplant and zucchini on top. According to the waiter it was braised for a very long time, and certainly tasted like it. It was delicious, but perhaps could have been even more moist. 7.5/10. 5. Fine tranches de boeuf & condiments mediterraneen 17 EUR: This is The Most Epic Beef Tartare EVER. So, instead of the typical ultra thin slices of raw beef, theirs is cut relatively thick, maybe a bit less than 1cm thick. The edges are very slightly browned, but most of it is raw like how seared tuna is typically prepared. And there's a couple pieces of fried polenta on top, along with an heirloom tomato salad on the side. But why do I say "epic?"--cause of the amazing toppings on top of the meat! I tried to identify some of it but all I could really recognize are capers, olives, cheese, etc., but there's tons more going on! There's such an amazing array of ingredients used that it is quite a tartare masterpiece! 10/10 We LOVED this place. Definitely one of our culinary highlights here in France! 5/5 #french #Mediterranean #france