Beyond Bouillabaisse: Diving into Marseille’s Multicultural Stew

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Prémices

Two friends who met while working at nearby restaurant La Mercerie have opened their own trendy bistro a few doors down, opposite the opera house. A magnificent counter adorned with zellige tiles greets guests; upstairs, the dining area is sizable. At lunchtime, tuck into a set menu, which comes at a very affordable price considering the quality of the dishes. The menu – renewed twice a month – smacks of good, modern cuisine, and features unusual combinations and trendy names such as celeriac ice cream. The home-made bucatini with spinach condiment and fried sage is a real treat, as is the delicious butternut and nutmeg tart with a subtle quince paste and physalis condiment.

Mijoba

Venezuelan-born chef David Mijoba, well known on Marseille's restaurant scene, has opened his own bistro in the Vauban neighbourhood, with Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde as a backdrop. With fruit and vegetables from the region, fish (some caught locally), and spices from all over the world, his passion for ingredients is evident, with practically every dish featuring produce with a protected geographical indication. This flavoursome cosmopolitan cuisine taps into one continent after another, with lunch tending towards vegetables and dinner being more fish and seafood-based. On this occasion, lunch was a feast of raw and cooked purple artichokes from Le Garlaban, raw and marinated scallops from Deauville, served with chop suey and a beef broth with Hanoi spices and, to finish, a flaky tarte fine with caramelised apples and home-made ice cream. A fine selection of "living" wines, particularly from the Jura.

La Mercerie

An avalanche of quality local ingredients, undeniable know-how and gourmet delicacies... You can count on the young team to take care of your appetite in the best possible way. As for wine, the menu is lovingly put together with an emphasis on natural wines, with a promising turnover: all the ingredients are in place for you to have a great time.

Un Petit Cabanon Bouillon

In this minimalist neo-bistro just a stone's throw from Joliette metro station, the emphasis is on local produce, with a touch of creativity for good measure. The menu taps into the zeitgeist and highlights what's in season: confit pork belly; pasta, squid ink, dill and sea almonds.

Kin

Chef Hugues Mbenda from Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) delivers his Congolese cuisine in the form of a single set menu comprising several courses. This menu changes every fortnight and includes creations such as manioc crisps with sweet chilli and burnt onion cream; crispy Angus beef onglet, dibi sauce, white asparagus and puffed thiéré (Senegalese couscous). The ingredients are fresh, the presentation is meticulous and the flavours are sure to transport you. At lunchtime, Libala, the chef's first cross-cultural street food restaurant, has a simpler menu.

Le Petit Nice

Le Petit Nice is inextricably linked to its city, Marseille, and to Gérald Passedat's personality. "I dive into the Mediterranean, in every sense of the word," says the chef. "It carries me and inspires me, as well as all the lands that surround it." It would be an understatement to say that he has drawn inspiration from the Mediterranean terroir (fruit, vegetables, cereals, fish, spices etc) to forge his culinary identity. For example, over 65 types of fish are used in the kitchen, from sea bream, dentex and pike-perch to whiting, comber, and sometimes even moray eel. Gérald Passedat, heir to a family of artists and once a student of Alain Chapel, the Troisgros brothers and Michel Guérard, has lost none of the pleasure he takes in cooking and in surprising and thrilling diners. A taste of the Calanques...

Marseille - FRANCE

Lauracée

There is no doubt that the boss of this house tucked away behind the old port serves only fresh produce – “I don’t know how to cook anything else!” Take a seat in the modish, comfortable interior and be prepared to enjoy deftly crafted fine food rich in Mediterranean twists. A few examples: truffle-flavoured scrambled eggs; farm-reared Bigorre pork, white beans in chorizo, hazelnut crumble and sage gravy; amber rum baba, mascarpone chantilly, upside-down pineapple and kiwi pie. Exquisite service.

Une Table, au Sud

Ludovic Turac, who boasts stints at Le Bristol and Guy Savoy, is at the helm of this fully refurbished navy-blue restaurant, firmly anchored in the South of France. Using regional veggies, locally caught fish and meat from the southern Alps, the chef crafts two several-course menus: “From the Sea to the Land” displays a strong Marseillais twang, while the “Spice Crossroads” unveils numerous nods to his travels around the Mediterranean and his own Armenian roots. In short, Turac pays tribute to the countries that have influenced Marseilles’ culinary heritage. His inventive recipes are always packed with flavour and perfectly in tune with the knockout panorama over the Old Port and “La Bonne Mère” (as Notre Dame basilica up on the hill is affectionately dubbed by the locals).

Marseille - FRANCE