Grand Bar des Goudes — Restaurant in Marseille

This restaurant was recommended as the best place for bouillabaisse and it did not disappoint. Despite being a tourist and knowing little French, they were welcoming and accommodating. For those that are not familiar, they first bring out the fish that is prepared as part of the dish. Our waiter described at least 5 different types of fish. The "first course" is the bouillabaisse soup that is accompanied by bread, garlic, aioli, and cheese. You are to rub the garlic on the bread, spread with aioli and place in the soup. You can add cheese but our waiter says he prefers without it. The bread soaks up the broth and it is delightful with the creamy aioli. The garlicky flavors cut through the richness. After you've filled up on soup they bring out the fish! In the corner we could see the waiter preparing the fish for us. It comes with a little more broth and potatoes. Each fish was delicious and varied in texture and flavor.

The table next to us were locals and teased us about taking pictures of the food because they wanted to keep the restaurant a secret.

The other dishes that came out of the kitchen looked delightful; however, this review is specific to bouillabaisse.

Every table was lively and happy. We were treated to complimentary limoncello at the end of the meal and it felt special to be a guest.

The views of the water were gorgeous and there was a very fun and inviting atmosphere. Parking along the street is tight so we parked at the top of the hill and...

We were disappointed by the quality of the food, the seating, and the price. Our waiter was acceptable and the ambiance near the water is very nice.

We ordered the Bourride des Goudes, the ceviche de thon, and the calamar a la plancha.

The Bouride came with a nice saffron creme d'aioil... and the fish was well prepared. But overall, it was a relatively bland dish. Most places over-salt, but we found ourselves adding salt to try to bring out some/any flavor.

The calamar de la plancha similarly lacked flavor, and we were again reaching for the salt (and olive oil) to try to help it along. The calamari, broccoli, and chorizo were fine but not inspiring. Actually, the chorizo was a little tough where there was more casing than meat.

Our 12yo son liked the ceviche, but my wife and I thought the drizzled sauce had a teriyaki quality, was over sweet, and not good.

The hostess was also less than welcoming. We arrived for our reservation on time. It was the last seating of lunch, and there were quite a lot of open tables, yet she directed us to an interior table away from the water. We had to ask if we could sit near the water in one of the many open tables, and she was accommodating but not gracious.

Table staff were OK, though when we ordered a 2nd glass of wine, they brought us the most expensive (vs the same) without asking.

To top it off, it was one of the more expensive meals of our trip at roughly 150...

I don’t usually give 5 stars easily but this place has a strong mastery of cooking seafood.

The seafood dishes here are so innovative, with lots of different accompanients and sauces, and very very fresh.

The local oysters were so delicious - large oysters that are briney, but finishes off sweet.

We had the daraude fish carppacio, which was beautifully presented with citrus, olive oil, peppers and herbs - such a fresh dish.

What wowed me were the mains. Unfortunately, for the bouillabaisse, you have to preorder, so we got the bourride which is apparently very similar to the bouillabaisse except there is no rockfish. I actually enjoyed this dish very much - the broth was so umami and tasted like the sea, the fish was tender, fresh and cooked perfectly, but what really made the dish was actually the croutons that you dip into this saffron garlic creme before you dip into the soup. It was a perfect explosion of flavors with all coming together to complement the seafood flavor.

The season red rouget fish was another star - it was grilled perfectly with basil, and again served with this outstanding garlic squid ink creme that is to die for. And amazing potato puree as well.

This is definitely a restaurant I would recommend over and over again to...