L'Avant Cour — Restaurant in Marseille

I dont know if this place has changed since it got this amazing reviews, but unfortunatelt it felt to me like a tourist trap, let me explain, we got the classic buillbaise soup which was 36 euros, the soup was so bland that any other fish soup would knock her out, part of this was that there where no other ingredients (at least in my plate) other than a huge prawn (which was soft fresh and delicious) and 3 huge potatoes, compared to any other dish we had in our trip it felt like a rip off, the wines were sold by the bottle only, except one kind so if you didnt want that one you had to buy the bottle, cheapest 26 euro, the wine selection is great, but only able to buy bottles is weird specially if you are a small party, the fish and shrimp skewer was good but again lacking flavour, particulalry in the fish although you can tell theybuse very fresh seafood (theyre like 200 m away from the ocean). We didnt even bother to order dessert for the above mentioned reasons, overall ok but ridiculously overpriced in my opinion.

Also to get to the place is difficult if you are walking through...

We thought we’d try somewhere close to the sea, and when we saw this little harbour on Google Maps, we had to try a restaurant in this locality set away from the main hustle and bustle of Marseille.

The restaurant itself is about 100m away from the harbour so I imagine it can be overlooked by day trippers. A simple board menu shows the offerings of the day. The genial host explained the french menu to us (which we couldn’t really hear as the music was so loud), then turned the board around to reveal it in English anyway! We really enjoyed our starters of fish soup, calamares and octopus salad. Our mains were different fish of the day which were cooked to perfection. All dishes have the same presentation of potatoes and local veg. We enjoyed our wine selection which was a local provencal wine.

Staff were very engaging and friendly. Service was great. My only gripe was the very loud eighties music which was too much for the ambience of the restaurant and more suited to a...

Probably the perfect Marseille restaurant. A charming combination of informal atmosphere, friendly and welcoming staff, and the freshest seafood excellently prepared and presented. The menu (la carte) is short so you know everything on it is fresh and the best quality. The staff are happy to speak English if you prefer. The owner will talk you through every item on the menu and show you the catches of the day on a tray. The wine list is also short and well thought out, you will find something to suit. The service is quick, attentive and efficient. Book in advance to make the process smoother when you arrive. The prices are more than reasonable when you consider the quality of the food and absolutely beats other places in both price and quality. The ambiance of the local area is also...