La Villa Madie — Restaurant in Marseille

Our third visit. The sea view on the terrace is stupendous from this amazing location in Cassis, beside Cap Canaille's vertical 400 m wall over the Mediterranean. But there are some issues, including a significant rise in prices. The website indicates a 220 EUR 10-course menu and a 165 EUR 6-course menu, but no details are given: you book and hope you will like what you find when you arrive at the restaurant. Upon arrival we sat on the magnificent terrace watching the waves pushed by a dying Mistral, and asked for two glasses of Champagne. Three choices were given, with no mention of prices; I had to ask, which is really annoying. Ladies get menus without prices. It is hard to believe that in 2019 some restaurants still practice these obsolete rituals. We were presented with a formidable wine list. Given that the menu comprises various types of fish and meat, ordering a bottle of white and a bottle of red for two is not an option, so we looked for the list of wines by the glass, which is limited to a choice of Red or White, Prestige or Exceptional. To find out what is available, one must ask the sommelier , who only suggests one wine. If you want to know what else is available, you must ask again. One of the recommendations, the red Châteauneuf by Domaine du Banneret, was excellent, but the white Rully by Antoine Olivier was heavily oaked and not to our liking; they agreed to replace it with a pretty good Rüdesheimer Riesling by Breuer. The bread is excellent. The starters were perfect, including fresh tuna and superb miniature vegetables with tons of flavours. However, with the main dishes the chef tends to be a little heavy handed with the herbs and spices; the dishes are not quite balances, the sauces and spices masking the natural flavours of the expertly sourced top quality ingredients used. The pigeon was ok but not remarkable, a small portion of breast and a strongly spiced morsel of minced pigeon meat and liver. It did not help that the pigeon was served in a deep plate with clunky knives with an entirely straight edge that made it hard to cut the meat. The carabineros, deep red prawns from Palamós, were served practically raw, which can be delicious, but here they were bland and accompanied by two strong sauces. The polenta was gritty like semolina. Dessert was excellent, as were the "mignardises". The service is oddly smiling but distant. Explanations are given by rote, but the waiters are not really listening. Same for the wines: there is no attempt to gauge how much the customer knows about wine, and adapting the discourse accordingly. Despite the numerous staff, the staff's presence is limited to bringing and clearing plates, and otherwise hard to get hold of. Villa Madie has the opportunity to become the best restaurant in the area. With a little extra effort it could easily surpass the other local stars, including...

Ah, La Villa Madie, where your hard-earned 900 euros buy you not just a meal but a masterclass in condescension, a side of food poisoning, and the privilege of being treated like an unwashed peasant. Truly, a Michelin-starred fever dream!

Ambiance: Small and intimate, which should mean impeccable service. Instead, you get an overpriced hostage situation with a view. Bonus points for the staff’s ability to make you feel like an unwanted house guest at a billionaire’s chateau. Food: Oh, where to begin? Starters that inspire no emotions whatsoever, followed by an unremarkable progression of dishes leading up to the pièce de résistance—pigeon, or as I like to call it, Parisian sidewalk special. Nothing screams “luxury” like nibbling on something that looks like it was scraped off the underside of a bridge. But hey, at least you lost some weight after! Weight loss clinic or fine dining? Who’s to say! Service: Ah, the crown jewel of the experience! A manager who single-handedly redefines hospitality by making you feel like an inconvenience simply for existing. Eye-rolling? Heavy sighs? The sheer audacity of not processing a 900-euro bill at lightning speed? Shame on you! Next time, perhaps take a finance course before daring to dine in their presence. Final Touch: Waiting in the lobby, ignored like a lost tourist begging for change, while your coats and dignity remain firmly out of reach. If you ever wondered what it feels like to be a medieval serf pleading for scraps at the lord’s table, this is the place for you! Final verdict: If you’ve ever wanted to spend a small fortune to be insulted, belittled, and poisoned, La Villa Madie is your dream destination. Otherwise, spend your 900 euros on literally anything else—perhaps a castle tour, where at least they’ll pretend to appreciate...

I went here for lunch to celebrate a proposal to my now fiancé. As someone who regularly goes to Michelin restaurants (Saison, Atelier, Commis, etc), I would say this has been my favorite meal so far. We did the lunch service, which offered a six course menu that was a healthy portion. Overall, we did a wine pairing that worked exceptionally well with the food and generous pours.

We wrapped up with a coffee at the end that was surprisingly good. As a coffee snob, I usually have low expectations when getting a coffee after a meal, so getting surprised with a fantastic espresso where I can choose the bean varietal was a nice touch. Regarding the food, it was a beautiful blend of seasonal food that was locally sourced, and the staff did an excellent job explaining the food and wine pairings in English since at the end of the day we were tourists.

We were also pleasantly surprised that we had a prime seat facing out to the bay, And greeted with gorgeous weather to enjoy our meal. Afterwards they gave us the option to sit on the lower deck and enjoy the view with additional food/drinks, but we opted out.

It was a long leisurely lunch, and reading some of these negative reviews. I’ve noticed they’re mostly for the sister restaurant, or people complaining about some elements of a Michelin meal. In my opinion, if you have experience at these types of restaurants, you’ll understand why this wants to top-tier both from the level of service, the quality of presentation of the food, as well as the quality of the cooking. The time of writing this, my favorite piece of food was an asparagus emulsion that they prepared during the first bites. It was truly a texture I had not encountered before, and here I was thinking that most emulsions would ultimately have the...