Café Marseille — Restaurant in Rotterdam

We had a dinner for 2 at Cafe Marseille, a place that's been on our list for a long time.

The "specials" menu at the entrance is tempting, so we had the anchovies starter and halibut main from there. Anchovies were nice and the halibut was cooked well, still flaky and had a fresh sea aroma. Halibut comes with a pumpkin puree and hollandaise sauce, I also picked mashed potatoes on the side. I love it when restaurants serve a slice of lemon with fish, but in this case, it wasn't necessary. The halibut was well-seasoned and the hollandaise sauce had enough acidity to complement it. I'd highly recommend it if you see in their menu again. We also tried their bouillabaisse, the broth was fresh, and it was one of the better fish soups I've had here so far. You could tell the ingredients were fresh. For dessert, I went for the special of the day: tarte a babeurre. A French take on pastel de nata, as our waiter described it. I liked that it wasn't as sweet as that, and the plating of the dessert was my favorite of the night.

I wish they had more options for wine by glass. While they did have some more interesting natural wines, I'd like to see more French varieties available on their menu.

The restaurant has a cozy atmosphere with plenty of French elements in the decor, but I guess there're too many tables inside, and it can get loud when it's packed full. Adding to that point, while we were happy with the service, keep in mind that it can take a while for the food to arrive, especially if it's a busy night. Overall, we enjoyed our dinner there, and we'll come back to try out the rest...

Ah yes, Marseille, the meme cafe of the Middelandstraat. Gentrification manifest. The de facto outpost of whiteness in the sea of multiculturalism it is located in. It's a only a matter of time before a small-bites and vin naturel place opens up in your modest neighborhood too. The question is however: will you be walking by, laughing or outraged at the spectacle taking place here? Or will you submit to your curiosity and take a seat? I'm down for some nice wine and some charcuterie so I took the plunge.

When seated, I was firmly brought back to reality. Dreams of living out my yuppie fantasies were quickly silenced. Most of the time you're ignored. The wine selection was niche and exclusive and I enjoyed the orange wine so props on that. The food however was kinda mid. It evokes the tradition of Mediterranean cooking with only a hint of the actual flavor. An interesting emulation, perhaps even simulation of how it feels to actually be in Marseille. The good life. I understand the concept, but I had hoped, seeing how busy it is there, that the food would be as tasty as their mere presence in the neighborhood is polarizing. Oh well, it was worth a try and to be fair I would gladly get a drink here again and have some cuts of meat. I hope your success is continued and also that more affordable housing and community-building opportunities become available for my people struggling in...

I went with a friend who’s been there before and he really liked it. Very nice atmosphere and the staff was friendly as well. We had the oysters as appetizer (very good) and confit de canard and tuna steak for mains, also pretty nice. During our main course we noticed a mouse under the table next to us and we immediately let the waiter know that there’s a mouse running around. The waiter was very nonchalant about it and said that they are aware of the mice infestation in the neighborhood and that they have an extermination crew come in from time to time, but he can’t do anything else in the moment cause “he can’t catch it”. We thought that the response was a bit strange, especially since he didn’t apologize and mice infestation is a very serious hygiene issue especially in establishments such as a restaurant. He did offer us the starter (4 oysters) for free and he seemed uneasy after our interaction, but of course we lost our appetite after seeing the mouse and we didn’t even get to finish our main course. I do really appreciate the gesture of removing the appetizer from the bill, but I won’t be going back...