The best restaurants in Marseille

Marseille is having a moment. For years, France’s second city flew under the radar, shielded by its reputation as a gritty, rough-and-ready port town without the charm of Saint Tropez, the architecture of Nice, or the glamour of Cannes. Whilst it’s true that it doesn’t boast the beauty of other Riviera hotspots, France’s diamond in the rough is really starting to shine, especially for its culinary scene.

Its once maligned port city status really comes into its own gastronomically, thanks to the variety of nationalities who have made Marseille their home and contributed to the city’s melting pot of people and flavours. You’re as likely to find pizza or falafel as you are steak-frites. Go with a try-anything attitude – you don’t have to and, in fact, shouldn’t stick to the French classics here – and if you can, always reserve in advance: the hottest tables in France’s hottest food destination naturally get booked up quickly. Read on for our pick on where to eat.

Mama Africa

Félicité Gaye’s generous home cooking has made Mama Africa one of Marseille’s most beloved institutions. After leaving Côte d'Ivoire back in the 1980s, Gaye opened her own restaurant in 1997 after spotting an opportunity in a shuttered shopfront in her local neighbourhood of Noailles. Since then, the restaurant has grown to two locations and a celebrity following: Gaye has a book of famous clients who have dined in the restaurant and even delivered meals to footballer and fellow Ivorian Didier Drogba during his Marseille season. Although Gaye serves up her own native Ivorian dishes, there’s a range of African specialities on the menu, such as chicken yassa (yassa poulet), mafé, and saltfish accras (accras de morue). Head to the address by Cours Julien to enjoy them alfresco on the terrace.

Website: chezmamaafricamarseille.fr

AM par Alexandre Mazzia

Alexandre Mazzia’s profile has been given a global boost recently due to cooking for hungry athletes at the Olympic Games, but he’s been a gastronomic force in Marseille for years thanks to his three-Michelin-star restaurant, AM par Alexandre Mazzia. A childhood spent in the Republic of Congo gave the French chef a unique window onto the scents and flavours of another country, which he now combines with local ingredients from Marseille and Provence to create his unusual and highly personal cuisine. The “voyages” tasting menus are certainly a splurge, but there’s no one cooking food in Marseille quite like Mazzia. For a more affordable option, look for his street food van, Michel par AM, parked up just by the restaurant.

Website: alexandre-mazzia.com

Chez Yassine

Perhaps the best culinary representation of Marseille’s North African community can be found at the busy, boisterous, and brilliantly simple Chez Yassine. Sitting on an equally buzzy street in the multicultural Noailles neighbourhood, the restaurant pulls in a nearly constant crowd of locals, so you might have to wait a moment for a table. It’s worth it, though, for authentic Tunisian dishes such as leblebi, a chickpea soup spiced with cumin, garlic and homemade harissa; keftiji, a dish of vegetables and fried egg; or the spicy grilled merguez sausages, with nothing priced at more than €16. There are set specials four days of the week, including the popular couscous, which comes with lamb on Fridays and fish on Sundays.

Website: chezyassine.com

Epicerie Ideal

Gourmands will find it hard to resist filling their suitcase to the brim with goodies from Epicerie L’Ideal. Former food journalist Julia Sammut used her expert knowledge to curate a delectable selection of artisan pasta, preserves, spices, olive oils, wines, famed Bordier butters - the list goes on - at her hip grocery store in the heart of Noailles. Head to the back to find a deli counter selling freshly made sandwiches (the local mackerel is delicious), homemade tarts and baked goods to takeaway.

Website: epicerielideal.com

Four des Navettes

If there is one food which is emblematic of Marseille it’s a navette, a boat-shaped biscuit scented with orange blossom and traditionally eaten instead of pancakes on Candlemas. The most famous place to buy them is the city’s oldest bakery, Four des Navettes, on the appropriately named rue Sainte, which has been hand-making its navettes since 1781. They even have the approval of the Archbishop of Marseille, who comes to bless both the biscuits and the original 18th-century oven on Candlemas morning.

Website: fourdesnavettes.com

La Mercerie

If one restaurant can be credited with leading Marseille’s gastronomic rise, it’s La Mercerie. British head chef Harry Cummins says his cuisine is hard to define – his CV includes a mix of restaurants from Grégory Marchand’s Frenchie to a short patisserie stint at Celler de Can Roca – but is always driven by the seasons and local Provençal produce. The homemade pasta is a particular highlight, a result of Cummin’s time in the kitchens of Zafferano in London. The veggie-friendly daytime prix fixe menus are excellent value, but for a deeper dive into Cummins’ culinary style, book the evening five-course tasting menu, complemented by wines from Canadian sommelier Laura Vidal. Also worth noting, La Mercerie is open on a Sunday, unlike most other restaurants in Marseille.

Website: lamerceriemarseille.com

T65 Bakery

Virgile Arlaud and Ambre Baker swopped their careers in events management and communications to retrain as boulangers and open bakery T65, named after the white flour commonly used for cakes, bread, and baguettes. The duo specialise in sourdough loaves (called pain au levain in French) made with 100 per cent French organic flour and ancient grains. You’ll find all the French classics, croissants, pain au chocolat, etc., but the pain Suisse is one of the signature bakes, along with lunchtime options of tomato and mustard tart and the Alfred sandwich made with roast beef and homemade mayo and mustard seed pickles.

Website: instagram.com/t65boulangerie

Sépia

You might wonder if you’re in the right place when arriving at Sépia, which can be found in the unusual setting of Marseille’s oldest public garden. Chef Paul Langlère cut his teeth under the likes of Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée in Paris before returning to his native Marseille to transform a former snack bar into the Michelin-recommended Sépia. The menu ebbs and flows with what the season offers, Langlère even has a small vegetable garden out back, but expect a contemporary riff on French and Mediterranean dishes such as pied de cochon (pig’s foot), mousse au chocolat with fleur de sel, and homemade calamarata with citrus fruits and mint. Next door, Sépia’s little sister, Bar Julis, serves cocktails and tapas with a fantastic view of Marseille from the outdoor terrace.

Website: restaurant-sepia.fr

L'éléphant Rose à Pois Blancs

After working at prestigious addresses such as the Lutétia in Paris, pastry chef Delphine Godard put her expertise into co-founding her artisan ice cream shop, amusingly named The Pink Elephant with White Polka Dots as it translates in English. Everything is homemade, even the toppings and whipped cream, and the innovative menu combines Godard’s love of seasonal fruits with spices and flavours from around the world; think classic scoops such as roasted pistachio and Madagascan vanilla alongside zingy lemon, mint and coriander, fresh ginger, and pineapple and basil.

Website: elephantroseglacier.fr

Au Falafel

Au Falafel is another Marseille hotspot that gets packed out, particularly in summer when it’s terrace weather. Shawarma, keftas, and grilled merguez sausages are all on the menu, and for the vegetarians, homemade hummus and pitas stuffed with falafel, which you can take away if you haven’t managed to snag a table. There are only a couple of desserts available, but make sure to leave room for the honey-soaked harissa cake topped with roasted almonds.

Website: instagram.com/au_falafel

Carlotta With

France doesn’t always get brunch right, but Charlotte Crousillat has it spot on at her all-day cafe Carlotta With. Childhood holidays spent in the kitchen of her Algerian-based Italian grandmother and her own adult travels inspired Crousillat’s worldly breakfast-lunch menu: think omelette with guanciale and pecorino, pancakes topped with hazelnut and mascarpone, and roasted cauliflower with tahini, hot pepper, and chimichurri red rice. Carlotta With’s in-house bakery, Pompe, named after Marseille’s famous brioche of the same name, sells sourdough breads, croissants, and fun twists on the classic pompe (made with olive oil and orange blossom) such as a pompe dog and a pompe praliné.

Website: carlottawith.com

Vanille Noire

It was a trip to New York, and more specifically to Il laboratorio del Gelato, that gave Nicolas Decrite his eureka moment to embark on a career in ice cream. Decrite takes inspiration from anywhere and everywhere to create his creative ice cream flavours: the bestselling Beyrouth Nights combine the very South Mediterranean flavours of orange blossom and caramelised pistachio, whilst the pink lemon came about just because he wanted to switch things up from regular lime - and because he simply wanted a pink colour (which was finally achieved through adding hibiscus). The one ice cream always on the menu is the vanille noire, or black vanilla, and whilst it is actually black, it’s not just vanilla, although Decitre won’t reveal the secret family recipe that gives it its unusually salty tang.

Website: vanillenoire.com