La Kahena in Marseille's 1er near the Vieux Port has cooked Tunisian halal cuisine since 1978, mosaics and portraits of beys on the walls, the couscous and bricks the household staples.
Signature dishes: Couscous, Bricks with egg, Grilled merguez
Must order: The mixed couscous and the brick with tuna and egg as a starter.
Tip: Open daily, book for weekend lunch when the room fills with families.
Address: 2 Rue de la Republique, 13001 Marseille
Le Bouchon Provencal in Marseille's 1er on Place aux Huiles is a bistro of Provencal and Lyonnais lineage, two vaulted dining rooms and a lime-tree terrace, menu rewritten by the season.
Signature: Daube provencale, Pieds paquets
Order: The daube provencale and a glass of the house red on the terrace.
Tip: Open Mon-Sat; the upper vaulted room is the spot on cold nights.
Toinou in Marseille's 1er opened a shellfish stall on Cours Saint-Louis in 1962 and has held the spot ever since, tasting room added in 1975 for plateaux straight from the counter.
Signature: Seafood platters, Oysters, Sea urchin
Order: The mixed platter for two with a glass of white from the Bandol coast.
Tip: Walk-in by counter or sit-down in the tasting room; cash and card both accepted.
Epicerie L'Ideal in Marseille's 1er Noailles is Julia Sammut's general-store-gone-gourmet, a counter lunch built each morning from the shop's deli of Norwegian anchovies and Bordier butter.
Signature: Mediterranean small plates, Imported deli, Daily counter lunch
Order: Whatever the daily counter plate is; the deli shelves are the second reason to come.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday; the dinner-only room across the street is the spin-off.
Le Bouchon Provencal in Marseille's 1er on Place aux Huiles is a bistro of Provencal and Lyonnais lineage, two vaulted dining rooms and a lime-tree terrace, menu rewritten by the season.
Signature: Daube provencale, Pieds paquets
Order: The daube provencale and a glass of the house red on the terrace.
Tip: Open Mon-Sat; the upper vaulted room is the spot on cold nights.
Toinou in Marseille's 1er opened a shellfish stall on Cours Saint-Louis in 1962 and has held the spot ever since, tasting room added in 1975 for plateaux straight from the counter.
Signature: Seafood platters, Oysters, Sea urchin
Order: The mixed platter for two with a glass of white from the Bandol coast.
Tip: Walk-in by counter or sit-down in the tasting room; cash and card both accepted.
Epicerie L'Ideal in Marseille's 1er Noailles is Julia Sammut's general-store-gone-gourmet, a counter lunch built each morning from the shop's deli of Norwegian anchovies and Bordier butter.
Signature: Mediterranean small plates, Imported deli, Daily counter lunch
Order: Whatever the daily counter plate is; the deli shelves are the second reason to come.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday; the dinner-only room across the street is the spin-off.
Chez Fonfon in Marseille's 7e sits in the Vallon des Auffes cove and has cooked bouillabaisse for the Mounier family since 1952, the fish landed each morning by the cove's pointus.
Signature: Bouillabaisse, Bourride
Order: The bouillabaisse for two, served in the traditional sequence of broth then carved fish.
Tip: Closed late January for two weeks; book a sea-side table at lunch for the cove light.
Chez Michel in Marseille's 7e has cooked the oldest bouillabaisse in the city since 1946, the Visciano family now in the third generation at the Catalans beach above the cove.
Signature: Bouillabaisse, Bourride
Order: The bouillabaisse at EUR 80 per person, two-person minimum, the canonical reference in the city.
Tip: Reservation only; cash and card both accepted. Closed Sunday evening and Monday lunch.
Le Miramar in Marseille's 2e was founded in 1965 and is a founding member of the Bouillabaisse Charter, Christian Buffa in the kitchen running fish from the Mediterranean fishmarket.
Signature: Bouillabaisse, Bourride
Order: The bouillabaisse at EUR 80, served quayside with Notre-Dame de la Garde over your shoulder.
Tip: Closed Monday; the front terrace looks straight at the cathedral on the hill.
