French bistroۃcussonMon-Fri 12:00-14:30; closed Saturday and Sunday
L'Oignon Givré has fed Montpellier students an all-you-can-eat salad buffet on Rue de l'Université for over two decades, weekday lunches only.
Order: The all-you-can-eat salad buffet.
Tip: Come hungry and early: the buffet room fills with students on the stroke of noon and service ends at 14:30.
Latin American€€Port MarianneDaily 18:00-01:00; food until 23:30
Muchacha runs a festive Latin kitchen and cocktail bar on the roof of the Marché du Lez, sharing plates and DJ sets seven nights of the week.
Order: Sharing plates with a pisco or mojito.
Tip: Food stops at 23:30 but the bar runs to 01:00; weekends turn it into the Lez quarter's dance floor.
Seafood€€ÉcussonMon 09:00-18:00; Tue 09:00-15:00; Wed-Sat 09:00-19:00; Sun 09:00-13:00
Mélissa Coquillages shucks Bouzigues oysters and warms tielles at its Halles Laissac stall in Montpellier, seafood platters eaten at the market counters.
Order: A tielle with a plate of Bouzigues oysters.
Tip: This is the easiest place in the city to try tielle sétoise without driving to Sète; mornings get the freshest shells.
Seafood€€Beaux-ArtsMon-Sat 09:00-20:30; closed Sunday
L'Écailler des Beaux-Arts runs a fishmonger's counter and seafood kitchen on Rue de la Cavalerie in Montpellier, platters, grilled lobster and scallops.
Order: A shellfish platter of Thau oysters, clams and prawns
Tip: It works fishmonger hours, so an early seafood dinner beats arriving at 21:00; platters reward pre-ordering.
French bistro€€ÉcussonWed-Sat 09:00-00:30; Sun 11:30-17:30; closed Monday and Tuesday
Café de la Panacée feeds the MO.CO. Panacée art centre from a shaded courtyard, with weekday lunch menus and evening tapas running until 00:30.
Order: The 16 euro lunch menu on the patio.
Tip: Sunday brings an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet to the courtyard; evenings shift to 5 to 10 euro tapas plates.
French bistro€€Saint-RochMon-Sat 10:00-19:00 all-day; dinner Tue-Sat 19:00-22:30; Sun brunch 12:00-16:00
French Kiss faces Gare Saint-Roch in Montpellier with retro decor, planches, revisited French plates and a Sunday buffet brunch at 28 euros.
Order: A planche with the house cocktail.
Tip: Its all-day continuity suits odd train times; dinner proper only runs Tuesday to Saturday.