Seafood Heaven - A couple of days in Marseille really hit the spot— and the palate

in my GLASS Seafood Heaven

Linguini and fresh clams and a glass of Bandol Rouge—two favorites, delicious A couple of days in Marseille really hit the spot—and the palate

BY » Trevor Burton | PHOTOGRAPHY BY » Trevor Burton

The first thing that hits you when you get to Marseille is that it is so different to the north of France. I’ve spent a good amount of time in Paris and, to me, Marseille felt like I was in a different Miramar is famous for its own version. But I was in the mood for something lighter. To my delight, linguini and clams was the special of the evening. Just watching the fishing boats in the port convinced me country, a very nice country. We were there for a couple of days in the late Spring.

We were staying close to the city’s Vieux Port, its Old Port. It really is an old port. Marseille’s nickname is “the Phocean City.” It was founded around 600 BC by Greek sailors from Phocaea in Asia Minor. It’s the oldest urban settlement in France. After settling in, we sauntered down to the Old Port to find a place for dinner. The Old Port teems with restaurants so we wandered around, checking each one out. We opted for a restaurant with a terrace that overlooked the port, the sea and local fishermen. The restaurant, Miramar.

The planets had aligned. When we walked in we were told that the place was fully reserved. But they set aside a table for us. Lucky us, it was on the terrace looking out at everything. Marseille is where bouillabaisse was first developed and that the clams would be local and fresh and, anyway, it’s a favorite dish of mine. What I couldn’t resist was a wine, that’s a preference of mine, to go with the clams. A red wine from the close-by region of Bandol. A deep, powerful wine that isn’t the perfect match for the dish but I was close to the wine’s home territory so I went for it. Late Spring, dinner with my wife, a cozy atmosphere, two favorites and the perfect location to enjoy them. Perfect. And so, on to the second evening in Marseille. The Old Port has so many restaurants that we could easily find another one to explore. But, after a very brief discussion, we decided that the first evening was so good and that we should go back to Miramar. Good decision. The planets were aligned a second time. When we walked in the door we were welcomed back with a complimentary glass of Champagne and were shown to the same table—“our table.” Nice.

When I’m in France, I inevitably tend to order another favorite dish, filet of daurade. Daurade is a sea bream that is native to the coastal waters of the Mediterranean. As luck would have it, daurade was the special of our second evening. Once again, local and fresh. And I couldn’t prevent myself from going back to the same wine we enjoyed on our first visit. Not a perfect pairing but I was definitely on the home turf for both of them. I couldn’t hold back.

I like Marseille. I like the atmosphere, bustling but casual. It’s definitely the place to enjoy sea-food. Also, I like the wines of southern France, they’ve got a unique character all to themselves. This was a great and delicious two day sojourn in the city. We want to go back and explore a lot more deeply. Now that the post-Covid world is opening up it seems like a good thing to add to our fairly lengthy bucket list.

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