Where to eat a good bouillabaisse?
Once considered the soup of the poor, bouillabaisse is now a noble dish, representative of the Marseille region. Where can you discover this speciality? Here are 5 addresses to help you make the right choice.
Bouillabaisse originated in Marseille, of which it is an emblem, and is thought to have originated in ancient Greece in 600 BC. In the past, it was a fisherman's soup, made with unsaleable or unsold rock fish, cooked in a broth. The name "bouillabaisse" derives from the Provençal word "bouiabaisso", meaning "when it boils, we drop".
Nicknamed the "poor man's soup", this mythical dish is now prepared with freshly caught products cooked in a court-bouillon and accompanied by rouille, which chefs all over Provence enjoy making. From the most authentic version to the most gourmet, here are five places to enjoy a good bouillabaisse, from Paris to Marseille.
Chez Fonfon, Marseille
For the most authentic bouillabaisse, head to Chez Fonfon, a historic restaurant near the port whose specialty is the famous fish soup with rouille. For more than 70 years, this family-run restaurant has been serving this recipe, which includes scorpion fish, red mullet, galinette, vive, conger eel, girelle and other rock fish, depending on the catch of the day. A good dose of garlic, celery, fennel, saffron and olive oil make up the broth, to which potatoes, rouille and croutons are added. A nourishing, flavorful soup!
- Where to eat? Chez Fonfon, 140 rue du Vallon des Auffes, 13007 Marseille
- Read Gault&Millau's review of Chez Fonfon
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Baitea, in Paris
Originally from Nice, Julia Sedefdjian has opened her Baieta restaurant in the heart of Paris's Vᵉ arrondissement. Here, she offers gourmet cuisine with Mediterranean accents, and has reappropriated certain Provencal classics such as pissaladière, but also bouillabaisse, which she has renamed "Bouillabaieta" In its "2.0" version features octopus en persillade, fennel, rouille condiment and, of course, a highly aromatic bouillabaisse jus.
- Where to eat? Baieta, 5 rue de Pontoise, 75005 Paris
- Read Gault&Millau's review of Baieta
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Chez Camille, Ramatuelle
In the exceptional setting of Bonne Terrasse in Ramatuelle nestles Chez Camille, an authentic restaurant established in 1913 and serving authentic Mediterranean cuisine. Its signature dishes include the authentic bouillabaisse with gurnard, St-Pierre, scorpion fish and capon, caught in the waters of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. The soup is simmered over a wood fire according to an ancestral recipe that has remained unchanged for over a century.
- Where to eat? Chez Camille, Route de Camarat, Quartier Bonne Terrasse, 83350 Ramatuelle
- Read Gault&Millau's review of Chez Camille
Le Petit Nice, Marseille
Gérald Passedat has kept his famous "Bouille abaisse", a three-course fish dish, on the menu. First, raw shellfish served with goujonnettes of girelle, then mid-bottom fish such as monkfish or whitefish, plunged into a light saffron broth.Finally, deep-sea fish such as capon or bass, cooked whole and served with rock soup, potatoes cooked in broth and fisherman's rouille. A unique experience!
- Where to eat Le Petit Nice, 17 rue des Braves, Anse de Maldormé / Corniche JF Kennedy 13007 Marseille
- Read Gault&Millau's review of Le Petit Nice
Au Sourd, Toulon
In an elegant, refined setting, Au Soud, an institution since 1862, offers a cuisine specializing in wild Mediterranean fish. The restaurant offers its own version of bouillabaisse, served for a minimum of four people, as well as all kinds of grilled fish, bourride and lobster. The hardest partwill certainly be choosing!
- Where to eat? Au Sourd, 10 rue Molière, 83000 Toulon
- Read Gault&Millau's review of Au Sourd
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