La Mercerie

Rating: 14.5
Author: Gault&Millau

13001 MARSEILLE

14.5/20
Chef's Restaurant

BOOK

8 PHOTOS

Chef: Harry Cummins
Style: Bistro/Brasserie | Romantic | With friends

Budget (€)

Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)

35 to 65

Gault&Millau's review 2026

Harry Cummins and Laura Vidal's restaurant is undeniably the star of the Noailles district, even when it's hidden behind an innocuous façade and scaffolding. From these working-class Marseilles streets, you arrive in a hip, international world, where indie music is played, English and French are spoken, the cellar travels beyond borders, and the plates have had time to absorb all the chef's influences, from North America to the shores of the Mediterranean. It's a positive and engaging image of contemporary cuisine, less rooted in its terroir yet profoundly generous, knowing how to use technique as a pretext for ever more successful experiments. It's a gem of a Gillardeau oyster with kiwi from Provence, jalapeños and verjuice, a starter of skate wing and potatoes, anchovies, capers, celery and shallots, like a modern version of herring pomme à l'huile, followed by delicious pasta with bottarga in a bowl, fennel and pangrattato, of remarkable mantecatura. The rack of pork is perfectly cooked, grilled on the skin, with melting Brussels sprouts, celeriac, praline and an exemplary meat jus. We finish with a revisited paris-brest, pecan praline and pear purée, with a slightly Anglo-Saxon inspiration. In this way, La Mercerie demonstrates the art of bistronomy, using market produce in plates of great precision and research. The glass is just as well-stocked, with organic and natural references, sakes and oxidative wines, like this delicious Chardonnay from Domaine Labet. Very friendly service.