La Villa Madie

Rating: 17.5
Author: Gault&Millau

13260 CASSIS

17.5/20
Prestige Restaurant

BOOK

6 PHOTOS

Chef: Dimitri Droisneau
Cooking: Gastronomic
Services: Access for people with disabilities | Children's Menu | Private Parking
Style: Elegant | Romantic

Budget (€)

Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)

195 to 380

Gault&Millau's review 2026

Top-of-the-range in an open, friendly atmosphere: that's how Marielle and Dimitri Droisneau wanted their beautiful house on Cap Canaille, overlooking the Mediterranean and set apart from the resort. A very chic approach that goes beyond codes, a human touch in service rather than recitation, a personalized approach to catering. The Aveyronnaise and the Normand agree on this point: in and around the plate, you need life, pleasure and exchange. Of course, to please everyone, it's necessary to go through certain exercises in good taste, which can be seen in the flurry of appetizers, in a few pretty dishes, such as the carabineros ice cream heads, beet and kumquat shell sauce, or the impeccably cooked carrot and tangerine saint-pierre with its blanquette sauce: the advantage of these great Normandy chefs who have emigrated to the Mediterranean, like Dimitri, Virginie Basselot or Arnaud Donckele, is their extensive knowledge of all fish, noble or otherwise, shellfish, crab or scallops. This is how the chef delights with the magnificent sardine, with Sologne caviar as a partner, and a love of potato mousseline with shredded katsuobushi and a dashi gel, or his red mullet tartine, like an en cas de copains, with a little sea urchin and tarragon sauce. That's what we particularly like here, these little switches of cuddly, complicit rusticity from the good guy from Normandy who frees himself from bourgeois sonatas. Even the jazz-folk-rock soundtrack chosen by Marielle (the chef is more into metal, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath) matches the mood, with Neil Young perfect on the saint-pierre, Horse with no name glides by on its own with Valréas truffle-picked primeurs, and we take full advantage of the excellent sweetbreads, just crisp enough, cooked with pine and artichoke leaves, vaporous artichoke mousse, veal jus with capers and shallots to the sound of Mrs Robinson. Superb work by a close-knit team, beautiful seasonal desserts (citrus fruits, Piedmont hazelnuts) and the remarkable involvement of sommelier David Piquet, who presents his voluminous seven-volume bachique encyclopedia with complete erudition, plays with judicious pairings and advice, and even managed to impose the moustache on his male colleagues in the dining room.