Toma

Rating: 14
Author: Gault&Millau

13001 MARSEILLE

14/20
Chef's Restaurant

BOOK

8 PHOTOS

Chef: Thomas Estrader
Cooking: French | Local | Mediterranean | Provençale
Style: With friends

Gault&Millau's review 2026

Located just a clam's throw from the Old Port, chef Thomas Estrader's restaurant is now docked. At 35 years of age, he has already worked with the greats - Guy Savoy, Frédéric Anton at the Pré Catelan, Éric Trochon at the Sémilla - before dropping anchor a few months ago in the Phocaean city, with the desire to nourish in all simplicity. ToMA is first and foremost a place that beckons, a former printing works transformed into a haven of well-being, with a soothing tone, which was also Michel Portos' haunt after his move from Bordeaux. The first room is retro-chic with elegant lines, followed by an open-air patio bathed in light, where a majestic olive tree takes pride of place. ToMa is above all the expression of the product itself, a purity on the plate that does not distract from the tastes or subtle textures. The cooking becomes obvious, echoing the raw products, bluffing in their proposals. The menu is short, the prices tight. It's enough to build a gourmet fresco at the table: the shortbread tartlet with parmesan and roasted sweet onions, the minute-roasted zucchini salad with feta, semolina and mint oil, the raw Mediterranean red tuna in tomato water with herbs and pesto rosso, the salmon steak marinated for a long time in miso, seared with binchotan and illuminated with a ginger-infused beurre blanc, or the Duroc spider pig, an exceptional piece that butchers like to reserve for their own tables, simply seared to reveal its melting marbling, and served with a short jus with roasted meat accents. And the desserts follow, like the rice pudding of yesteryear, with salted butter caramel and roasted Piedmont hazelnuts, or the memorable warm chocolate mousse and hazelnut ice cream turbinated on the premises. For the thirsty, the menu is as sharp as the plates, wandering with curiosity between fine discoveries and sure values, without ever sinking into the conventional. Service is discreet and friendly.