LES SAVEURS DE THAU, MEZE: RESTAURANT REVIEW

The sunset view from LES SAVEURS DE THAU

The Étang de Thau is the largest of the string of lagoons or salt water lakes that run along the French Mediterranean coast from the outlet of the Rhone down to the Spanish border. These lagoons form an excellent environment for all sorts of fauna, from flamingos and herons beloved of photography buffs to mussels, oysters, and all sorts of fish for that fine, Mediterranean cuisine. So, when you attend a late afternoon concert in a village on the Étang de Thau, why not have dinner at one of the fine seafood restaurants that generally line the waterfront? I've written about restaurants in Gruissan, in Bouzigues, and in Sète. Now, thanks to Bach and a whirling Dervish, Mèze.

(Yes, a Dervish performedd with Sufi chanters in a Protestant church in a small town on the French Mediterranean coast, right after a French group of singers and instrumentalists offered a Bach motet.. I'll be writing about that singular experience anon.)

Internet investigation reveals that there are a dozen or so seafood restaurants that would probably be worth investigating in Mèze. How do you choose? You check out the website (or the Facebook page). You hope that the menu and the prices that have been posted are reasonably up to date. You look at the pictures 'adjusted' to make the place and the food look as welcoming as possible. The fact that we would be arriving on a Sunday evening in March narrowed the field, but not by much. Then you throw a dart at the map and you call the winner for reservations.

Les Saveurs de Thau is a cozy, intimate, well-appointed space. We were among the first to arrive because the concert let out earlier than we expected, but that's OK. We got the full attention of the server that way. And as is often the case in the smaller venues, there was only one server. But even as the place made its way to half full, we weren't rushed and we weren't ignored.

The menu did not quite match what I'd read on the internet but it was close enough for jazz. We were treated to a sweet little aperitif at the start, maybe a kir with a berry syrup. I chose the start-main-dessert special as did two of my three tablemates. One just wanted a main. All opting for starters chose the grilled shrimp. Excellent. Good size and as sweet as any shrimp we've had in France. Messy to shuck but we were given little lemony hand wipes that did the trick. I ordered a piece of beef. Every once in a while, I give French beef a chance. This cut, bavette d’aloyau, was a step above the normal bavette, seared on the outside, pink-to-red on the inside, as proper a piece of meat as you'll get without spending considerably more. Two of the ladies opted for a plate with small portions of two fish, lotte and bourride, that were just enough and just diverse enough to satisfy. Our Slovakian visitor, not a lover of seafood, opted for duck confit. Her first taste of that signature French dish and she enjoyed it. The desserts were impressively decadent, particularly Cathey's crepe maison, the last dish pictured below.

The bill came in at about 35€ per person with a bottle of picpoul, a carafe of rose, and coffee at the finish. A bit heftier than our normal but it was a Sunday dinner, after all. Well done.


Again, my apologies for my ancient digital camera. Each dish tasted better than it looks.

All of the restaurant reviews on my blog are consolidated HERE.

 

LE PETIT BOUZIGUES - RESTAURANT REVIEW

It sits looking out over the Etang de Thau on Bouzigues' restaurant row, a relatively tiny place seating about 18 people when it's full. So reservations are a really good idea. (We must have witnessed 15 or so people being turned away for a mid week lunch.) Tiny kitchen for the chef/owner. One waitress...owner's partner? And while it's true that there is a menu, let's face it. The reason that you are there is for the assiette. 

It's an amazingly beautiful dish just to look at - colorful and exotic. Octopus and squid and shrimp and more. (As is sometimes the case, oysters and mussels were restricted due to a bacterial infection in the etang. But no matter.) Add roasted red pepper, a slice of melon, spiced chick peas in endive boats, and several rounds of orange, and the presentation was awesome. As was the taste - or so I'm told. I'm not a lover of seafood. In fact, I ordered the one item on the menu that wasn't fishy, the duck breast. (And it was perfect, by the way.) Add two bottles of picpoul for the five of us, a few cute desserts (Not made in house, as we were told up front.) and coffee at the finish, and it's a complete seafood lover's delight. The tab exceeded 150 euros for the five of us, but that's the price that you pay.

There are fancier restaurants with more comprehensive menus along the etang. And if that's your thing, I have no argument. But you really should try Le Petit Bouzigues once if you're going to be in the neighborhood.

Read more of my reviews HERE.

LA BRASSERIE BARBA - RESTAURANT REVIEW

I've been wanting to stop into the poissonnerie (fish market) that is attached to La Brasserie Barba for quite some time but I always seem to miss the turnoff. On this trip, I discovered that the problem was that the exit on the roundabout is not marked as I expected. Problem solved if you come at it from the opposite direction. So this time we found it and, although we missed the market because it didn't open until some time after we'd finished our lunch, now that we know how to get there, and now that we know that the restaurant is worth a repeat visit, we'll be back.


The exterior of the building has an industrial modern flavor but the brasserie is of the white tablecloth and sparkling crystal variety. Our waitress was attentive without being intrusive and had enough English to answer the question or two that we couldn't answer for ourselves from the extensive menu.


Our meal began with a small tray with three amuse-bouches - olives, tiny crisp-roasted shrimp, and a snail-like little shelled creature that required some digging to get out. All very proper.

The girls picked from the menu of the day. Connie started with mussels en croustade, juicy mussels with a tomato-based (but not Italian) veggie medley in a ring of pastry. Cathey chose the smoked mackerel pressed in a vegetable terrine. Both were inventive, tasty starters. Connie then had the bonita, Cathey the sole meuniere. Both properly done. Both with a nicely prepared, cheesy cauliflower side.

I'm not a big seafood guy. Steak/frites for me. The beef was above the average for the region and I enjoyed it.

I was the only one with room for dessert, chocolate ice cream. The waitress asked, almost with a wink, if I'd like a bit of chantilly. Of course. The French really do know how to do chocolate, ice cream, and chantilly.

With a bottle of regional rose from Domaine La Croix Belle, a favorite winery, and coffee at the finish, the total tab was 94.10 euros. That's a bit more than we usually pay but this was an exceptional meal in genteel surroundings, worth the price. Our new, special local seafood place.

Read more of my reviews HERE.

LA PERLE GRUISSANAISE - RESTAURANT REVIEW

This is what two dozen oysters, shrimp for three, and some odds and ends look like.

We wound our way through Gruissan on a gorgeous September Sunday, headed through the seaside town to the Med and La Perle. Friends had recommended La Perle to us as the place to go for seafood fresh off the boat. Cathey and Connie had yet to have their first R-Month oysters, so off we went.

The parking lot was full. This is not your typical restaurant where you find a table, read a menu, wait for the wait staff, and place your order. Instead, we joined a line snaking past tubs of fresh oysters for sale and tried to figure out how things worked.

As the line advances, you come to a chalkboard with prices and a guy who asks what you'd like. If you appear to be a newbie, he prompts you. We wanted a couple of dozen oysters, shrimp for three, and a few raw mussels to taste. Did we want lemon? Yes. Mayonnaise or aioli? Aioli. Wine? Yes, a liter of white. He gave us a numbered, handwritten stub that we took to a cashier. She asked if we'd been there before. No. Keep your stub. In about 15 minutes, you come back and pick up your food. We paid and were given our wine, a carafe of water, and a plastic garbage bag.

You can choose from tables and chairs indoors or picnic tables outside facing the water - the etang (bay), not the Med. We found a table under a little thatched umbrella. Connie and I went back inside and picked up six glasses - real glass, three plates, knives and forks and lots of paper napkins, and a bucket for the oyster and mussel shells only. The plastic bag would hold the rest of the trash. After a few minutes, I went back for the seafood, oysters on a bed of ice, opened and with the shells replaced so that they almost looked as if they hadn't been, good-sized pink shrimp scattered throughout, the mussels and lemon halves and a little jar of aioli on top.

La Perle reminded us of the seafood shacks with which we are familiar in Louisiana. Off the boat fresh. Sweet shrimp. Briny if not overly plump oysters. Raw mussels were a new taste, interesting but not in our wheelhouse.

61 euros and change for the lot. Just great. Next time we'll bring hot sauce.

Read more of my reviews HERE.