La Mercerie, Marseille

A nondescript door from the outside, being one of the first ones to arrive for the lunch service on a Friday, I was hopeful it wasn’t all booked up, being the ‘hottest place in Marseille right now’.

The Cool guy at the front said without a reservation I can have a seat at the bar, kind like it was a consolation prize, when actually I believe it might be one of the best places to sit.

The kitchen is open and the seat at the counter lets you see the theatre of cooking at this level. One chef patiently walks a trainee through different steps in preparation of the Entree’s, another patiently hulls a million bright red strawberries.

The kitchen is also home to a large green Kamado cooker, the ‘Cochon du Mont Ventoux’ is cooked in this, giving me buyers remorse for ordering the fish. Later as the meal progresses, I see the risotto plated up, looking like a large plate of ‘mushy peas’, being the freshest greenest risotto I have ever seen which is then dressed with a layer of freshly grated pecorino…. the cheese..

My Ragout De Seiche arrives, the sauce is rich and there are different pieces of seafood in the stew. The grilled bread is to the side – there had been debate about this in the kitchen with mine part of the ‘let them decide’ to put the stew on the bread batch, I notice later plates are sent out with the stew on top. Not wanting to fill up on bread, the ‘on the side’ version was good for me, but I ended up eating the whole thing. The seafood and the sauce was rich and delicate at the same time, the toasted sourdough is the right flavour but I found myself feeling very full afterwards.

The restaurant is not full by this point but has a nice buzz, the kitchen is busy but not frantic. I treat myself to a glass of natural Rose – Boucarut Beach from the Vallée du Rhone region. It is divine, and despite not being a regular drinker I cannot help but have a second one.

The main meal arrives, a generous piece of Sar, a fish that is found n waters near Brittany and is often mistaken for Sea bream, sits on a bed of fennel, leek and cardoon, in white wine. It’s rich and moist and of course falls apart with a fork. The sauce is simple and complicated in flavour at the same time. Often a seafood dish can leave you feeling like another course is required.

Of course I choose the strawberry dessert, having watched their careful preparation I felt obliged and they had looked so incredibly fresh and rich in their colour. I also that that it would be a nice light dessert since I was technically already full