A modern interpretation of the cuisine of Marseille: Restaurant L’Épuisette (16. February 2023)

It is somehow not the first time this has happened to me – I had booked for the wrong evening. Luckily, there was still one table left – for one person, right in the middle of the dining room. So, I was a bit exposed right there, but it was okay.

I decided to go for their “signature tasting menu” (EUR 125.00), which started with “mackerel, risotto with black truffle, fish with lobster sauce” …

… and with a “herring foam with caviar cornet”. I must admit, the first bites were definitely enjoyable and something, which made me look forward to the rest of the dishes.

I think it’s also the first time I was served a “spork” in a restaurant – definitely interesting.

The first course was an “aspic of bouillabaisse”, which was intense in flavour and created that feeling of happiness in your mouth when you took a bite. Definitely a great, but very flavour-intense, dish to get started.

Next in line was the “monkfish low cooked, red pepper, anchovy and curry foam”, which was right down my alley in terms of intensity of flavours. To be fair though, the monkfish without the anchovy and the curry would have been a bit dull.

Then it was time for the “rockfish soup, rouille sauce and croutons”. The idea of the dish is that you spread some of this spread on the crackers, put some cheese on it, and then put it in the soup, to eat it all together. And I must say, it worked a charm! Sure, intense again, but truly enjoyable.

The main course were “the fishes (scorpion fish, turbot, mallet, vi fish) from our fisherman poached in soup and my ‘RAIMU’ sauce (rouille sauce)”. The fishes were good, and they went well with the little slices of potatoes, since they balanced off the intensity a bit. However, the sauce in which they were served was pretty much the same as before, so it became a bit repetitive.

For dessert, they had a cheese assortment, which was decent, but not much more than that. I was missing the intense cheeses like red smear cheeses and the like.

In any case, the dessert suited me well.

I liked the “thyme ice cream”, which came with a thyme twig which was burnt in front of your eyes. And despite me thinking that this is kind of weird, it actually worked quite well, experience and taste wise.

The “chocolate with oreo ball with thyme” was something I was a bit unsure about since I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate, but it turned out to be actually quite enjoyable.

Last but not least, there is a nice selection of different mignardises from which you get to pick some.

And those I did pick were absolutely enjoyable.

All in all, I liked the L’Épuisette since it offers a true view into the cuisine of Marseille (talking Bouillabaisse), but with a modern interpretation to it. The place is lovely, the service is good, and the food is tasty – and all of it for a good price. Worth coming here, but also make sure you book for the right day ;)

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Contact Details:

Restaurant L’Épuisette

Rue du Vallon des Auffes 158

13007 Marseille (F)

Tel.: +33 4 91 52 17 82

Homepage: http://www.l-epuisette.fr

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.