Vallon des Auffes is a traditional fishing port in Marseille just off the Corniche Kennedy along Marseille's southern coastline with small but beautiful creeks.
The area is also known as home to a number of popular eateries including Michelin starred L'Épuisette which is unfortunately closed today.
With L'Épuisette not open today, we were left with our second choice which was Restaurant Peron, a seaside restaurant famous for its seafood and spectacular view.
Perched on the rocks on the sidewalk of Corniche Président John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Restaurant Peron offers an exciting, colorful and refined local cuisine inspired by Mediterranean flavors.
(Photo Credit: Restaurant Peron official website)
Diners can also enjoy the magnificent views over the water to the Îles du Frioul right from the window.
Too bad we were unable to work Restaurant Peron into our lunch schedule (lunch would almost certainly provide a much better experience because of the view) so we ended up coming here on our final night in Marseille. Thankfully, we just caught a glimpse of the breathtaking view before sunset.
Simply amazing! Now, it's time to focus our attention to the Mediterranean inspired cuisine which has made Restaurant Peron hugely famous in the city.
An amuse bouche of vegetable gazpacho with pickled cucumber and mozzarella cream arrived to start off the meal. This was pretty thick almost like a puree, with a fair amount of acidity.
I love a simple seafood dish done right and this was a perfect example with octopus carpaccio matching well with dabs of olive oil and yogurt-lemon-herb dressing.
It was served with a small salad in the middle with chopped clams, tomato and red pepper that brought the dish some extra heat.
Next up was an open raviolo with clams, spinach and espelette peppers, finished off with a sea water emulsion. Not bad but a little heavy-handed with the seasoning.
Our first main dish was beautifully roasted squab served with leeks, chick peas and a tangy spicy juice. Like the previous dish, it was an excellent offering but perhaps overshadowed a bit by the extra kick from the seasoning.
Apart from the view, this was one of the main reasons I chose to come here - Peron's bouillabaisse. Some restaurants already turned this classic dish from Marseilles into more contemporary forms (milkshake and ice-cream) but the chefs behind Restaurant Peron still remain faithful to its original recipe.
The famous fish soup came with rock fish fillets (lots of them!), potatoes, rouille (provencal garlicky sauce) and croutons. I'm so full now!
Both desserts were pretty good tonight. Mine with three colors of chocolate, coffee and cardamom was a chocolate lover's dream.
Jelloman had the lemon-bergamot meringue pie with citrus sorbet which was both refreshing and palate cleansing at the same time.
I had two big regrets from tonight's meal. First and foremost, I was kicking myself for missing out on the sunset by the window. Parking was a huge problem in this neighborhood and I blamed it on the fact that I wasted so much time looking for a parking space (or parking lot) that resulted in my delayed arrival. Secondly, we didn't get to enjoy the food as much as we would like coz we were so damn tired. We had a very early start to our morning so by the time we were still working on our starters, I was almost ready for bed (almost).
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: €€€€
Address: 56 Corniche Président John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 13007 Marseille, France
Tel: +33 (0)4 9152-1522
Website: www.restaurant-peron.com
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