Maussane-les-Alpilles
Au bistrot Marin

Au bistrot Marin

Avenue de la vallee des baux, Maussane-les-Alpilles, France, 13520

Cafés • Européen • Français • Fruit De Mer


"This is one of the restaurants with outside seating around the church square. We have had drinks at all of the 4 places over the years as it is such a perfect outside space (save the bikers on Sunday doing their best to imitate Marlon...Brando but could no how kickstart a lawnmower). We had what we wanted as a light meal one night and said let’s try one of the places and picked this one as I had an oyster craving. We both started with soups de poisson, fish soup. It was very good with just the right graininess that comes from ricing the cooked fish. Judy said it was lacking in depth of flavor, but we ate outside on a cool Fall night where the soup cooled quickly and that might have been the reason. The weak point was the rouille, which is spread on toasted croutons and dropped in the soup to soften. Rouille is best described as garlic/sweet red pepper mayonnaise. Classically made the old way, everything is ground in a stone mortar and pestle and the olive oil embraced in small amounts with great amounts of arm power. This one lacked an adequate garlic kick but was ok. I then had a couple of different oyster varieties, which were fresh as can be and excellent. If for no other reason, I’d come back here for shellfish. Judy wanted a small salad but asked for a small salad Nicoise, which is never very small. It came with a perfect hard boiled egg (almost liquid center), two slices of tuna with a fired crust, some sweet pepper strips, some what might have been canned black pitted olives and greens I’d be ashamed to serve in my house. Lots of bruised leaves of lettuce and arugula, and the ugly looking outside leaves escarole and lettuce. And all was overdressed. That fourth star is in the details. But I would come back here for the shellfish."