"In under a year, chef Sarah Chougnet-Strudel and former wine merchant Lucien Salomon’s alluringly low-key retro bistro has become a much-loved institution among Marseille’s creative types. The childhood friends have outfitted the space with a big chestnut-paneled zinc-topped bar, varnished terracotta tile floor, and anthracite-gray wainscotting. Chougnet-Strudel previously cooked with Pascal Barbot at L’Astrance, Anne-Sophie Pic, and Hélène Darroze, and at the Greenhouse in London, followed by a stint in Singapore, while Salomon previously worked at La Cave de Belleville in Paris. Their impressive pedigrees inform the excellent regularly changing menu and wine list here, where modern comfort food includes pork belly with beets and mussel cream; udon with a sabayon of white miso, turnips, and ricotta salata; and soy-lacquered cauliflower with grilled polenta and grated ewe’s milk cheese." - Alexander Lobrano
