There are no shortage of places to eat around the Vieux Port, but if you’re like me then you are always worried about ending up in a tourist trap serving mediocre food and tourist prices. So it’s always interesting to head a bit off the beaten track to see what else is on offer.
We visted this Italian restaurant situated one street back from the Vieux port but not quite in the Panier, on a cold Saturday lunchtime at the end of January. Couldn’t actually find the entrance as they had constructed a plastic pavillion in the front of the restaurant, so that the regulars could light a cigarette even with the Mistral in full effect. However the chef saw us looking confused and directed us around to the door.
The chef came to the door to greet us and shake our hands. Although the restaurant was nearly empty (it was only a few minutes past midday) he seemed concerned that we didn’t have reservations. However after some debate with the other staff he said we could have a table but would have to leave by 1pm.
He explained how everything was home-made including the pasta. Within minutes of sitting down we had a complimentary platter of anti-pasta placed in front of us, which included plenty of superb parma ham with parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes.
We each ordered one of the pasta specials; I had the 3 meat cannelloni and Ian had the beef ravioli in tomato sauce with a carafe of the house red. It was apparent from the first bite that this was really home-made. Meanwhile it quickly became apparent that this is a local restaurant which fills with regulars. The chef had been welcoming and very friendly to us but we didn’t get all the kisses and fuss that the arriving families we’re receiving!
Directly behind us in the centre of the restaurant another chef was making pizzas in front of the huge wood-fired oven. Once our plates had been cleared away we were offered a list of desserts but we had already seen the tiramisu being served at another table, so we both ordered that. Creamy with a hint of marsala wine and a rich dark chocolate dusting, it was a delicious, and far better than what we had been served in a more upmarket pizzeria in Aix the night before.
This was followed by a couple of espressos and complimentary limoncello. The bill came to just under €50. We left a few minutes after 1pm at which point the restaurant was full of families and regulars. It had been far from the hurried service we had initially feared.
This is one of those family restaurants which will never win awards but where everything is superb and you leave extremely satisfied from tasty food and friendly service – highly recommended.
Le Vielle Pelle,
37 Avenue de Saint-Jean,
13002 Marseille, France
04 91 90 62 00?
