A two-story near-Vieux-Port spot with 60s lighting, banquettes and a tiled bar, with seasonal cooking and natural-wine pours.
The list: A two-story spot near the Vieux-Port with 60s lighting, banquettes and a delicately tiled bar, with seasonal lunch menus and a small natural-wine list across the evening
Tip: The veggie option on the lunch menu is the canary for the kitchen's seasonal sourcing; ask for the wine pairings from the natural list.
Address: Marseille (near the Vieux-Port), 13002 Marseille, France, Provence
A Vieux Nice Vietnamese-French fusion spot with a curated natural-wine list and a quiet evening soundtrack.
The list: A Vietnamese-French fusion spot in Vieux Nice with a curated natural-wine selection across the evening, the local listening-style spot for a low-key wine-driven dinner
Tip: The natural-wine list is short and rotates; let the room recommend a pairing to the banh mi rather than ordering blind.
A Rue Venture intimate room with zinc bar, speckled floors and Italian-leaning small plates with a by-the-glass list to match.
The list: A charming Rue Venture spot with a long zinc bar, speckled floors and small-plate cooking like vitello tonnato and braised beef cheek; the by-the-glass list leans Italian and small-grower
Tip: The small terrace on Rue Venture spills onto the street; book ahead for a corner table or wait for the second seating in summer.
A dark-green Rue Saint-Pierre dining room with open kitchen and a market-driven tasting menu with grower-wine pairings.
The list: A small dark-green dining room with a long zinc bar and open kitchen on Rue Saint-Pierre, with the Sarah Chougnet-Strudel and Lucien Salomon duo serving market dinners with a daring grower-driven wine list
Tip: Regain is one of Marseille's most discussed kitchens; reserve weeks ahead and order the surprise tasting menu with the matching wine flight.
An Axel Chay-designed terrace bistro from Loick Tonnoir, with refined French classics and a Mediterranean wine list across the evening.
The list: An Axel Chay-designed terrace bistro from chef Loick Tonnoir, with refined French bistro classics and a Mediterranean-leaning wine list around BBQ clams, Roman pork croquettes and skate wing with yellow-wine lentils
Tip: Sit at the micro-counter for chef chat or in the alcove for evening sharing plates; the wine pairing on the skate wing in yellow wine is the signature.
A Rue d'Endoume corner spot with a daily chalkboard menu of Marseillais classics and a rotating Provençal and natural-wine list.
The list: A 41 Rue d'Endoume corner spot where the chalkboard menu changes daily with brandade, aioli and seafood pasta, and the wine list rotates with local Provençal and natural-leaning bottles
Tip: There is no menu reading at La Releve; sit down, glance at the chalkboard and let the kitchen serve what it has cooked that morning.
A hotel-restaurant lounge in a converted Les Goudes diving centre, with deckchair drinks, cocktails and a Mediterranean wine list.
The list: A hotel-restaurant lounge in a converted diving centre at Les Goudes, with deckchair drinks under the rocks, mixologist Kevin Sabtier behind the bar and a Mediterranean wine list to follow Antoine Teychene's seasonal cooking
Tip: Grab a water taxi from the Vieux Port to the Tuba dock at Les Goudes; the deckchairs with cocktails or a chilled Cassis Blanc are the evening signature.