Le Palais de la Major - Marseille 2e Arrondissement

This place had everything to be a top restaurant: wonderful location and classy inside, sun and...amazing and tasty food. Unfortunately the service is simply not at an acceptable level: the staff is totally stressed and unable to manage the service. The attitude is allo unfriendly and at the limit to be rude with the client. Where is the manager ?

We sat up in the main part of the square, and had a cold drink on a hot day. Service was good, and it was a good spot to chill out. Relaxed.

We were in the Panier quarter specifically to apprise the changes and renovations being made -- these have been the principle projects of the city for the last four years. Such an exhausting expedition builds an appetite, and so we were searching for restaurants at the Place de la Major, having just exited the cathedral's cold cold vaults. We badly wanted seafood [by the quai] in the full sunlight. A young waiter deftly maneuvered us to a patio table with his enthusiastic advise and promise of our satisfaction. Le Palais de la Major is the seafood restaurant of three side-by-side restos occupying the superbly designed escarpment of the beautiful cathedral. These restaurants can accommodate diners outside or inside; and open onto a theatre for evening spectacles; all this along the quai just underneath the cathedral. Further down the quai are other eateries and boutiques. It was obvious that the restaurants benefitted from their location -- tourists and shoppers, and travelers disembarking the huge cruise liners -- as we took one of the last remaining tables.We both had the grilled salmon with toasted ravioli, preceded by a small courge soupe; and all accompanied by glasses of vin blanc. Very good, all. Not extraordinary, but pleasing under the noonday sun, with conversations floating all around and people ambling about from the church place above, and the museums and shops along the quai. The service was good and discreet [it is unusual to find such an eatery with wait staff that are not pushy]; the prices were appropriate for the meal we enjoyed [30 euros/pers].If you are seeing the museums [MUCEM, Regards de Provence, Ft St-Jean], visiting the cathedral, or browsing the boutiques, Le Palais de la Major is a good choice for your meal.

Perfect service: friendly, exact, alert and advising. Good accompanied wine and nice furnished outside, even astonishing inside. Salmon perfectly cooked, ravioli fresh and lovely. Highly recommended.

If you enjoy fine and innovative cooking this is the place to be. We (also 2 teenage kids) especially appreciated the quality of the food and the taste of each ingredient. The restaurant itself is also interesting in terms of architecture.

We just came out of the Cathedrale de la Major and saw this restaurant by the water. We had simple lunch that day with the heat. But it was so elegant outside. The poor waiters had long pants and long sleeve shirts on a 90 degree day. Indoors is beautiful. Check out the picture.

It was a bit cold so we ate in doors and we were glad that we did so. What makes this restaurant special was the unusual décor. It is an old vault and has original vaulted brick work ceiling mixed with modern painted ceiling. It is plush with velour armchair type seating at low tables. There is a huge mirror and chandelier to add character to the interior. The food was very good and my wife particularly liked the way it was presented. We ate at a busy time, but found the service to be efficient.

We were two couple friends and we decided to book for the new year's eve dinner at this restaurant. The price was quite high and it included a bottle (per 4 persons) of wine and another of champagne. The food was exquisite and we really enjoyed ourselves. The only negative was that at 12.30am we were practically made to leave as soon as other revellers were coming in for the music which had started then. Overall it was a very enjoyable evening.