Les restaurants de Marseillan

Marseillan has a lot of good restaurants. We haven't been to all, but have been to a lot. I'm not going to talk about them all, but this post is going to be my top picks, a couple of other good places, and one not recommended.
Sharing top place are La Table d'Emilie and La Maison du Camille creperie, for very different reasons.
I've written about La Table d'Emile before, it undoubtedly has the best food and dining experience in Marseillan.  It is pricey, but totally worth it. The food is delicious, fresh, well presented and imaginative; the decor and environment is first class - in a gorgeous old house (just don't lift up the expensive tableclothes - the tables are plywood); and the service is everything you would expect in a classy French restaurant (snotty).  A meal is an event there, so it takes a long long time (3 hours just for a lunch), but it is worth every minute.  Finally, even though it is a posh Michelin restaurant, it understands kids.  There are definitely no nuggets and fries on the menu, but the three course kids meal is simpler than the adults' menu - last time we went Andy had ham and melon for starter, followed by steak with mashed potatoes and peas beautifully designed in the shape of a turtle (they must have a stencil or something), then ice cream. It is still a beautifully presented meal just like for adults, but with ingredients for kids - skillfully done. All in all this restaurant is a must-go-to in Marseillan.

L to r (Joe, me, nephew Thomas, sister Susie, sister Mary, Andy)

The tuna (if I remember correct, some kind of fish anyway) starter

 La Creperie gets my vote for very different reasons.  It is in a great location on the port and is open for drinks, snacks, salads, and simple meals (they also do crepes but I haven't had one there).  Its reasonably priced, especially compared with some other places on the port, the service is friendly and quick, and you can sit outside and watch the world go by, snuggled up in their oversized furniture.  It just has a cool, relaxing feeling to it, and is a great place to go when you just want to sit in the sun, have a drink or a bite to eat and watch the world go by.

Other restaurants that I would heartily recommend are Chez Phillipe and Rive Droite pizzeria, again for different reasons.  Chez Phillipe is another posh restaurant with beautiful food, in a lovely atmosphere inside an old house.  It is pricey, but worth it for a really good meal. The food is absolutely delicious there (the first time we went there was with a big group, everyone had something different and everone loved their meal), the setting is lovely, and the service OK. The only reason it isn't in the favourites is that it is along the same lines as La Table d'Emilie, but doesn't compete.

Rive Droite Pizzeria is entirely different. This is a place you can go and have an evening meal for less than Euros all in (in contrast to some of the others where you are looking at 30,40,50 a head once you add in apperitifs and wine) and feel like you had a good meal (pizzas are 8 Euros each, less for kids).  The atmosphere in the restaurant is lovely - a big space filled with solid tables and colourful chairs.  The service is good, every time we've been it has been the same waiter who looks after however many tables are there, and seems to be constantly reading his book behind the bar too.  Its also a perfect place to take kids.  We went with ours, and with baby Thomas when he visited and didn't worry about him dropping food on the floor.  The food is good but simple, definitely not the luxury food of some of the other restaurants, but good for what it is, and a nice, cheaper, evening out.

I could go on and on about other nice restaurants, but I think the four above are a pretty good representation.  The only restaurant I would not recommend is La Taverne du Port.  We've been there three times, because I always think it SHOULD be good, but it just isn't.  The ambiance is fabulous, with walls lined with old liquor bottles and a general nautical feel, but the food is too expensive and, to be honest, just not that good. Every time we have been disappointed with our meals - fish overcooked, soggy salads, stodgy rice. And, as the kids point out - "they don't understand what a kids meal is". Some restaurants (see La Table d'Emile above) can manage to give good food to kids with a few little touches here and there , but La Taverne du Port fails, just serving smaller portions of (the already not very good) adult meals.  I know lots of tourists think highly of La Taverne du Port so maybe I am missing something, but it is the only restaurant in town I don't want to go to again.

I would love to hear from anyone who disagrees with my assessment.