Marseillan is a lovely harbour town situated on the banks of the Etang de Thau, a salt-water lagoon, just 3kms inland from the Mediterranean coast. Marseillan is located in between Montpellier and Beziers on the South France coast.

Marseillan is surrounded by vineyards and the local Picpoul de Pinet crisp white wine is especially popular. The Domaine La Madeleine Saint Jean is the preferred vineyard for the Marseillan locals and it is situatedjust behind the harbour in the centre of Marseillan and here you can pick up some excellent local wines at very reasonable prices.

Marseillan is perched on the shores of the Etang du Thau, a salt water lake separated from the Mediterranean sea by a thin strip of beach. Also located on the shores of the Etang are the coastal towns of Sete, Meze and the fishing village of Bouzigues.

The Etang du Thau is the largest salt water lake in France and it is famous throughout France for producing the highest quality mussels and oysters. The oysters from the nearby village of Bouzigues are regularly featured on the menus of 3 star Michelin restaurants in Paris, Nice and Bordeaux. Thankfully, you do not need to travel that far, as seafood restaurants and beach shacks are plentiful throughout the town.

Marseillan is also the home of the Noilly Prat distillery and you can enjoy a short tour around the museum there. The museum has recently opened a new cocktail bar where you can plan your own cocktail drink, made to order by the helpful bar man.

Best restaurants in Marseillan France

Etang du Thau, Marseillan France [Photo courtesy of Paul Root]

Marseillan has a lovely port area where you will find many restaurants and cafes to sit and watch the world go by at the slow South of France pace of life. For everyday meals, you will have you choice of over 20 restaurants in the town. 

Being so close to the sea and sitting on one of the best sea food lakes in France means that fish and seafood features heavily on most of the menus from the restaurants in Marseillan. But you will also find a good range of fresh local ingredients and meat-based dishes.

A word of warning. Some of the restaurants around the harbour in Marseillan are real tourist traps. They are OK for a spot of lunch (salad, etc.), but not really worth spending money on a larger meal. Here are some of our recommendations of the better restaurants to eat at if you find yourself in Marseillan.

Table d'Emilie Marseillan restaurant Languedoc

What a great little place this is. Tucked in the narrow streets in the heart of the port town of Marseillan, this restaurant was recommended to us by many friends who raved about it. It took us around 3 years to actually get to go there, but we were very impressed. The lunch time menus start from around €19 a head. We went full out and had the taster menu which was around €49. This menu combined oysters, St Jacques with Iberico ham, duck, beef and chacuterie in a never ending series of dishes. The wine is pretty good but a little on the dear side. We took a bottle of Picpoul de Pinet, followed by a Saint Chinian wine.

But the most amazing thing about La Table d'Emilie is the cheese board. Well, when I say that it is a cheese board, it is actually called the chariot de fromage. It is literally the size of a Smart Car. I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. The waiter normally asks you which cheese you would like to start with. He will then select various cheeses to follow, all of which get stronger in taste. You can of course tell him if there are certain cheeses that you do not like, but he is so knowledgeable, that he can spot the perfect pairings

Table d'Emilie restaurant is located at 8 place Carnot, Marseillan. Tel: 04 67 77 63 59. I would advise you to book ahead (certainly for the evening). The restaurant is closed during November and I think that it is also not open on a Tuesday (if memory serves me correctly). Table d'Emily seats around 50, with an extra 15-20 seats outside in the courtyard during the summer months.

I would say that Table d'Emily restaurant is in my opinion the best restaurants in Marseillan. 

La Maison de Camille, Marseillan restaurant/cafe, Languedoc

La Maison de Camile restaurant/cafe is run by very friendly people and is located right on the port side. The decor is very stylish and La Maison de Camille is a nice place to have a drink during the day or have a simple meal at night. We have only ever had drinks here and crepes for our boys, but I would like to try it during the evening. It would be a great place just to watch the world go by.

La Maison de Camille is located on Quai Atonin Gros, Marseillan, France.

La Taverne de Port, Marseillan restaurant, Languedoc

Now I have never been to La Taverne de Port restaurant and the main reason for this is that whenever I go past the restaurant, it is always jammed full of people (always a good sign). It is only a small place, but the atmosphere looks good. The menu seems to lean towards fish and shellfish (which makes sense given you are sitting on the edge of the best oyster and mussel producing lake in France). Also, people we know in Marseillan say that you can always get a good bottle of wine here.

La Taverne de Port is located at 32 Quai Atonin Gros. It is advisable to book ahead if you are planning to go there for an evening meal (Tel: +33 (0)4 67 01 78 78, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Le Chateau du Port, Marseillan restaurant

La Chateau du Port restaurant is located in a beautiful building right on the harbour at Marseillan. This grande building used to be the main customs house for Marseillan. The port in Marseillan was the second largest harbour in the Herault department, after Sete. It became a very important harbour for the transport of the Languedoc wines and the local Noilly Prat vermouth.

The port of Marseillan was, due to its surface area, the second port of Hérault after Sète for wines and spirits. On its quays, certain residences still look proud, testifying to the bourgeoisie existing at that time. 

A few years back, friends of ours bought us a meal at La Chateau du Port restaurant, as a joint birthday gift. It was when we were really struggling for money whilst we were building up the website, so it was very much appreciated. I cannot remember much about it, other than the wine was extremely good and the food was of a good standard, (but without being spectacular).

The inside of Chateau du Port is very chic and it is located overlooking the port (on the quieter right side). We have friends who always go there and they say that they have never had a bad meal yet.

La Chateua du Port restaurant, Marseillan is located at 9 Quai de la Résistance. For reservations: Tel: +33 (0)4 67 77 31 67; Web: www.lechateauduport.com).