LA GUINGUETTE CHEZ FADY

LA GUINGUETTE CHEZ FADY - 25 Avenue de la Cadole, 34540 Balaruc-les-Bains

We visited one of the hidden restaurants in Balaruc les Bains today. With hidden I mean that yuo do not find it by accident. It is situated along the long walk by Etang de Thau with a fantastic view, but is not seen from any road nearby. They are – at it should be – specialized on sea-food and they know how to cook that. I can tell you that.

We were there with two friend. One of the ladies is in convalescence after an accident and she is in a wheel-chair. The restaurant is near where she is treated. As Balaruc is in the Sete area the specials of the place are “Setoise”, which means sea-food made with garlic, saffron and other local specialities. Me and our friend had the special fish-soup with croutons with garlic, grated cheese and “rouille”, which is aïoli with saffron. The name means rust because of the colour. It is not always you get this soup made from scratch, but this was. Fantastic! My wife had another speciality from Sete – “moule farcie” – and it was also really good. Our other friend had skewers with squid and a big plate with assorted shellfish. They actually had very good meat too.

The service is very pleasant and welcoming and the view is fantastic. The sun was shining – it was roasting hot in November and the sea-gulls were busy looking for food circling over the enormous oyster-beds outside the window.

WEB: www.laguinguette-restaurant.fr/

Latest visit: November 2015
Number of visits: 1

LE SAINT CLAIR

 LE SAINT CLAIR - Rue du Mont Saint-Clair, 34540 Balaruc-les-Bains

We have only been there once, but it was an experience. It was a birthday and we enjoyed the food enormously. The restaurant Saint Clair is a gourmet sea-food restaurant. Most people in the area say it is the best sea-food place around L’Etang de Thau. The reason why we have not returned after the first time is that we have gone to the neighbor restaurant Le Grand Large that has the same owner and is a little less expensive, but has fantastic food and very nice service.

If you are in the Sète area and really want to experience the best sea-food the region can offer – this is the place. So why go away from Sète? The reason is that because of the many tourists Sète restaurants concentrate rather on prize than quality in the summer. It is hard to get the best sea-food in "the center of sea-food" in south of France. A few kilometers away in Balaruc-les- Bains it is a different thing.

Revisited May 2013: It was quite a while since we were at this restaurant. As the first time it was a birthday we celebrated. The food was excellent as we remembered from last time, perhaps a little more elaborated this time.

The starter we all but one had was their foie gras which is something extra. It was foie gras prepared in different ways presented in a very aesthetic way. All but myself had beef for main course, which was excellent. As this is a fish restaurant I had Bourride de baudroie. It is classic dish that takes a lot of time to make at home so I took the opportunity to eat it here. It is however very filling.

Revisited September 2013: we were slightly disapointed this time. My favourite starter with foie gras was not as it normaly is. The starter with Saint Jaques was tastless. The two fish-dishes we had were good, but my wifes lamb was not at all up to standard - tough and not very nice pieces. My dessert was delicious, but the cheese plate was not at all of French standard.

WEB: http://www.restaurant-saintclair.com/accueil.html
LATEST VISIT: 2013
NUMBER OF VISITS: 2

LE GRAND LARGE

LE GRAND LARGE - Avenue pasteur prolongé, 34560 Balaruc les Bains

Le Grand Large is one of our favorites in Balaruc les Bains. This is a place to go for high quality fish and seafood. As it is a restaurant of certain style, fantastic food and situated with a view over Bassin de Thau it is a restaurant for special occasions. Do not  misunderstand me – it is not expensive, just very good value, nice food, friendly service and a very nice atmosphere. The seafood platters are enormous and the fish is always fresh, but do not hesitate to order meat – it is perfect. My absolute favorite here is beef Carpaccio, which is the absolutely best I have ever eaten. My wife though is very fond of the cutlet fish with a creamy “sauce a la bourride”.

The same owner have a twin restaurant next door, Saint Louis, which has a more gourmet style and Le Grand Large is of a more traditional style.

Revisited in September 2012: As always very good and not expensive. I again had the fantastic beef carpaccio and this time we all had the traditional dish Bourride de baudroie as main course. It was a fantastic warm and nice day with a nice view over Etang de Thau.

Revisited in December 2015: Absolutely delicious. We celebrated that our good friend can walk with crutches after many weeks in a wheel-chair.


WEB: http://www.restaurantlegrandlargebalaruc.fr/
LATEST VISIT: 2015
NUMBER OF VISITS: 5