Visiting Aix as an American tourist. Friendly staff that spoke English. We ordered the assorted…read moreseafood plate, duck skewers, and sangria. Everything was delicious. They gave us a free aperitif of some Spanish liquor that topped off the night.

I'd been meaning to check out La Cita, a new tapas place, ever since it opened on Valentines day…read more2011, decorating its chalk menu board with kitchy hearts offering special priced couples menus (cue single woman gag reflex). I finally got around to eating here a few days ago with my best friends in town from the U.S. in tow, and it was love at first sight and bite. You'll be charmed by the authentic feel of a cozy Spanish tapas joint, and if the weather agrees you can sit outside at one of the giant wooden barrel 'tables.' Inside, massive legs of jamon hang from the bar, earthy wall tones and Spanish themed décor add to the ambiance. Our server came over with the menu, hand delivered on a chalk board from table to table. It turns out that La Cita is a family affair, our waitress the aunt of the young couple that quit their corporate day jobs to open the joint. The menu was divided into three sections, ascending by price. From column A, we sampled the Pan Tomate (bruschetta), Pan Jambon (ham and bread), Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes in spicy, creamy tomato sauce) and Omelette Espagnole (egg and potato fritatta). All were excellent, and reasonably priced at €2-4 each. From the sea, there were mussels and calamari, and an Iberian cheese plate to finish the meal. The seafood and cheese were slightly more expensive at around €6-8 per plate, but made up for the extra price in quality and larger portion sizes. And what Tapas meal would be complete without a pitcher of Sangria? We ordered a liter of the red stuff, full of juicy alcoholic fruit, not too sweet, and at €8, a steal to get the three of us happily buzzed. When the bill came, we had our attentive server split it in three, and my jaw nearly dropped that the total bill for 8 tapas plates, a liter of booze, and 2 hours of enjoyable dining came out to €15.80 per person, the price one could expect to pay for an entrée at most of the "restos" in Aix. Before leaving out server came by to wish us a great rest of our vacation and a safe return for my visiting friends, sealing in my 5 star review for La Cita, and guaranteeing that I will be visiting again.

A great hidden gem! It was our first night in Marseille. We were unsure of where to go, until we…read morefound this place had good reviews and it was around the corner. "It couldn't be that bad" we said. It was not bad at all! The entire atmosphere was as French as it gets, the bar person greeted us with "I am full tonight" and we said "what about the bar?". He said "the bar is free" so we rolled in. The bar person explained the whole menu to us, paired our wines with our tastes and treated us to nice conversations. Turned out the bar person was the owner. His service to the entire restaurant is like an entire experience to be had. He served the whole place, 20 tables and 5 bar seats, by himself. There were 2 chefs, and they rolled out dishes every 5 minutes. The small menu helped them. The food was amazing. The bruschetta was my favorite, although the pork dish was my second favorite. I was definitely in food heaven in a French movie filmed during the night. I will forever remember!

Took us a while to find something exciting close to our stay. But we definitely found it at this…read morelocation. Simple menu but very rewarding. We tried all the tapas and it's an delicious find on our first night in Marseille. Delicious food with good wines. Great atmosphere! Give it a try!