Dining in Collioure, please?

[Jake Dear]

Hello -- we will be in Collioure for a couple nights in mid September, and hope to walk to and from dinner. From viaMichelin.com, one of the most interesting places looks to be “Le 5ème Péché,” “A small restaurant . . . that symbolizes the meeting of Japan and Catalonia. The Tokyo-born chef [Masashi IIJIMA] cooks up fine fusion cuisine with a focus on ultra-fresh fish.” Sounds good -- and there are 5 quite positive reviews on viaMichelin, all in French. Any recent experience from the readers of this board?

We also are considering three other places: “La Balette” (“*”) http://www.relaisdestroismas.com/uk/rdm-3000.php?CatID=3&ArtID=11 , “Le Neptune,” http://www.leneptune-collioure.com/ (it has a fine terrace overlooking the harbor, and according to viaMichelin, a new team is in place — perhaps to address poor service reviews on that site from 2008); and maybe “La Fregate,” http://www.fregate-collioure.com/uk/f... Comments will be appreciated. -- Jake

[Jake Dear]

Thanks again to all for your recommendations and comments -- and here’s a brief trip report:

"La Cote Vermeille" in Port Vendres was closed when we were there in Late Sept, tant pis. We stayed in Hotel Madeloc, a five minute walk from the touristy center of Collioure. (And yes, it is touristy, a bit too much so, but the light is truly beautiful, both in the morning and the evening.) We had two fine dinners, first at "Le 5ème Péché," 18, rue de la Fraternité, tel. [phone] (as noted earlier, it’s French-Japanese fusion by a Japanese chef) -- it was very good, if not great -- and then at "La Casa Leon," 2 rue Riere (a fresh seafood specialist — we had excellent turbot), tel. [phone].

Note: On our drive between Collioure and Toulouse, we had a good fish & seafood lunch near Narbonne, in Bages, overlooking the bay at the very local “Le Portanel,” Passage du Portanel, la Placette, tel. [phone] -- this place is an eel specialist, and that's what I had, yum!

[kerriar]

Other than Le 5ème Péché, the best fish restaurant in the area is La Cote Vermeille nearby in Port Vendres. 10 minutes max by taxi from Collioure, it's right on the pier in this busy fishing port. You should reserve.

The problem with most restaurants in Collioure is that the place is so beautiful and attracts so many visitors - they don't really have to try too hard.

[Parigi]

Sigh, yup, a universal law: view and food don't go together.
Unless you're La friggin Tour d'Argent. And even the Tour d'Argent is no longer the Tour d'Argent…
Le 5ème Pèche sounds most interesting, I must say.

[marsprincess]

Hmmm... I was pretty let down by the food at the Tour d'Argent - but the view and the wine list made up for the bland food. I did feel like I was eating history when I was there. Incredibly, my neighbor, who is German and has many impressive war time stories about food and the hotel industry, worked there as a waiter after the war and gave me insights into the bleeding of the ducks - way way cool.

[Jake Dear]

"La Cote Vermeille" in Port Vendres sounds pretty good as a second choice for us after Le 5ème Péché -- it gets good reviews on viaMichelin, and might be worth the short drive even tho we'd rather just walk from our little hotel in Collioure. We're also wondering about “La Balette,” right in Collioure -- does anyone have recent experience there?

[marsprincess]

Hi Jake,

I was just in Collioure two weeks ago and had dinner at Le Neptune. The views are stunning and we have some lovely pictures of the sunset but if you are a real food lover I think you will be somewhat disappointed. Nothing to complain about really, but nothing to rave about either. You pay a lot for those gorgeous views. Service was very friendly and timing was good. So, if you want a nice night out, with fantastic views and don't mind spending the € € € you will be happy. In the part of France you really do need to venture up into the hills for some incredible food at much more reasonable prices.

Have fun!

[mangeur]

Le Cinquieme Peche sounds great! http://www.lefooding.com/restaurant-1388-le_cinquieme_peche.htm
La Cuisine Comptoir sounds interesting for a light meal. http://www.lefooding.com/restaurant-1...