Chez Fonfon

Bouillabaisse served the traditional way

Bouillabaisse is served the traditional way: broth first, then the fish, with rouille and croutons. Bourride, Marseille's other great fish dish, and fish baked in clay are the other house signatures. The rest of the menu is Provençal cooking with olive oil, tomatoes and garlic. Bouillabaisse is substantial and the most expensive dish on the menu.

The terrace above the Vallon des Auffes

Painted wooden fishing boats sit a few metres from the terrace in the Vallon des Auffes, a quiet inlet a short bus or taxi ride along the coast road from the Vieux Port. The same family has run the restaurant for three generations. It has around 90 seats and air-conditioned dining rooms, and local families often book it for birthdays and Sunday lunch.

The Mounier brothers and the 1952 recipe

Brothers Alphonse and Jean Mounier founded Chez Fonfon in the Vallon des Auffes, and its bouillabaisse dates from 1952; the recipe has passed through four generations. The fish come from the house's own boats each day: rockfish such as scorpionfish, red gurnard and conger, with turbot depending on the catch, in a broth of saffron, fennel and garlic, served with potatoes, rouille, aïoli and croutons. The online shop sells jars of the bouillabaisse, fish soup, rouille and aïoli to take home, and the restaurant's own site takes table bookings.

Sources: Chez Fonfon official site. Facts checked November 2026.