La Balette - Collioure

This is a place to go if you want good food good service and ambience. We went mid day and took the 7 course tasting menu with wine. All I can say is faultless. The view was a quite unnecessary, but wonderful addition. The wine did bump the cost up, but it was so lovely and matched the food so well, there are no regrets.

First what this is NOT: For children, vegans, gluten-freebies, picky eaters or anyone participating in any other food fad. It 's a gourmet dining experience, not somewhere you go because you Need to eat Next, make a reservation or you won 't get in. You are presented with a menu at the same time the tiny pre-amuse bouches show up. A teaser for good things to come. You do not get to know what is coming, your only choice is how many courses you get and if you would like the pairings of local wine. We had the 12 courses with the wine. If you have a legitimate food allergy let them know when you order. They make use of molecular gastronomy here and some things are not what they seem! So fun. Don 't eat too much bread, or you won 't be able to finish and remember there are three desserts. The service is spot on, even though some are still learning. This Michelin Star chef presented a seasonally appropriate light meal that you can finish if you prepare by not eating after breakfast. We ate here twice, once for 12 courses and once for eight. Our second night they changed it up, so we were able to try new dishes. Can 't wait to see what he comes up with next year.

What a disappointment! We were a table of four and all ordered the 10 course menu believing that in that way we would get the most variety and really see what the chef had to offer. Every single dish was either fish or seafood. We recognized that this restaurant is by the sea but never in our imagination would we have expected that every single course would be fish or seafood. They even put caviar on the dessert. All of the courses just started to blend together without real differences in flavor or texture. They certainly didn't highlight what the whole region has to offer. You get no choice over what dishes you get although they do ask you if there are things that you really don't like (I don't know what they would have done had I said I don't love seafood for every course, bit I didn't think I would have to say that), and then at the end they give you a list of all the things that you might have had if only they had decided to bring those to you. So don't get excited about the dessert that the people at the table next to you have because chances are you won't be getting it. We certainly expected some fish and seafood but not for it ALL to be. We will not ever go back and in fact it just turned us off trying any restaurant where they don't tell you in advance what you will be getting. Sad. Happily we ended our trip at a one star restaurant in Paris that was better in every way, except the view.

Excellent meals, perfect staff and good advice (sommelier in tre autre) malgres my egg allergy the chef has been able to make us a menu "de...

Beautiful... splendid ... very warm welcome ... great. . .