L’Escale

5 Boulevard Sarrail

Palavas-les-Flots

Tel: 0467.682417 (closed Wed.)

 

Located on the Palavas sea front with a lovely view of the beach just across the street,

L’Escale offers the promise of being a serious place to eat and what’s even better

delivers. This is a place I have frequented over the years and it was nice to see that the

interior had been changed and now has a clubby atmosphere replete with leather-like

chairs.

 

There are menus ranging from 22€-46€ as well as à la carte. Our table chose the 3

course 22€ menu and the 4 course €30 one, which includes a cheese dish.  Not

surprisingly, considering its location the emphasis is on whatever can be found in the

sea, but there is enough choice to keep carnivores happy too. 

 

The meal started with an amuse bouche of fresh crabmeat mixed with aspic, rocket

greens and topped with whipped cream. The combination really didn’t need the cream

because it negated the crispness of the other ingredients. 

 

An interesting starter is the rouget (red mullet) on a sort of pastry bed accompanied by pearls of wheat filled with capers, olives and saffron. The result was delicious and its subtlety would have allowed even people who don’t particularly like fish to enjoy it. A solid, meaty choice is the rolled pressed duck with some rocket and a mustard dressing. This was a well-presented plate with the substantial amount of cold duck leaving a beautiful taste that lingered. Main dishes are also appealing. One of the perpetual favorites is civet de blanc d’encornets in red wine. This is a stew of cuttlefish in red wine topped with a cream sauce and some crayfish. While this might seem to be a simple dish with basic ingredients, the effect is a sophisticated and daring combination of tastes, a real winner. Another is the tuna steak topped with cockles, crayfish, fresh green vegetables and garlic mash. This too is a lovely plate: savory, colorful and satisfying.  Still another is the filet of cod. This has basically the same accompaniment as the tuna but is subtler in flavor. The outcome is refined and not overly fishy in taste. For meat eaters the souris is an arresting choice. These are lamb shanks with North African spices and white beans. Full-flavored and hearty, this is perhaps a better choice for a winter’s day when the surf is crashing onto the beach across the street.  

 

The dessert was a great combination of velvety tiramisu and really ripe strawberries. Very simple, but oh how effective as a rounding-off with the right balance between freshness and creaminess. Other possibilities include a fondant of chocolate from Tanzania served hot with mango sorbet and a trilogy of crème brulé, carambar (a type of French caramel candy) and crème catalane.

 

The wine card is extensive with good houses from all around the Languedoc as well as a few other regions in France. There is also a decent choice of half bottles, as well. I drank a chardonnay from the Faugères 25€. While not exciting it was reasonably balanced with a hint of vanilla cream, but it could have used a longer finish. 

 

Service here is what one expects of a good restaurant. No one is obsequious everyone is relaxed, yet nothing goes unnoticed. The two partners, Christophe behind the stove and Martial out front, see that everything runs smoothly. However, this is not to say I have no criticisms. The cheapest à la carte item is 15€ for fish soup.  The wine card, on the whole, is also expensive for what it is. Although Felines-Jourdan is a fine house I have never seen a Picpoul for 25€ in a restaurant and there were only half bottles on offer for less than 20€. Moreover, the 22€ formula was not written in the menu nor was it offered until I asked about it when ordering. 

 

In retrospect, however, I indulged in a fine four-course meal for 30€. The aesthetic presentations and quality of cooking make for the type of eating experience that one can look back on with satisfaction. As the menu is changed quite often this is a restaurant worth going back to provided the prices remain reasonable.

 

Happily, the fine view is thrown in for free.

Apicius