La barque bleue - Le Grau-du-Roi

We stopped here for an early dinner. The friendly lady serving us had no issues with our flexible interpretation of main course/starter/sharing plate. We had some oisters and calamari to start and giant prawns and pulpo as main. The setting is one of a shack serving food straight off the sea, which is what the name refers to. Genuine stuff if you ask me…

We had dinner in October.. outside! Family meal a couple 2 kids and a dog. We were just sitting close to the outside stand where they prepare the « plateau » and could watch the preparation of the food. We had an marinated octopus salad (that for me was the least of the dinner too acid), 2 kids menu for our 6y and 18 months children fries are not homemade but good quality, deep fried calamars are just the best I have had in years! and we saw the preparation this time they were fresh. My husband and I shared a plateau and half portion of the bulots that were just magic. Table white wine was also a good value. Staff were just very tranquil and authentic southern people. We were looking for a place exactly like this, authentic, simple, with fresh products and respectful of them. Definitely coming back and hope they don’t change a bit!

A large group of us had lunch here on a Monday afternoon. We all had delicious, incredibly fresh seafood, primarily shellfish. We sat outside and were given friendly, efficient service. A wonderful dining experience. Highly recommended.

We generally go to Le Grau two to three times a year, and in summer we always have our seafood in a place that 's not open in April. So each year we look for an equivalent that is. This year we tried La barque bleue, based on good reviews here on Trip Advisor. It was a lunchtime booking. My wife asked what he sounded like when I hang up after making it, and I said I thought he sounded a bit annoyed. I wondered if I 'd called a wrong number, but had clicked on the link to call, so it couldn 't have been that. We 'd booked for an outside table, and when we got to town much earlier, a chilly wind had kicked up, so we called around to see if we could move it inside. No problem at all, the young man, presumably the owner 's son, said. All was good. We thought it looked a bit grotty from the outside, though. A while later we rolled up. Daughter said she wasn 't up for much seafood, except for tellines, pointus and wayhay! deep fried calamari. Mrs I were all for the oysters, clams and the rest. Again the welcome seemed a bit grumpy from dad, but we went with it. There were no tellines out of season and while they did have pointus, they hadn 't been cooked yet, 'and it takes two and a half hours '. Calamari then. The oysters, clams, amandes, bulots were all excellent. Very fresh and very tasty. Just what you 'd want. If we had stopped there, we 'd be on 4 to 5 star level. The room wasn 't pristine though the toilets were and things looked like they needed a revamp. I 'm pretty sure the calamari were industrial and frozen, and the prawns seemed soggy. The portions of aioli and butter were limited. In short, the fresh shellfish was excellent, but the restaurant could do with a smartening up. The calamari were good, but didn 't seem like they 'd been freshly prepared. The wine was fine and good value.

We waited 20 minutes before we were served. I ordered a pretty classic but good caesar salad. And the commercial gesture of this restaurant was present. Traditional but good restaurant I recommend.