Restaurant La Gravette
48 boulevard Aguillon, Antibes
06600 France
Phone: 04 93 34 18 60
Closed on Tuesday
Antibes - le Fort Carré
La Gravette
La Gravette is a restaurant located at the entrance of the old town of Antibes, right behind les vieux murs (the old walls) separating the town from the harbour. You cannot miss this location as it is reserved for pedestrians only and very touristic. Fortunately La Gravette is not a tourist trap. It has actually been there for over 50 years and owned by the same family (second and third generation now). With such beautiful and warm weather we decided to eat on the terrace. It is quite large and there is a good amount of space between the tables.
As its name suggests (la gravette is a fishing term, a kind of worm for catching fishes) this restaurant is specialised into fish. They do serve meat as well but fish is big in their menu.
We ordered a salade niçoise (11 euros) followed by the meal of the day which was a Saint Pierre fish – known as John Dory in English (14 euros) and a fromage blanc et son coulis de fruits rouges (white cheese with red fruits coulis) as dessert (5.50 euros). I had the 3 course menu at 26 euros offering several choices of the first and second courses and the dessert. I chose the tarte fine à la tomate et basilic avec salade verte (thin tart with tomato and basil, with green salad) as starter. The main course was the loup grillé (grilled seabass) au fenouil and the dessert was a tarte tatin tiède glace vanille et chantilly. To drink I had a (very good) glass of rosé Côte de Provence AOC (3 euros). The basket of bread and the cold bottle of tap water were complementary.
Other interesting meals we could have chosen were the noix de St jacques et ses tagliatelles de légumes à la provençale (scallops – 22 euros), la bouillabaisse individuelle avec ses croûtons et sa rouille (22 euros), gambas à la provençale (22 euros), Merlu grillé ou meunière et son beurre à l’ail (Cod like fish like the hake grilled with garlic butter – 22 euros). As desserts the fromage de chèvre frais à l’huile d’olive (fresh goat cheese with olive oil – 5.50 euros) and the Crème catalane (lemon and cinamon cream – 8 euros) were original.
Tarte fine à la tomate et basilic
Salade niçoise
The salade niçoise was very good indeed. The salad was very nice, crisp and fresh, with with a good accompaniment of sliced boiled eggs and tuna. Everything in just the right proportions and nicely seasoned. Really difficult to find any fault with this dish. The thin tart with tomato and basil was simple but excellent. The base was very light and warm, and the tomatos were tasty.
Saint Pierre fish fillets
Loup grillé au fenouil
The Saint Pierre fillets were also good. This is a firmly textured white fish, that does well just lightly fried in a bit of butter – as was the case with the fillets that arrived on the plate. They were seasoned with a variety of herbs and tomato, and accompanied by a boiled new potato and an assortment of vegetables. After the big starter, this light dish was very enjoyable, and I wouldn’t hestitate to return and try it again. The loup grillé was great. The waiter brought the fish out whole after it was cooked, then asked if I wanted to have it filleted (i.e. your choice of presentation), which I accepted since I was not in the mood to deal with fish bones. It was a nice meal, and healthy too!
Tarte tatin
Fromage blanc et son coulis de fruits rouges
For anyone not into too-sweet desserts, the white cheese with coulis is the perfect answer. On appearances alone, I worried for a moment that the coulis was going to be too sweet, but I worried needlessly. It was still tart to the tastebuds, but with just enough sweetness to make it an easily consumable dessert, and set off nicely the slight bitterness of the white cheese. An excellent dessert that I would return to this restaurant just to have again. The tarte tatin was delicious. It arrived warm and the cooked apples had a light caramelised flavour. It was not too sweet. The ice cream, on the other side, was quite average.
Good coffee
Cost and conclusion: it was 63.50 euros, including the two good cups of coffee (4 euros). La Gravette is not a gastronomic restaurant by any means, but it is an excellent local fish restaurant providing simple, fresh and tasty dishes. The value for money is good and there is even a 3 course menu for 19 euros which is very well priced. The location is excellent, same for the friendly service. Highly recommended if you are in the area!
Some photos of Antibes:
The marché provençal on Sunday
You can walk on the walls
View of the restaurant from the walls. At the right the marina.
The marina in Antibes
Interesting narrow building in the Old Antibes
