Editor Pick
Restaurant Al-Fanal
- August 2, 2002
- Rated 4 of 5 by
pointerbd from Norristown, Pennsylvania
If you are not a local, this is THE absolute best restaurant in the tiny town seaside town of Banyuls sur Mer. Even though we did not speak French,we received first-class reception and service during our entire,unforgettable meal. Located on the main drag of Banyuls, its recently-renovated glass front provides memorable views of the Mediterranean. Service was so accomodating to English speakers that they even provided us with an English-French cuisine dictionary(I would love to find one!) to help with menu selection. I think we did very well. I selected Mediterranean style mussels for my appetizer and altho my dining partners were somewhat reticent they decided to take my lead. We were not disappointed; the mussels were tiny, tender morsels steamed just right in a garlicky herb-tomato broth. The wine list was somewhat daunting but again our very helpful wait staff assisted us in our choice of a moderately priced local wine which proved to be perfect. My choice of sea bass tasted like they had just caught it that afternoon. The Creme Catalan also proved to be an outstanding version of this Spanish-French dessert with lots of creamy caramel taste and crusty sugar topping. We lingered over our wine and dessert and the restaurant could not have been friendlier, filling us in on much of the local gossip, lore, etc... It was just the kind of dining experience I expect when traveling!
From journal Spend a Spa Week in Banyuls sur Mer,France!