We’ve never seen a place like Eater Food Club. Advertised as a food court in the non-touristy Saint-Pierre neighborhood, we expected a shopping center or one of the more modern food halls that are all the rage. Instead, we found a non-descript corridor that seemed more corporate than culinary. Yet in lieu of office doors, the hallway is lined with counters at open kitchens. Despite this unique layout, Eater Food Club slings standard food-court fare like burgers, bao, and pizza. Among these, Cha’houla stands out for its Comorian food. At Cha’houla, you’ll find comforting Comorian dishes like madaba – stewed manioc leaves – and n’tibe beef stew. “My greatest pride is sharing my culture,” beams the young owner, Fayad Hassani. Marseille has more Comorians than the island nation’s capital, Moroni, yet their cuisine is relatively unknown here due to very few Comorian restaurants.

Lavash is so integral to Armenian life that UNESCO placed it on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2014. Armenians roll the thin flatbread into wraps or dunk it in dips like smoky eggplant moutabal. Instead of throwing rice at weddings, they drape the supple flatbread over newlyweds’ shoulders for good luck. More than mere food, UNESCO champions lavash for its collective baking process that strengthens community and family ties. This is exactly what a new Armenian boulangerie is doing in Marseille.

We wind our way through the narrow streets of the Cours Julien, filled with warm-weather revelers who gather in the lively neighborhood’s bars and restaurants. Tonight our destination is Rue des Trois Rois (Three Kings Street), where we have dinner reservations at Zesti, a Greek restaurant that opened in fall 2024. The small, quaint room is already packed with diners. We are quickly greeted by Fiola Lecuyer, Zesti’s co-owner and charming front-of-the-house extraordinaire. She moves through the crowded room with the grace of a dancer and somehow manages to remember everyone’s name.