Le Quintessence in Banyuls-sur-Mer

"One of our best eating experiences of the year. Quality ingredients, well presented. A perfect blend of tastes. Don't rush. To be savoured."

"We really enjoyed our experience at ale Quintessence. The chef was warm and inviting and helped us choose wine and navigate through the well-thought out menu. We don’t speak almost any French but he spoke English and was kind enough to help us with any questions we had. Also, they kept the restaurant open later for us which was very nice. The food was great! We had some starters-Risotto and some kind of salad with cured ham (both were extremely well-flavored and cooked to perfection!). We also had the pork loin for our main dinner entre. It was very well-seasoned and delicious. The music was great (a lot of classics like Sinatra etc...), the ambience was nice and we had an overall great time-would highly recommend!"

"This restaurant is really good. The chef is very inventive and the quality of the food is top notch. The prices are very reasonable and the ambience sat outside is very relaxing. We will be coming back here, but make sure that you book ahead because you need to try it. Edit: we're back at the height of the season in late July 2025 and the total ambience has gone up another level. How, I don't know how, but the food - smoked shank of lamb, the music being played, and the wine selection are all excellent. We have no doubt that we'll be back yet again."

"Real good mediterranean food. Offer few but delicious dishes made from fresh local produce. Regional wines of good quality. Friendly and attentive staff. Very good price/value."

"Polite, professional server and excellent dishes for a great price - the trout with risotto was cooked with perfect technique and just the right portion size as it was very rich and filling. Not a long wait for the dishes to arrive, Banyuls White wine was delicious, and the menus had different language options. Highly recommend - très bien!"

"Amazing experience! Every dish was absolutely special. The best asparagus in my life for entree, great poulpe - everything was so tasty and fresh. Atmosphere of the place is very pleasant, big thank you for the choice of music!"

"The welcome board showed us where to go: no burgers, tapas, pizza, fries. Perfect announcement, because we wanted tasty and unusual food. Inside there is room for about 8 people. Outside on the street (pedestrian) for another 20 more. Service is fast, friendly and attentive. The menu comes on a tablet, which, a little strangely, also displays other languages. The dishes are small in number but all delicious and special. The menu for €38 is calculated fairly. We were very satisfied."

"I went in spontaneously and it was a good choice. Reasonable price and tidy delicious food made with fresh ingredients. It was much more satisfying than the meal I had the day before at a seaside restaurant in Colioure for which I paid almost twice the price. And I felt sorry for changing seats without asking the waiter first. I couldn't stand the strong sunlight in early October at the outdoor seats. I found out later that the waiter knows exactly what time and what minute the shade will be in which seat, so if you are sensitive to sunlight, I recommend asking him first where to sit."