Tuba Club

Liz Rowland

Situated between the mountains and the sea, Marseille is a city brimming with art, culture and that je ne sais quoi. With its cool aesthetic and laid back vibes, Tuba is a perfect place to stay, dine, and chill by the Mediterranean Sea. In conversation with Fabrice Denizot, Greg Gassa and Marion Mailaender, we discovered why this place has so much charm and how every guest enters as a stranger but leaves as a friend. Which makes us want to go there ASAP.

Tuba looks like a wonderful place to unwind. You’ve got the beach, you’ve got a hotel and a restaurant too! Tell us the story of how this fabulous place came to be?

Fabrice Denizot: when I moved back from Paris to Marseille, after 20 years of an intense career in the movie industry, I told Greg that I wanted to open a “place of my own”, along with him. A bar, a restaurant, whatever… but by the sea! I had travelled a lot while working as a studio executive (and film producer), and I felt that there was room in Marseille for a laidback, cool venue, with a sea view and a strong design signature. There was a huge change after 2013, when Marseille was chosen to be the European Capital of Culture. A creative wind started to blow on the city. Greg [Gassa – co-founder]: had been successful in opening and running several places in Marseille. But there’s been a real shift from the moment we found the place that would become Tuba.

Greg: “Les Goudes” is a special location indeed, but the place we decided to buy was even more singular. A former diving school, where Jacques Mayol used to practice and hang around with friends… The place had the ideal backstory for us to reinvent something great and powerful.

The aesthetics of the rooms at Tuba are elegantly minimal, walk us through the design process of the hotel. Fabrice: as it is a former diving school, we wanted the place to keep this “cabanon” spirit. But we also wanted this place to look like a typical Mediterranean seaside address (like the “casettas” of the Amalfi coast!)” Greg: the strong story of the French cabanons, and specifically the ones in Marseille, was the guiding line… Marion [Mailaender – Tuba’s Artistic Director & Designer]: did all the rest, perfectly! Marion: The inspiration for Tuba is a mixture of vernacular architecture from the village of Les Goudes, a few nods to the old diving center and references to Le Corbusier’s Cabanon and the Bar L’étoile de Mer in Roquebrune Cap Martin. I also called upon many happy childhood memories to create the atmosphere of this place. The entire facade has been redone with stone walls and lazured wood cladding, integrating the building perfectly into the rocks and opening up views to the sea. At the entrance, a large mural of bathers and sculptures by Southway Studio welcomes you. The rooms are designed like wooden marine cabins, with antique lamps such as Fernand Leger’s bird-shaped ceramics, ceramics from Vallauris and books on scuba diving. Coat racks by the artist Elvire Bonduelle are scattered throughout the rooms. In the bathrooms, you shower with yellow garden hoses and admire the sea through small windows made of yellow glass, like looking through a pair of vintage Vuarnet. The artists of Southway Studio have created a work on a tile in each bathroom. The entire floor of the restaurant, inside and out, is made of limestone opus, which keeps it cool when walking on barefoot. We have tried to maintain the existing and to buy as much secondhand stuff as possible, the old tables have been painted, the bar has been covered with very local canisses, we have found wooden bistro chairs, Murano glass sconces and a brutalist wooden sideboard. A large boxwood curtain representing a sunset separates the restaurant from the kitchen, modernising the traditional Provencal curtain. Everything is designed simply to leave room for the most important, the landscape with the view on the sea and the sunset and the village of Les Goudes .

The restaurant as well has a cool beach vibe, what are some of the dishes we could expect on your menu after a nice morning swim? Close to the rooms of Tuba, stands its Table! The young Chef Antoine Teychené’s playground, deliberately offering simple cuisine… with the accent of the South of course! On the menu: Signature dishes, as well as daily suggestions, with their vegan versions if need be… Everything very « Goudes ». Always. Mixing Mediterranean influences. To sum up: a true feast! Easy to appreciate barefoot on the rocks (or on Tuba’s terrace) and under the sun, whatever the mood. The best-sellers are: the « panisses », to enjoy while chilling for the “aperitif”, or the big wild fish for two (ideal for a date), but also the grilled parmigiana

(very appreciated by vegan hosts), the (very) smoky Pan Bagnat… and of course the signature Pasta: to have a real « Pasta Tuba » moment (of your life).

Do you value the seasonality of ingredients when creating your dishes? To Chef Antoine, as well as the whole Tuba team, ecoresponsibility, sustainability and the preservation of the environment (especially as Tuba is located in the protected Parc National des Calanques) are essential! These values are notably reflected in Antoine’s cuisine: he always uses local products, and his menu respects the seasonality of course.

What is the Tuba signature dish or drink? As told before, THE signature is the PASTA TUBA (regularly nuanced according to the chef’s mood: the recipe varies from one week to the other!). As for the drinks: inspired by Provence, the barman highlights the best that the region has to offer through a large number of creations made with homemade ingredients. Some of the most famous signature cocktails of the menu are the SORMIOULE (a reinvented Moscow Mule -named after one of the little islands facing Tuba: Sormiou-) or the JOSÉ & VIVI (mezcal produced on the island of Frioul -just next door-, lemon and egg white).

The location in Marseille is stunning, tell us a little bit about living and working in Marseille. It looks like an absolute dream. Marion: Marseille is a joyful and messy city, that’s what makes its charm! Fabrice: facing the sea and turning its back to the surrounding hills, Marseille managed to create the strongest identity in France while being, like Marion says, a “happy mess”. A thousand-year-old history, a land of contrasts opening an infinite field of possibilities and that would never leave anyone indifferent. For the best and for the worst. Crazy, superb and spectacular. Marseille will always be a dream. Greg: Marseille is the source of a new energy. The city’s melting pot creates a special atmosphere where people feel able to bring new concepts to life, to build a new “era”.

And finally, who is the quintessential Tuba client? What do they wear, what music do they listen to, what foods do they eat and what is their vibe walking into Tuba? Greg: local and national (few international, due to sanitary situation) are the heart of our clientele. It reflects the philosophy of Marseille. Fabrice: Actually, you can understand the client’s profile through the description of Tuba’s DNA… We wanted Tuba to be cool and authentic, indeed, just a “simple” place ; a “friends’ den”! It was also very important for us to have a spot located by the sea. Something

that would feel timeless and eternal, that would never run out of fashion because it actually never was fashionable. I would say that what we’re most proud of is that guests often feel that the place has looked like this forever, when everything has been redesigned. I think the word that would define Tuba best would be nostalgia. Greg: The client of Tuba feels “home” -and we do the rest!-. The place is friendly but professional. The idea is that people arrive in a place as “guests”, but in the end we all end up being like true friends… And OF COURSE: their music style is echoed by Tuba’s playlist (you can listen to our personal radio online -on our website-).

2 Bd Alexandre Delabre, 13008 Marseille France