Every year at the start of the school year, Chéri and I like to take our children out for a treat. Although they have been at school for only a couple of weeks, they’re already tired from getting up early again. Therefore, we set off to the beach for a nice Sunday lunch. One of our go-to beach paillotes is La Ola in Sète. It’s the perfect place to celebrate the end of the summer holidays and the start of the new school year.
Plage du Lido
La Ola is ideally located on the Plage du Lido in Sète, the beach strip between the Mediterranean Sea and the Étang de Thau. The interior blends in with the exterior with a no-nonsense casual-chic decoration using white and blue and, as a nice finishing touch, lots of natural materials. I was glad that I had made a reservation because La Ola is a popular restaurant among locals. As I was rather late calling, they could only fit us in during the second shift at 14h30, which turned out to be perfect after our late breakfast. Also, at 14h30 most people from the early shift had finished their lunch, so it was less crowded.
Mediterranean style
The menu offers simple Mediterranean style dishes with a focus on seafood. La Ola works closely with local fishermen and oyster farmers, not surprising with the Med on your doorstep. However, there are also options for vegetarians and meat lovers. Besides the ‘à la carte menu’, there also is a daily changing menu on a chalkboard and featuring dishes that the chef was inspired to make that day. The same menu can be ordered and savoured while you’re relaxing on a sunbed, which you can rent for (only) 12 euros per day. Or you can have some tapas with your aperitif. You see, there are plenty of options to choose from. But hurry if you want to go in 2021, as La Ola closes on September 30th for the winter period.
Extensive dessert menu
We started our festive Sunday lunch with a richly filled Niçoise salad and a selection of vegan mezze to share. The twins proceeded with a simple children’s menu, and Oldest had an entrecôte with fries. Chéri was the only one ordering fish, which was a big piece of tuna with seasonal vegetables. Normally, I would order something fishy in a beach restaurant as well, however this time I went for the fresh (and vegan) Thai salad. Although the starters and the main courses menu is modest, this is not the case for the extensive dessert menu. From all the yummy looking sundaes, Oldest chose a giant ‘coupe caramel’ and Chéri a classic Dame Blanche. The twins had an ice cream included in their children’s menu. And I finished our meal with a tea gourmand. This lunch was exactly what we needed to start our new week with energy and enthusiasm!
