Oysters at a Producer's Mas

What it is

A mas, on the shore of the Étang de Thau, is the shed of the oyster and mussel producer: the place where he handles the shellfish he brings in from his tables and, more and more, where he serves it on a terrace with the lagoon in front. Eating oysters at a mas is the central plan in Bouzigues: produce of the day, producer's price, from €1 an oyster, and the farming tables a few hundred metres from your plate. Along the shore, between Bouzigues and Loupian, there is a row of them.

What you eat

• Oysters, raw or gratinéed. In Thau there are no tides: the oysters grow hanging from ropes on the lagoon's tables, and come out plump and less salty than Atlantic ones. Some producers take them out of the water for a few hours a day to imitate the tide and sell them as spéciales exondées, firmer.
• Creuses or plates. The creuse, the cupped oyster, is the usual one; the plate, the flat oyster, has a more marine flavour, with notes of seaweed.
• Mussels, and at many mas the brasucade, mussels cooked over embers, the local speciality.
• Local white wine, such as Picpoul de Pinet.

For ordering: the number indicates the weight and, the lower it is, the bigger. No. 5 weighs 30 to 45 g; No. 0, over 150 g. Spéciale means more flesh than fine.

Where

• Le Cercle des Huîtres, at 1001 chemin de la Catonnière, in Bouzigues: Sebastian and Irene's family mas, who serve their own spéciales creuses and plates, raw or gratinéed, with seafood platters and local wine. You book the tasting on their website. The tasting closes in winter and reopens in February. For groups of ten or more they organise farm tours of about 40 minutes, also in Spanish.
• In Loupian, Hérault Tourisme lists, among others, Atelier & Co, a tasting mas facing the lagoon where booking is advisable, and the Mas de dégustation Guy Sanchez, which adds a guided tour of the farm before the tasting.

If you prefer a table and tablecloth, on the Bouzigues promenade is La Côte Bleue, the classic restaurant facing the tables, with dishes for those who don't eat raw seafood.

Hours and booking

Each mas has its own hours and closing days: check the sign or its website before going. Many serve mostly at lunchtime; those that open in the evening do so in season. In summer and at weekends, book. Some take cash only: bring some with you.

Oysters are eaten all year. In spring and autumn there is room and the lagoon is calm. In high summer the water warms up and, in years of strong heat, the lagoon suffers the malaïgue, the lack of oxygen that kills oysters: in 2018 a third of the harvest was lost. If it happens in a given year, there will be less produce in August.

Getting there and parking

The mas are on the road and tracks that run along the lagoon. If you are going to Le Cercle des Huîtres, the free Catonnière car park is in the same area. Without a car it is difficult: the nearest station is Sète and the bus involves a change.

With children

If the children don't want raw oysters, a baked gratinéed one, grilled mussels or the tielle de Sète, an octopus pie, solve lunch. Before or after, the boat to the tables and the Musée de l'Étang de Thau show them where what they eat comes from.