Bar Guillaume Tell, Hyères

Most places you go in France, a brasserie is a brasserie is a brasserie. It’s the kind of a place that’s consistent (in quality and prices), casual, and what the patron decides to make of it. It’s the French equivalent of an American diner (or rather vice versa…I know I’m going to get my ass kicked by a Frenchman) with a touch of class. It’s where you can grab a quick bite to eat or where you can sit for hours, drinking coffee or maybe an Orangina, smoking a cigarette, reading a book, and just people watching. I enjoy just about any brasserie for it’s sheer simplicity.

Hyeres, a great medieval town in Provence, along the French coast has a certain quaintness about it. Hyeres prides itself on the fact that it contains mostly locals and doesn’t have the gaudy allure of most touristy Cote d’Azur towns in France. That only benefits a place like Guillaume Tell.

Guillaume Tell is a great brasserie in downtown Hyeres. It’s situated at a big intersection and makes for some of the best people watching to be had in town. During the summer, families on vacation, beautiful French women, and couples stroll past grab a seat, sit and do what I’m typically doing…watching other people.

GT picks up its breakfast food fresh daily from the local boulangeries and they serve it quickly with a great cup of coffee. When I come here almost every morning, I’ll sit for a couple of hours with my book, drink my coffee or chocolat and take in the fact that I’m on vacation and that I better savor the moment. The service is great and very friendly, the lunches are awesome…they make a killer salade nicoise and/or steak frites, and the scene is always bustling. In the afternoon, a Kronenbourg is the only way to accompany a convenient tasty meal.

If you happen to be in the area, it’s worth checking out. It’s the best brasserie around.