The reputation of this bar is well established. With its guinguette atmosphere, Les Pêcheurs de Sable is the place to be on the Quai de la Daurade. In summer, its terrace fills up with people. Regulars and day-trippers alike meet here to enjoy a drink with friends and the warm weather. But do you know the morbid story behind this bar?
The Garonne and the sand fishermen
This sea bass has two secrets, the first of which is historical. Up until the early 20th century, when the water level was low, sand fishermen used their scoops (a kind of sand sieve) to sort the grains of sand used to make cement. Then, on their flat-bottomed barge, loaded with their harvest of sand, they travelled along the banks of the Garonne. It was this trade that gave the sea bass its name.
One story can hide another
As you may know, Les Pêcheurs de Sable is ideally located on the Quais de la Daurade, facing the Garonne. And where there’s a river, there’s sometimes a drowning… So the building that now hosts your summer evenings and meals with friends used to be a former morgue. As the place was cool, it was used to store the bodies of drowned people recovered from the Garonne, until their families came to identify them. Atmosphere!
📍Quai de la Daurade – 31000 Toulouse