Al fresco dining on the terrace
By the sea or in the country, lunch and dinner mean the great outdoors.
By the sea or in the country, lunch and dinner mean the great outdoors. A tour of addresses for summer…
The locals all tell you : here, from May to October, everyone lives outdoors. And at mealtimes, as a family, with friends or lovers, there’s no way you’ll want to be inside. Fans of chlorophyll head for the hill-country and a table at La Bastide Saint-Antoine. Jacques Chibois, his olive-trees and cuisine certainly deserve a short car-drive before you savour the offerings of the chef. Slightly closer to the coast, Le Mas Candille and Serge Gouloumès (sporting a recently won star) bask in a countrified atmosphere in a privileged setting. A perfect compromise between sea and country, L’Oasis is just two minutes from the beaches of Mandelieu, a restaurant whose name is well-suited to its location with a refurbished terrace giving precedence to luxuriant vegetation. As for Stéphane Raimbault, his reputation has long since crossed the frontiers of France. Then there are two rendez-vous which are really worth the detour : L’Hôtellerie Le Couvent Royal at Saint-Maximin La Sainte-Baume, and Le Relais des Moines at Les Arcs in the Var. Historic decor for the first and an impressively majestic terrace, a “bastide” built by the Counts of Villeneuve in the Middle Ages for the second. Both offer gastronomic cuisine.
Three-quarters of the planet, if not the entire world, envies our shoreline. From Sainte-Maxime to Monaco, good addresses with views of the deep blue sea are legion. From the Beauvallon Beach Restaurant to Zebra Square, from the 3.14 Plage to the Beach Hotel, a wide choice of styles and cuisines are there for the taking. For fans of “bikini/pareo even at table”, there’s nothing like warm sand, sun mattresses and parasols, exchanged, when it’s time to eat, for an elegantly laid table. Choose from the very recent 3.14 Plage run by the hotel of the same name, the Martinez Hotel’s Zplage (both launched in Cannes last summer), institutions like Ondine also on the Croisette, Keller on Cap d’Antibes, the beach resort of Les Pêcheurs at Juan-les-Pins or the Hôtel Beau Rivage’s beach in Nice. While each address flaunts its own personality and colours that suit it to a T, they all share recipes based on natural ingredients and ultra-fresh produce. Salads, fish, meat and, of course, cocktails all feature on their menus.
On the terrace
Not exactly at the water’s edge, but with a view embracing the horizon, these addresses have a seaside flavour. At the Beauvallon Hotel, gastronomy is an art for Jean-Michel Belin (a “salade niçoise” with fresh grilled tuna). Jean-Claude Brugel at Le Rivage (Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel) suggests ravioli with borage and fresh tomatoes, while the chef at the Zebra Square (with its top-floor terrace at the Grimaldi Forum) prepares calamari with a marinade of vegetables. Trendy too, Le Karrément with its 200 m2 terrace opts for tapas to tempt the palate. Tapas, yes, but in the Patrice Lafont version ! For total contrast, try the restaurant at La Pérouse, an hotel built in 1930 ! Its superb lemon-trees still provide welcome shade, with Mediterranean cuisine of real finesse. And the view of the Bay of Nice is totally unique !
By Cécile Olivéro - Photos : M. Partouche-Sebban - Presse
Address-book
3.14 Plage, 5 rue François-Einesy, Cannes (04 92 99 72 00). Menus : from 35 €. HÔtel Beauvallon, RN 98, Sainte-Maxime (04 94 55 78 88). Carte : approx. 50 €. HÔtel Beau Rivage, 24 rue Saint-François-de-Paule, Nice (04 92 47 82 82). Carte : approx. 52 €. HÔtel Le Couvent Royal, Place Jean-Salusse, Saint-Maximin La Sainte-Baume (04 94 86 55 66). Menu : 35 €. Karément, Grimaldi Forum, 10 avenue Princesse-Grace, Monaco. Tapas : 5 to 12 €, Formula : 16 €. La Bastide Saint-Antoine, 48 avenue Henri-Dunant, Grasse (04 93 70 94 94). Lunchtime menu : 47 €. Evening menu : 110 €. Carte : approx. 110 €. La Pérouse, 11 quai Rauba Capeu, Nice (04 93 62 34 63). Menus : 45 and 60 €. Carte : approx. 50 €. Monte-Carlo Beach Club, Le Deck, Monaco (00 377 97 97 52 42). Carte : approx. 41 €. Menu : 29 €. Le Mas Candille, boulevard Clément-Rebuffel, Mougins (04 92 28 43 43). Lunchtime menu : 38 €. Evening menu : 60 €. Carte : approx. 87 €. Le Relais des Moines, La Bergerie, route Sainte-Roseline, CD 91, Les Arcs (04 94 47 40 93). Market menu : 32 €. Discovery menu : 45 €. "Dégustation" menu : 55 €. Carte : approx. 50 €. Le Restaurant de la Plage, Les Pêcheurs resort, 10 boulevard Maréchal Juin, Antibes-Juan-les-Pins (04 92 93 13 30). Carte : approx. 35 €. L’Oasis, rue Jean-Honoré-Carle, Mandelieu (04 93 49 95 52). Closed Monday lunchtime. Lunchtime menu : 45 €. Evening menu : 58 €. Carte : approx.
100 €. L’Ondine, La Croisette, Cannes (04 93 94 23 15). Carte : from 50 €. Plage Keller, chemin Garoupe, Juan-les-Pins (04 93 61 33 74). Carte : approx. 50 €. Le Rivage, Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel, Monaco (00 377 93 28 66 66). Carte : approx. 50 €. Zebra Square, 10 avenue Princesse Grace, Monaco (00 377 99 99 25 50). Carte : approx. 40 €. Zplage, Hôtel Martinez, 73 La Croisette, Cannes (04 92 98 73 00). Salads : from 10 €. Fish dishes : from 35 €. Meat dishes : from 25 €.
