Sea, food and sun
Every summer, these tables are taken by storm. Beach-restaurants welcome sun-lovers who never skip the sacred lunch hour. A pause for gourmet delights in your pareo. Just a few metres from sun-mattresses to chairs…
You swap your horizontal position with eyes closed, to sitting, with your eyes focusing in anticipation on your plate. Without, however, neglecting the seascape or your companion. But gourmandise often gets the better of us... In the Var, and more precisely, in Ramatuelle, “Club 55” and “Nioulargo” serve as eternal symbols. After all, you can hardly pay a visit to Saint-Tropez and the surrounding area without reserving a table at one of these high temples to Med-side culture. This is where one is very likely to rub shoulders with the beautiful people, both French and foreign. The menus at both addresses opt for “natural” fare. A choice of grilled fish, seafood or typically Provençal recipes. After rock'n roll in the Var, try pop in Cannes at “3.14 La Plage” and its restaurant. The angle here is originality in terms of design (furnishings are bright blue-green, parasols white and very pointed), and Mediterranean in terms of cuisine (crabmeat with guacamole and green apples, whole back of sea-bream, squid with minestrone...). On the border between Juan-les-Pins and Cap d'Antibes, the “Cap d'Antibes Beach Hotel” complex has just been treated to a facelift, with interior decor signed Sybille de Margerie. This private beach of pale sand is decked out with beige sun-loungers and parasols, very chic, and a veranda that houses its restaurant, “Le Cap”, with the Lérins Islands as a backdrop. You’ll savour lunch a few metres from the water’s edge with the lapping of the waves as background music. Simplicity and flavour are the keys to recipes concocted by chef Nicolas Sale. Feast on marinated and grilled red tuna with a semolina of anchovies and sweet pepperoni, fillet of sea-bream “à la plancha”, a “tian” of vegetables with aged Parmesan cheese, or grilled lobster with vanilla-flavoured salt and orzo rice with aromatic herbs. A little further on, right at the heart of this cape for millionaires and the happy few, “César” and the Plage Keller are magnets for fans of “discreet sunbathing”. The end of the world could well be right here, the place has succeeded so well in distancing itself from the summer frenzy. At table, no bones about it, authenticity rules the waves, with the not-to-be-missed capon in “bouillabaisse” or raviolini with artichokes. In Nice, “Hi Beach” pursues the concept launched in 2008 for its second year of existence. An ecological label, and two well-known chefs manning the ovens : Kazuomi Ota for sushi and sashimi, and Mauro Colagreco, guest chef for this summer. Possibly less publicized (though in fact…), La Plage du Beau Rivage and its restaurant at the water’s edge entrust Stephen Innocentini with titillating the taste-buds of its guests. His credo : a mix of Mediterranean and Asian flavours, including a “plancha” of Saint-Jacques scallops in beetroot juice with ginger, risotto-style quinoa with on-the-vine tomatoes, knuckle of lamb lacquered with honey and ginger, sweet potatoes baked in hazelnut oil...
Carnet :
César, plage Keller, chemin Garoupe, Antibes Juan-les-Pins (04 93 61 28 23). Starting at 60 €. Hi Beach, 47 promenade des Anglais, Nice (04 97 14 00 83). Starting at 12 €. La Plage Beau Rivage, 107 quai des Etats-Unis, Nice (04 92 00 46 80). Menus : 19 € (du jour) et 32 €. Carte : approx 50 €. Le Cap, Cap d’Antibes Beach Hotel, 10 boulevard Maréchal Juin, Cap d’Antibes (04 92 93 13 30). Carte : approx 60 €. Le Club 55, boulevard Patch, plage de Pampelonne, Ramatuelle (04 94 55 55 55). Starting at 30 €. Nioulargo, 17 boulevard Patch, Ramatuelle (04 98 12 63 12). Starting at 30 €. 3.14 La Plage, La Croisette, Cannes (04 93 94 25 43). Menu Saveurs, 26 € ; Plaisirs, 34 €. Menu enfant : 15 €. Carte : Starting at de 16 €.
Par Cécile Olivéro
