Provence / Côte d'Azur: Where to Eat: Big Night Out: Le Pavillon

Le Pavillon

Across the street from La Garoupe Beach is the newly opened restaurant Le Pavillon, at the Hotel Imperial Garoupe. The hotel, a Florentine-style palazzo, is run by Gilbert Irondelle, son of the well-known (and now-retired) director of the Hôtel du Cap-Eden Roc, Jean-Claude Irondelle. Chef Philippe Jégo (formerly of La Tour d’Argent, Paris) serves his flavorful, exquisitely presented Mediterranean cuisine in a sunlit atrium. Try the marinated blue lobster and shrimp carpaccio; the sea bass with asparagus, crab and fennel-filled macaroni; and the divine dark chocolate cake topped with kumquat jam and soymilk sorbet. Coming later this summer: the Hotel Imperial Garoupe plans to launch its own private beach and restaurant, decked out with minimalist-modern lounge chairs and a floating glass pier with massage tents and a cocktail bar.