Attracting a sophisticated crowd, including many guests who just hopped of their yachts, Anjuna still makes for a low-key evening in a relaxing setting. The pebbled private beach and restaurant is best reached by boat, and is particularly enjoyable for a candlelit family-friendly dinner. The unfussy cuisine—mostly sashimi and seafood—is reliably excellent and always fresh.

This friendly bistro has a romantic candlelit ambiance and serves a combination of southwestern and home-style Provençal cuisine. Try the duck magret roasted with truffle sauce, the coquille St.-Jacques and the homemade moelleux au chocolat or crème caramel.

Set back on the scenic, winding coastal road of the Cap d’Antibes, this family-run, one-Michelin-star restaurant serves up some of the tastiest, authentic bouillabaisse in the area. The seafood is straight off the boat, and the sea views from the dining room’s bay windows are spectacular. Other superb options include a creamy garlicky soup; the catch of the day grilled with fennel; and sea perch served with truffles or the house-made aioli.

Indagare members and editors agree that Barbarac is the best spot for ice cream in the port of St. Tropez.

Beefbar, the on-property restaurant at Lou Pinet, is an escape from the busyness of town serving beef alongside Mediterranean fare.

This historic bistro in Old Nice has a classic regional menu with dishes such as lentils and sausage, risotto with truffle butter and grilled duck breast. Chef Sebastien Krieger has taken a neighborhood haunt and made it a wildly popular foodie destination with his divine renderings of southern traditional cooking with the freshest ingredients. The best tables are those on the second floor (in winter) and outside on the street terrace (in summer). Although Bistro d’Antoine has a more casual feel, reservations are essential.

Jacques Maximin, the Michelin-starred chef who opened this bistro after a storied career working at such famous South of France gourmet restaurants as Chantecler and Moulin des Mougins has declared, “simplicity is the key to being happy and also to great food.” (Ironically, über-technical chef Ferran Adria has cited Maximin as his mentor.) In 2010, he opened this affordable bistro in a former fisherman’s house in the lovely town between Antibes and Nice that is home to the Renoir Museum, and has been drawing locals and foodies with his most approachable cuisine ever since. Of course, as the name implies, the region’s fresh seafood is the main focus. Starters may include a fresh gazpacho or fresh fish tartar with capers, tomato and basil and for a main course fish of the day with a Niçoise risotto or sausages, followed by a dessert of white peaches or apricots served three different ways. Don’t be surprised if the chef asks you if you can taste the freshness of his just caught fish. The interior has simple tiled floors and red leather banquettes, but in warm weather it’s most pleasant to eat outside on the terrace.

A landmark bar-restaurant on the Place des Lices, it was recently spruced up in minimalist white-and-grey and remains a delightful place to sip pastis and watch the old messieurs trump one another in pétanque.

This lunch hot spot is perched right on the Croisette. The all-white décor lightens up the atmosphere but the space still boasts a major Riviera wow factor. The chef merges a typical French brasserie menu with international dishes. The best place for coffee or a light snack is in the garden, which is set with loungy armchairs.

This is a quiet beach lounge by day, and, at night, one of those rare places where you can dine with your toes in the sand. The international food is well prepared and the atmosphere is more romantic than wild.

On the main square before La Colombe d’Or and the ramparts of the fortified town, you will see a café with a boule court in front where there are usually men playing boules. The famous French actor Yves Montand used to while many afternoons away here playing and chatting. The food is simple brasserie fare but it is a lovely, low-key spot if you have kids with you and don’t want to splurge on Le Tilleul or La Colombe d’Or.

The vast terrace of scarlet canvas chairs is a thoroughly entertaining place for aperitifs and yacht-gazing. Once frequented by the likes of Colette, Sartre and Cocteau, it still attracts a French showbiz crowd at sunset. Indulge in a tarte tropezienne from the café’s pastry shop (the rather filling cream cake was introduced to St.-Tropez by a Polish baker in the 1950s). Best for lunch or pre-dinner drinks as the food is not fabulous.

This Thai restaurant is very casual and can provide a break from the sleek, seaside eateries in nearby St.-Tropez.

With exposed brick walls cracked with paint and mismatched chairs, this quirky, charming restaurant in Old Nice is entrancing from the get go. Tables spill out onto the sidewalk in a typically French fashion, and the eclectic spot also serves wonderful cuisine (think yellowtail tuna with beet coulis and truffle), as well as a selection of pastries and excellent drinks. It is great for lunch while exploring Nice or for a pre-dinner aperitif.

The Hotel du Cap’s outdoor Eden Roc Grill opened in spring 2007 with light fare—think goat cheese salads, grilled sea bass and sushi—creating a welcome alternative to the fussy formal restaurant upstairs. No white tablecloths or hovering waiters here: you dine on an ocean liner-style teak deck jutting out over the Mediterranean, with a terrific view of the infinity pool for star ogling.

Jilali B, perched just above the coastal road that faces the tiny port of Figueirette, is a hotspot for well-heeled locals who come for the refined Mediterranean-inspired dishes whipped up by chef Jilali Berrekama.

This intimate modern minimalist restaurant a block from the sea in Nice is where young Japanese chef Keisuke Matsushima concocts exquisite Mediterranean dishes with a stylish Asian twist. Banish the thought of fusion food: this Michelin-starred haunt is authentic southern French, but Kei’s artistry will surprise. Floral themes abound: sea-bass carpaccio sprinkled with edible blossoms, lamb with rosemary flowers, roast veal with carrot and nasturtium purée, and a divine white chocolate and rose-flavored pastry with raspberry mousse to finish.

On a narrow street between the Rue d’Antibes and the Croisette, just behind the Majestic Hotel, sits a treasure of a neighborhood French restaurant. With clean, contemporary décor that feels refreshing and light, L’Affable buzzes at lunch and dinner with locals who warmly greet the proprietor and other diners. The menu emphasizes classic French fare but the chef updates dishes with a light touch.

This roadside village inn is a favorite dinner spot of Patrice de Colmont, of Club 55. As he reveals in his insider tips, “In contrast to all the new trendy places around St.-Tropez that serve exotic cuisine, here you’ll find typical Provençal country dishes. I usually order the crayfish for starters then the tournedos (fillet steak) served with potato cake and truffles. The portions are so copious that I’d advise skipping lunch! The restaurant used to be a bar tabac and a gas station, and they still sell cigarettes downstairs. [The food] goes well with the local Château Barbeyrolles rosé, or a bottle of chilled Pétale de Roses from the same vineyard.”

This landmark restaurant has been serving up traditional Provençal specialties for nearly eight decades. Reserve a table on the garden patio under a trellis of century-old vines. Highlights include aioli, stuffed vegetables, barbecued local fish, beef daube in a red wine sauce and moelleux au chocolat (a warm chocolate cake).

If you’re cruising the Riviera coast by yacht (or ready to escape the buzzy St.- Tropez scene via helicopter) make a stop at this idyllic, Michelin-starred hideaway at the tip of Porquerolles. Although veteran chef Joel Guillet has stepped down, the classic southern French cuisine has remained reliably excellent. Among the new tantalizing dishes: open artichoke ravioli; roasted crayfish and marinated capon with a bouillabaisse-inspired sauce; and a light peach soufflé topped with roasted peaches.

This little beach club on the sea in Beaulieu is just a few steps from the Royal Riviera. It rents umbrellas and loungers for €15 for the day and towels €6. The bar serves drinks and light lunch food such as pizzas and salads.