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Anjuna Plage & Restaurant
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.
Astoux et Brun
Beefbar at Lou Pinet
Beefbar, the on-property restaurant at Lou Pinet, is an escape from the busyness of town serving beef alongside Mediterranean fare.
Bistro d’Antoine
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.
Bistro de la Marine
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.
Bistro de Lices
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.
Cabane Bambou
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.
Café de la Place
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.
Café Le Sénéquier
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.
Cantine Bambou
This Thai restaurant is very casual and can provide a break from the sleek, seaside eateries in nearby St.-Tropez.
Club Les Palmiers Ramatuelle
Comptoir Central Electrique
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.
Cucina
Eden Roc Grill
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
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.
L’Auberge de la Mole
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.”
L’Auberge des Maures
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).
L’Olive
La Bouillabaisse
La Ferme Ladouceur
La Guérite
La Litote
La Mère Germaine
La Passagère
The terrace restaurant of the old school Hotel Belles Rives is a summer favorite thanks to sensational Mediterranean dishes and a spectacular setting on a terrace overlooking the sea. This is quintessential South of France splendor in the sun. For those who want an equally fabulous setting right over the sea but a lower-key and less expensive lunch, head to the more casual beach restaurant at the hotel, Restaurant Plage Belles Rives.
La Pesquière
La Pesquière is a local spot in the old port, and a great restaurant for families. The outdoor terrace overlooks a small beach below where children can play.
La Réserve
Nice’s most stylish restaurant is actually two-in-one: a bistro downstairs and a gastronomic haunt upstairs, in a revamped seaside landmark Belle Epoque white villa, situated right at the water’s edge. The young chef’s signature dishes include classic bouillabaisse as line-caught sea bass as well as inventive gastronomic dishes. The bar lounge has a small romantic terrace with the best view in town.
La Réserve Restaurant
The Parisian-trained chef of La Réserve’s restaurant serves some of the best food in St. Tropez. He sources most of his ingredients locally, and the restaurant servers know his menu inside out as well as the provenance of each piece of fish and cut of meat. Meals can be served in the lounge at low cocktail tables, in the main dining room or on the terrace, where diners have unmatched views of the sea. Come for dinner but arrive early enough to watch the sun set with a cocktail in hand.