Top 5 Michelin starred restaurants on the French Riviera

The French Riviera enjoys a unique dynamism in the restaurant business. Young talents and confirmed chefs open prestigious addresses for the great pleasure of locals and especially travellers. Every year there are surprises in store, and this year again the Michelin-starred addresses will awaken the taste buds of the privileged few who have been able to reserve a table. Excellence Riviera guides you to the best starred restaurants on the Côte d’Azur.

The Louis XV Alain Ducasse 3* restaurant of the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, the unrivalled

The tradition of haute gastronomy has been renewed since 1987 by the “godfather” of chefs, Alain Ducasse, who offers the quintessential French cuisine of excellence at the Louis XV. The menu, which gives pride of place to local produce, changes with the seasons for sublime flavours.

Beyond savouring a 3-star dinner, booking at Alain Ducasse’s Louis XV is a privilege. It is indeed in the setting of the legendary Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo on the square of the Monte-Carlo casino that the Louis XV comes to life. An experience to add to your gastronomic bucket list.

La Vague d’Or 3* at the Cheval Blanc Hotel Saint-Tropez, the delicate meal

The Chef Arnaud Donckele is multiplying his successes. While he was able to consolidate his three Michelin stars for La Vague d’Or, he has just obtained the precious sesame for his new Parisian address. La Vague d’Or at the Hotel Cheval Blanc St-Tropez is an exceptional gastronomic stopover in Saint-Tropez. A delicate interlude, a unique whirlwind of emotions during your stay in Saint-Tropez.

In this waltz of flavours, From one season to the next, you can go from rock fish soup to rabbit or pigeon, deliciously sublimated by the chef and his teams. Here, the menu evolves with the seasons, revealing itself through two menus, in four and five acts. The experience is in the plate but also in the ballet orchestrated in the dining room by Thierry Di Tullio, the restaurant’s manager. Between the view of the culinary creations, the waltz of the waiters and the Gulf of Saint-Tropez as a backdrop, your senses are in turmoil throughout your dinner at La Vague d’Or.

Le Mirazur 3* in Menton, the exceptionnal

The Mirazur, the playground of Italian-Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco, is an exception on the Côte d’Azur. Nestled on a rock in Menton, this restaurant has been awarded 3 stars in the Michelin Guide but also the title of “Best Table in the World” in 2019.

Here, the chef grows his own biodynamic plants in his 5-hectare garden, fruit, vegetables and flowers that are used to produce the Mirazur’s own produce. The result is a “Mirazur Universe” menu in four variations. These variations are punctuated by the lunar calendar, which dictates the crops grown in the sublime vegetable garden. Depending on the date of your reservation, your menu enters the world of Roots, Leaves, Flowers or Fruits. An astonishing variation arrives at your table in 9 movements. A menu at 450€ per person, for lunch or dinner, an exceptional table to be reserved several months in advance.

The Blue Bay 2* restaurant at Hôtel Monte Carlo Bay in Monaco

Chef Marcel Ravin’s restaurant in Monaco has just been awarded a second star in the Michelin Guide 2022. This award recognises the Martinique chef’s cuisine, a fusion of Caribbean and Mediterranean flavours.

The Blue Bay offers a sensorial travel experience. Guests seated in the dining room enjoy a view of the bustling open kitchen, while those who have chosen the terrace can enjoy a sublime panoramic sea view. The taste buds swing to the rhythm of the spicy flavours and the seasons that guide the dishes offered by this chef who defines himself as an “artisan”. “Sea bass with cocoa butter, herbs and truffled, ceps mushroom sabayon, pot pie, artichoke with pig’s trotter, ceps mushrooms and truffle, ceps & truffles” and other “Smoked eel, Provence spelt cooked in woodfire sweet potatoe broth, pink pepper pomegranate, crispy fish skin, lemon pepper, fish bones tea with old rhum AOC” are just one stage in a culinary journey full of emotions, led by Marcel Ravin and his teams.

La Chèvre d’Or 2* at the Château de la Chèvre d’Or in Èze

Since 2016, Meilleur Ouvrier de France chef Arnaud Faye has expertly directed the kitchens of the Château de la Chèvre d’Or in which he celebrates the local Marais region. The magic happens as soon as you enter the restaurant, whose decoration perpetuates the tradition of French luxury. Your gaze is quickly drawn towards one of the most beautiful panoramas of the Côte d’Azur, the Mediterranean as far as the eye can see and its turquoise hues at your feet.

Once seated at the table, you are propelled into the authentic world of the perfectionist chef. The menu changes with the seasons and offers you the most precious local produce. Let yourself be guided throughout your experience by the suggestions for food and wine pairings from the head sommelier Philippe Magne.

As many chefs and restaurants in the firmament of the gastronomic galaxy of the French Riviera, as many unique and sensory experiences that you can live by booking your table. The Excellence Riviera teams will organise your stay on the Côte d’Azur. If you are renting a villa, a yacht or a hotel room, we can find the best tables for you. If you want to get to Monaco or Saint-Tropez quickly and arrive in style, we can also organise your helicopter transfers and chauffeur-driven car hire. Contact us so you can put your feet up at the table of these top chefs.