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Saint-Tropez Stars SOME OF ’S MOST NOTABLE CHEFS ARE STAMPING THEIR SIGNATURES ON THE RIVIERA’S POSHEST PLAYGROUND.

F ONE DOUBTS that food has become high fashion in Saint-Tropez, one need only venture into the Christian Dior I boutique, a three-story edifice on rue François Sibilli that more closely resembles one of the elegant villas for which the French Riviera is famous. The shop’s enclosed garden has been transformed into Dior des Lices, a small sanctuary of a restaurant operated by Yannick Alléno, the three-star chef who made his name at

MARCH 2014 | ROBB REPORT.COM GALLERY DINING ❖ Dishes from La Vague d’Or (pre- vious page) are served on the restaurant’s terrace (this page, top). The eatery, helmed by chef (left), is the only new res- taurant in France to earn three Michelin stars last year. At Dior des Lices (far left), food is plated on Dior bone china. ❖

director of the Résidence de la Pinède hotel, Floirat, the parent company of the hotel. where La Vague d’Or is located. “It’s impor- Tucked into a residential neighborhood, tant to us that they spend a relaxed and the Hotel Benkirai is home to La Régalade, comfortable moment here.” At the restau- the first of Doucet’s acclaimed restaurants rant, a terrace that curls around parasol of the same name outside of . The din- Le Meurice in Paris. Amid mature palm pines serves as the dining room, while the ing area occupies a sundeck near the hotel trees and blooming oleanders, a smattering lapping waves and chirping cicadas join in pool and offers a three-course, $65 menu of of crisp white umbrellas and café tables a rendition of the South of France’s pre- summery Mediterranean fare. Over at the offers a quiet refuge for simple luxuries— ferred summertime melody. Donckele offers recently refreshed Hôtel de Paris, a new res- perhaps a fresh blue-lobster salad or a five-course prix fixe menu starting at $370 taurant from Georges Blanc—Le Suffren Choc’Alléno, an irresistible version of pain per person. It might include amberjack and Café by Georges—boasts menus concocted au chocolat made with chocolate pastry—all crabmeat marinated in local mandarin- by the Michelin three-star chef. The indoor- elegantly served on delicate Dior bone china. orange juice, and thyme sherbet and fennel outdoor space relies on retro patterns and Of course, Saint-Tropez has always had sorbet served with absinthe. lemon-yellow accents to create a low-key plenty of restaurants, from late-night snack Ducasse’s latest restaurant, Rivea, opened effect that recalls the Brigitte Bardot years— shacks to perennial favorites like La Ponche; last season in the space that had been when the hotel was the place to linger. The but last season, bon vivants took note when Spoon, his restaurant in the Hotel Byblos. menu highlights fresh seafood, such as tuna a certain gastronomic tipping point was Rivea’s loosened-up menu favors seasonal and octopus with coriander, but not to the reached: Along with Alléno, Alain Ducasse, seafood and produce, including hors exclusion of dishes like venison with foie Georges Blanc, and Bruno Doucet opened d’oeuvres (an assortment of five is $44), gras. A cocktail menu and wine list pleases new restaurants, and the 2013 rock-octopus salad, vitello tonnato, and night owls with magnums of Saint-Tropez’s dished out only one new three-star rating in other Provençal specialties. The dining favorite party potions—Dom Pérignon and France—to chef Arnaud Donckele of Saint- room—designed by Antonio Citterio and Cristal—and a selection of inventive drinks, Tropez’s La Vague d’Or. As high-toned as this Patricia Viel, the duo behind the Bulgari such as the Pampelonne Beach, a blend of new culinary wave may be, the restaurants Hotel in London—is an inviting terrace gin, Martini Bianco, mango-orange liqueur, are still open only in season (roughly April shaded by leafy plane trees and furnished and grapefruit named for Saint-Tropez’s most until October), and unlike nearby , with teak tables and colorful cushions rem- famous stretch of sand. —kimberley lovato TOP RIGHT: CHRISTOPHE DURANTI where strict jacket-and-tie policies still pre- iniscent of those found on the yachts in the vail, the atmosphere in Saint-Tropez remains nearby port. “Alain and I figured out that Dior des Lices, www.yannick-alleno.com; as unbuttoned as the men’s collars. “Tap our clients, who return again and again, to La Régalade, www.hotel-benkirai.com; shorts are not allowed for men,” La Vague the point of feeling like friends, want Rivea, www.byblos.com; Le Suffren Café d’Or’s website states, perhaps seriously. authenticity but still expect the twist of a by Georges, www.hoteldeparis-saint​ ​ “Our guests return over and over for the grand chef’s signature,” says Antoine tropez.com; La Vague d’Or, www spirit of the place,” says Olivier Raveyre, Chevanne, owner and CEO of Groupe .residencepinede.com

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