CANNES - The Hollywood Reporter

STYLE
THE CANNES
DINING
PLAYBOOK
The South of France has a restaurant to suit every agenda,
whether it’s to discuss a deal away from prying eyes — or to
celebrate a must-have acquisition over $150 tasting menus
By Dana Kennedy
IF YOU WANT:
PLATS DU JOUR AND
PEOPLE WATCHING
The splashiest venue, literally, is
the seaside 1 Z PLAGE (73 boulevard
de la Croisette), across the
street from the Hotel Martinez.
Stars from Jessica Chastain to
Jodie Foster are drawn to its rows
of square white umbrellas to sip
signature Moet mimosas and tuck
into roast fish. Just up the street
and framed by floor-to-ceiling
windows is the Michelin onestarred
2 PARK 45 (45 boulevard
de la Croisette), where Jude Law
has been seen among diners eating
the sea bass with pistachio
nuts and other light Med fare.
Situated just up the coast on the
way to Antibes is Brad Pitt and
Angelina Jolie’s favorite spot,
3 CHEZ TETOU (8 avenue des Freres
Roustan, Golfe Juan). Once a
beach shack, it’s still got a homey
vibe that dissipates once you
see the menu: $100 for bouillabaisse.
Cash only, please. Director
and The Bling Ring producer
Roman Coppola recommends
ordering the beignets for dessert,
which are served with huge pots
of jam. “Whenever we’ve been
to Cannes, my family and I have
always made a stop here,” he says.
For those who want to get out
of town but still make their
whereabouts known, the famed
4 COLOMBE D’OR (1 place General
de Gaulle) in the artsy hillside
town of St.-Paul de Vence is
beloved by the likes of Hugh Grant
and producer Jerry Weintraub.
“They have very good food,” says
Weintraub. “If you can’t eat good
food in France, you can’t eat good
food anywhere.” The grand, woodpaneled
dining room is stocked
with paintings by Matisse and
Picasso. The can’t-miss dessert is
the Grand Marnier souffle.
Inland along the Riviera, the
still-celebrated 5 LE MOULIN DE
MOUGINS (1028 avenue Notre-
Dame de Vie), situated in a 16th
century mill in Mougins, is
where top toques Alain Ducasse
and Daniel Boulud got their start.
Further afield but worth the
schlep is Nice’s legendary 6 LA
PETITE MAISON (11 rue St.-Francois
de Paule), where Elton John and
Madonna famously bumped into
each other last year and reconciled
after their latest feud. Enjoy
Nicoise specialties like the zucchini
blossom fritters.
IF YOU WANT:
FEASTING FAR FROM
THE PALAIS
The closest option to town that’s
just far enough for an undisturbed
business dinner is the
famed 7 RESTAURANT MANTEL (22
rue Ste.-Antoine) in Cannes’ hilly,
historic district, Le Suquet. Try
the starter of white bean cream
soup with white summer truffles.
For an adventure, hop a ferry and
5
Mougins
1 2 7
Cannes
FRANCE
E80
Golfe Juan
3
8
10
4
St.-Paul
de Vence
9
Biot
Ile St.-Honorat
Vence
A8
alight 20 minutes later for lunch
on the Ile St.-Honorat, where
Cistercian monks still live and
work in the ninth century
Abbey Lerins. They also run
8 LA TONNELLE, a seafront bistro
with wine from the abbey’s own
vineyards. A bit inland in the
otherwise pedestrian village of
Biot is the Michelin-starred
9 LES TERRAILLERS (11 Chemin
Neuf). Chef Michael Fulci, who
apprenticed with Ducasse, offers
a €110 (around $150) tasting
menu. The reward for heading to
the hills of Vence not only is the
extraordinary food at the two-star
10 CHATEAU SAINT-MARTIN AND SPA
(2490 avenue des Templiers) but
the panoramic view of the Cote
d’Azur stretching from the Italian
border to St. Tropez. Look away
6
Nice
The Most Expensive
Dish on the Riviera?
Prepare to pay $205 for an order
of the San Remo Gamberoni, or prawns,
served with rock fish gelee and caviar,
in the ornate dining room of the Hotel
de Paris’ Louis XV restaurant in Monaco.
11
Monaco
often enough to enjoy restaurant
specialties like the pigeon with
flakes of chocolate macaroon.
Finally, for those who want to
trade movie royalty for the real
thing, indulge in the fantastically
over-the-top 11 LOUIS XV restaurant,
an homage to the monarch
at the Hotel de Paris (place du
Casino) in Monaco. “Take a seat
close to the French doors, which
will most likely be open, so that
with your left eye you savor the
gold and glitz and with your
right eye [the scene outside the]
casino,” says French Rivierabased
producer Miodrag Certic.
Emblematic of Louis XV’s selfstyled
“haute couture of taste”
approach is the dish of roasted
Pyrenean baby lamb, seasoned
with Espelette pepper.
From left: The seafront La Tonnelle
on Ile St.-Honorat, run by Cistercian monks,
serves up such dishes as gnocchi with
mussels and Mediterranean sea bass grilled
with herbs; a wok-cooked entree at Z Plage,
across from Cannes’ Hotel Martinez.
LOUIS XV RESTAURANT, DISH: T. DHELLEMMES (2). WOK: COURTESY OF GRAND HYATT CANNES. LA TONNELLE: COURTESY
OF ABBAYE DE LERINS. FOSTER: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES. COPPOLA: TODD WILLIAMSON/INVISION/AP.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 38