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Café de Paris.
$$$$ | BRASSERIE | The landmark Belle Époque “Brasserie 1900”—better known as Café de Paris—offers the usual classics (shellfish, steak tartare, matchstick frites, and fish boned tableside). Supercilious, superpro waiters fawn gracefully over titled preeners, jet-setters, and tourists alike. Open daily at 8 am, there’s good hot food until 2 am. To claim “I’ve been there,” grab a chair outside in Place du Casino, order a €7.50 coke or a €15 sundae, and sit back to watch the show. | Average main: €34 | Pl. du Casino | 377/98–06–76–23 | www.casinocafedeparis.com.
Club Bouliste du Rocher.
$$ | FRENCH | If you want insight into the life of a Monaco native without paying for it, follow Avenue des Pins before the oceanography museum, just next to the Pavillion Bosio until you see the sign on the gate for Club Bouliste du Rocher. You won’t find a more local vibe than here, as members sit on plastic purple chairs sipping pastis or eating the traditional dish, barbajuans (fried chard-filled ravioli) at the club restaurant, which is open to the public daily 8–8. Members are top priority but anyone can book in advance, which is highly recommended seeing as a three-course lunch is only €21. Or pop in for a coffee and the views of Port Hercule. | Average main: €21 | Av. les Pins | 377/93–30–42–73 | www.centreformation-cbr.com | No credit cards.
Elsa.
$$$$ | FRENCH | Paoli Sari is not the first chef to earn a cherished Michelin star, but he is the first to be awarded the honor for an all-organic restaurant. The Venetian-born chef uses the produce of 30 local growers from around France and Italy, and just as many winemakers. The seafood on his menu comes from small inshore fishermen, and he chooses the best fair-trade coffee and chocolate and makes his own mozzarella. Breads made with organic flour are baked daily before lunch and dinner. Start with assorted summer vegetables from the chef’s own garden, finished with extra-virgin olive oil and fleur de sel from Camargue. Mouthwatering main dishes include gold risotto with saffron, juicy roasted suckling pig with caramelized shallots and potatoes, or roasted rack of lamb coated with honey celeriac and licorice purée. If your wallet permits dessert, the soufflé with almonds or the three-chocolate and caramel mille-feuille with caramelized figue sauce will leave you wanting nothing else. The terrace views are cruiseworthy, but don’t let the nautical casualness deceive you; the service is first-rate and the food inspired. | Average main: €64 | Monte-Carlo Beach, Av. Princesse Grace, | Roquebrune-Cap-Martin | 377/98–06–50–05 | www.monte-carlo-beach.com | Closed Nov.–early Mar. | Reservations essential | Jacket required.
Hostellerie Jérôme.
$$$$ | FRENCH | Prince Albert’s country home Roc Angel is about 10 km (6 miles) behind Monaco in La Turbie, so it’s no wonder a top-notch dinner restaurant (read: expensive, expensive, expensive) is situated here as well. In addition to the regular menu, the four-course prix-fixe is €78, while the famous 10-course extravaganza is €138. Chef Bruno Cirino’s scampi Mediterranean in an almond crust with dates or roasted local white figs, sugared black olives, and buffalo milk sherbet has become a signature dish for a reason. Too rich for your blood? Try Cirino’s bistro next door, Le Café de la Fontaine, open year-round for lunch and dinner with €18 main courses. | Average main: €55 | 20 rte. Comte de Cessole, | La Turbie | 04–92–41–51–51 | www.hostelleriejerome.com | Closed Nov.–Mar., and Mon. and Tues. Sept.–June. No lunch.
Fodor’s Choice | Le Louis XV.
$$$$ | FRENCH | In Monaco, cosmetic surgery extends even to buildings, and no better example can be seen than at Le Louis XV at the Hôtel de Paris, where Alain Ducasse’s flagship restaurant has undergone the architectural knife of Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku, in the hopes that visitors will always be wondering if they’re in the glamorous past or the modern future. Mission accomplished: a custom-designed circular chandelier with 800 pieces of Murano glass hovers over the “Office,” an open metal-and-wood kiosk that serves as the central service station. The makeover harmonizes with Ducasse’s overhauled dinner-only menu—a return to the Riviera’s art de vivre and simplicity. Try the Provence garden vegetables cooked with black truffle or baked locally caught fish, tomatoes, and olives from Nice. Set menus are a better value: the Jardins de Provence menu is €230, or you can get four half dishes selected by the chef, along with cheeses and dessert for €390. | Average main: €100 | Hôtel de Paris, Pl. du Casino | 377/98–06–88–64 | www.alain-ducasse.com | No credit cards | Closed Tues. | Reservations essential | Jacket required.
Les Perles de Monte-Carlo.
$$$ | SEAFOOD | Tucked away at the far end of the Fontvieille Port, with spectacular views of the Monaco Cathedral and oceanography museum suspended on the Rock above, Clooney and Pitt have been rumored to come here for a dégustation (tasting) at the few unpretentious wooden tables and benches. They could have found themselves dining next to a prince, a model, or an ordinary local; it wouldn’t matter to the owners, two marine biologists who grew up in Brittany—to them, everyone is made to eat the freshest of shellfish, crustaceans, and fish. It’s also surprisingly affordable for Monaco: a dozen No. 3 oysters accompanied by a glass of white wine will only set you back €25 or try the six shrimp for €12 option. | Average main: €25 | 47 Quai Jean Charles Rey | 377/97–77–84–31 | Closed Sun. | No credit cards.
Quai des Artistes.
$$$ | FRENCH | Packing well-heeled diners shoulder-to-shoulder at banquettes lined up for maximum people-watching, this warehouse-scale neo–Art Deco bistro on the port is the chic-est of the chic with Monégasque residents. Rich brasserie classics (lamb shank on the bone, potato purée with rosemary, and spicy gravy) are counterbalanced with high-flavor international experiments (salmon served sushi-rare with warm potatoes, pickled ginger, and wasabi sauce). The terrace’s palatial view can be enjoyed June–mid-October, and may be even more memorable than the service. | Average main: | 4 quai Antoine Ier | 377/97–97–97–77 | www.quaidesartistes.com | Reservations essential.
Stars’n’Bars.
$$ | AMERICAN | This American-style portside bar/restaurant/entertainment center is like the Monégasque version of the Hard Rock Café, and it’s owned by a childhood friend of the prince. Sports jerseys and photos hang on the wall, while fat and juicy burgers, cookie crumble sundaes, real iced tea in thick glasses, and (gasp!) pitchers of ice water draw in homesick expats and quesadilla-starved backpackers (so much so that they’re willing to pay €12 for onion rings or €24 for a Big Star cheeseburger). The €11 weekly lunch special also keeps regulars coming back. Upstairs, the open-air Star Deck cocktail lounge has panoramic views and a DJ to keep things lively, as well as a daily happy hour (5:30–7:30 pm). | Average main: €20 | 6 quai Antoine I | www.starsnbars.com.