The Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo has spent decades with one of Monaco’s finest interiors sitting largely unused. The Winter Garden, with its wrought-iron and glass canopy, was largely admired in passing, but rarely lingered in. Gustave, the bar that opened beneath it in early June, is the first serious attempt to change that.
There was also a vacancy to fill. The closure of the Crystal Bar, which made way for L’Abysse Monte-Carlo, had left the Hermitage without a bar of its own, and the Winter Garden was the obvious candidate to take on the role.
The name honours Gustave Eiffel, whose workshops were commissioned in Monaco during the period and whose engineering vocabulary the dome speaks fluently. Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), which has combed the archives, describes the structure as belonging to the Eiffel school — a distinction that places it among the finest examples of a movement rather than resting on a single signature.
Five rooms, and a terrace that earns its place
Gustave is the work of Franco-Iranian interior architect Shirine Zirak, who has arranged it as five interconnected spaces taking in the lobby and two adjoining rooms. The original layout has been largely respected, with the chandelier and mouldings left alone and the furniture, lighting and planting doing the reinterpreting. The lighting scheme is the most consequential change: after dark it pushes the dome forward rather than competing with it, which is arguably the whole point of the project.
The terrace is the discovery. It is small, planted, and set slightly apart from the traffic of the hotel, with a checkerboard stone floor and wrought-iron furniture that reference the winter gardens of the late 19th century, when greenery ran through the decorative scheme and into the mouldings themselves. It reads as a genuine throwback rather than a pastiche of one, and its scale is what makes it work. Inside, the rooms take their cue from the salons of the 18th century and are arranged for conversation as much as for eating.
Forgotten spirits, and food worth ordering properly
The drinks list is the work of head bartender Julien Lecharpentier, who draws on Art Nouveau and the great Parisian cafés, with a stated interest in rediscovering forgotten spirits and putting classic ingredients through modern technique. The cocktails are the strongest argument for a return visit. The finger food is delicious and worth treating as more than an accompaniment. Manouché “Pavyllon Style” and Crispy Shrimp are must-tries on an extensive menu that includes everything from Iberian charcuterie and Osciètre Caviar to Beef fillet with pepper or Bernaise sauce and Miso Black Cod.
Gustave opens daily from midday until 1am, across lunch, dinner, the afternoon and the late evening, with live music from Thursday to Saturday between 6pm and 10.30pm.
Part of a longer programme
The bar arrives alongside 40 new rooms and suites, including the redesigned Diamond Suites, as part of the renovation Société des Bains de Mer began at the Hermitage in 2024. Chief executive Stéphane Valeri has been explicit about the ambition, describing the dome as the hotel’s finest feature and one that had gone underappreciated, and setting the American Bar at the Hôtel de Paris as the standard Gustave should aim for. A further phase of work is scheduled for spring 2027.
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photos source: Monte-Carlo SBM