The Gault & Millau Guide rates restaurants out of 20 for their food, style and service, awarding up to five toques or chefs’ hats to those of the finest calibre. The very highest achievement – entry into the Gault & Millau Academy – is reserved for a select few and only one restaurant in the entire Riviera has claimed that accolade in 2024.
That restaurant is, of course, Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco’s glittering Carré d’Or.
The guide compares the experience of dining here to that of dinner at the Château de Versailles, saying, “The great French genre… When it’s successful, it’s incomparable.”
High praise indeed.
Gault & Millau’s review of Le Louis XV takes time to note the evident talents of Chef Emmanuel Pilon, who has headed up the kitchen for two years now, as well as “choreographer” Claire Sonnet, the restaurant’s manager. Chief Sommelier Maxime Pastor is heralded too as is Pastry Chef extraordinaire Sandro Micheli.
Just two other restaurants on this stretch of the Mediterranean coast have earned five toques in the ratings, which were released at the start of the week for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Monaco area. They are the colourful AM par Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille and the classic La Vague d’Or in Saint Tropez. Both achieved an impressive 19/20 points.
A handful of acclaimed restaurants around the Principality won a respectful four toques, such as the La Chèvre d’Or in Eze, the former ‘Best Restaurant in the World’ of Mirazur in Menton, Le Cap at the Grand Hôtel du Cap Ferrat and Le Restaurant de Rois at La Réserve de Beaulieu, but there are no other Monegasque restaurants to be found at this elevated end of the listings.
See more: Restaurant opening: Fine dining reaches new high at Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac
Among those achieving three toques – equivalent to a score of 15 to 16.5/20 – are the Monaco restaurants Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac, Pavyllon Monte-Carlo, Yoshi, Le Grill and Blue Bay Marcel Ravin.
Special prizes went to Dominique Lory of Le Grill at the Hôtel de Paris, who was given the Techniques d’Excellence prize, while Justin Schmitt of the Château Eza in Eze-sur-Mer has been awarded the Grand de Demain prize for the region. Another top prize, the Gault & Millau d’Or, has gone to Virginie Basselot of the Hôtel Negresco.
SEE MORE:
‘New’ Restaurant: The metamorphosis of Blue Bay Marcel Ravin
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Photo credit: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer