The newly starred Robuchon Monaco has begun serving Sunday brunch – taking a format its two Monaco cafés have been successfully running for some time and moving it across the road, with a resident DJ, three price tiers and a choice of tables on the terrace or inside.
Brunch at Le Petit Café Robuchon and Le Deli Robuchon has built a steady following, drawing families and weekend regulars in numbers that made the case for expansion. What has changed is the address and the atmosphere. The restaurant on rue du Portier, which took its first Michelin star in March under Chef Jonathan Larrieu, has taken the same idea and given it a soundtrack.
Guests choose where to sit. The terrace, shaded and cooled by overhead fans, suits the season and the crowd it attracts, while the dining room offers the same menu at a slower pace for anyone who would rather sit out the heat. Neither feels like the formal Sunday lunch the address might suggest.
Ordered, not queued for
The structure is à la carte throughout. Dishes are prepared to order and brought to the table, and guests order as freely as they like within their package.
Three packages are offered, at €95, €125 and €145, covering a standard brunch, a sommelier wine pairing or a champagne selection with regular top-ups across the afternoon.
What arrives
In July, we found that the lighter dishes make the strongest case. Sea bass ceviche with citrus, cucumber and coriander is a nice opener, served alongside salmon gravlax, smoked salmon and a charcuterie selection with pickled vegetables. A Spanish potato tortilla also works as a sharing plate for the table.
The ham and cheese croissant, baked fresh, holds obvious appeal for younger guests. Heavier options run to roasted chicken with pepper sauce, selected cuts of beef and the Robuchon burger with French fries.
Desserts are exactly what you would expect for brunch – waffles come topped with berries and whipped vanilla cream, the chocolate mousse is served generously, and a counter of tarts, cakes, seasonal fruit and house-made granola is there for anyone still going.
The point of it
The DJ runs through the afternoon at a level that sits under conversation rather than over it, and service keeps pace with the champagne package without needing to be flagged down.
What Robuchon has done here is not complicated, but it is well judged. Sunday brunch in Monaco has become a social fixture rather than a meal, and the Principality is not short of expensive versions of it. This one takes a kitchen that has spent a year earning its reputation and puts it behind a menu people will actually order from repeatedly.
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Photos source: Robuchon Monaco