The stars of fine dining in the Principality

With eight Michelin-starred restaurants clustered in an area of two square kilometres, Monaco is a paradise for anyone who enjoys fine dining. An idyllic setting in which to combine exotic flavours with Mediterranean traditions, the country has attracted both rising stars and legends of the culinary world.

Alain Ducasse, who joined the Hotel de Paris in 1987, was one of the first masters who gave Monegasque gastronomy its stellar reputation. Less than three years after it opened in 1987, the Louis XV was awarded three Michelin stars – a world first for a hotel restaurant no less!

Located eight floors above the Louis XV, at the very top of the Hotel de Paris, Le Grill, featuring a retractable roof, offers a magnificent panoramic view of the Mediterranean.

Here, Chef Dominique Lory, who succeded to Franck Cerutti, has created a sophisticated holiday vibe, with dishes starring meat and fish grilled over a wood fire such as “Locally caught John Dory with a bouillabaisse garnish” or “Farm-bred chicken with herbs grown on the hillside”.

Marcel Ravin, who came from Martinique to work at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort’s Blue Bay, offers a surprising and inspired fusion of Caribbean and Mediterranean flavours in dishes such as “Drunk Charolais beef with rum and sugar cane syrup”.

Monaco is also home to the first fully organic Michelin-starred restaurant: L’Elsa at the Monte-Carlo Beach. New chef Manon Fleury is committed to eco-friendly, local and organic cuisine. She’s a pioneer in the zero-waste movement! Her menu features dishes such as San Remo Gamberoni and a garden vegetable and herb pie.

At the Hotel Hermitage, the Vistamar was renamed Pavyllon Monte-Carlo in 2022. Famous triple Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno offers a menu inspired by the South of France: aubergine caviar, barbecued blue lobster or a sumptuous rhubarb confit. “Relaxed fine dining”, as this bold, globally renowned chef describes it.