On the outskirts of Villefranche-sur-Mer there is a small town called Beaulieu and it is here you should go to come to Le Restaurant des Rois. The history of La Réserve de Beaulieu, where Le Restaurant des Rois is located inside, goes back to 1880 when Pierre Lottier set up a restaurant with the intention of serving the best sea food at Côte d’Azur. The restaurant later also became a hotel and the establishment has survived over the years and is today considered one of the most exclusive at Côte d’Azur.

Married couple Nicole and Jean-Claude Delion are today’s owners of La Réserve de Beaulieu and they also own the luxury property Résidence de la Pinède at Saint Tropez – both properties with their own top rated restaurants, so the heritage of fine dining since the time of Pierre Lottier has certainly survived over all the years. Nicole and Jean-Claude Delion are responsible for a remarkable restoration and uplift of La Réserve de Beaulieu since they took over the business. Both the restaurant and the hotel today have some of the most selected and exclusive clientele found anywhere in the world.

If you look out of the huge windows of the dining room or if you sit on the terrace you will notice not just a breathtaking sea view that you can look at for hours, you will also notice some of the most extravagant and über luxurious yachts in the world not far from your dining table which confirms the feeling you have during your dinner in the classical lavish dining room well, indeed. You can forget about casual dining here and nothing wrong with that as long as you show up in a jacket (no need for a tie).

Executive Chef Romain Corbière has a successful career. Before he became the head of Le Restaurant des Rois he was the Chef of Relais du Parc in Paris, where he had been stationed by Alain Ducasse. After that he became director of the Culinary School in Paris. Today he is the Executive Chef of Le Restaurant des Rois and his aim is set high, indeed. The presentations and executions of his dishes are complicated and elaborate, with cooking techniques only mastered by the true professionals. The ambitious and talented Chef is backed up well indeed by the multi-talented Pastry Chef Juan Leiro and the Restaurant Manager Roger Heyd, the latter having worked at La Réserve de Beaulieu for almost two decades. The wine cellar with around 30,000 bottles has some of the best fine wines available and the Head Sommelier Jean-Louis Valla is more than happy to assist you with your selections.

You can expect to have only the most exclusive ingredients during your dinner, such as the blue lobster from Brittany, and that will obviously cost you, but you will never go to Le Restaurant des Rois and expect a low price fare. You go to this restaurant to pamper your taste buds with some of the best French cuisine in the region.

Written by Andy