Monaco is well known for being a playground for the rich and famous. The harbour is full of expensive yachts, the casino is packed with highrollers and the streets are lined with unique boutiques and incredible restaurants. And it’s the fine food of Monaco that we will focus on in this guide.
Grand dining is everywhere here and you need a suitably fantastic outfit to match the occasion as many of the top restaurant operate a strict dress code.
However, you don’t have to be a millionaire to enjoy an evening out in this city state as the culture of tourism here has helped ensure that the not-so-super rich can enjoy the finer things as well.
Here are some recommendations for places you may want to eat in during you stay in Monaco.
Eat
Le Louis XV: Located within the fabulously ornate Hotel de Paris, Le Louis XV has earned a well deserved reputation as one of the finest restaurants in all of Monaco.
With no less than three Michelin stars and a place in S.Pellegrino’s World’s Best 100 Restaurants list, you don’t even have to look at the carefully crafted menu to know it’s going to be a real fine-dining experience.
Chef Alain Ducasse has created an impeccable menu full of Mediterranean haute dishes that will leave you speechless, and the wine list isn’t bad either. With over 950 vintages to choose from, you’re sure to find the right tipple for your meal.
Hotel Metropole: Joël Robuchon’s restaurant specialises in the finest modern French fare going, all served up with a Mediterranean twist and an abundance of creativity.
For a two-star Michelin restaurant the prices are more than reasonable, especially in Monaco. Expect this popular place to fill up fast, you won’t get in without a reservation.
Columbus Monte Carlo’s Brasserie Restaurant: With an exotic menu that fuses French, Italian and Asian flavours, expect a meal here to be a taste sensation.
The menu is seasonal, keeping it new, exciting and, most importantly of all, fresh.
As if the food isn’t good enough, the ambiance and setting are impeccable. Sit out on the terrace that overlooks the Princess Grace Rose Garden while you enjoy your delicious dinner.
Bar & Boeuf: This intriguing, high-end eatery bases its menu on two things: sea bass (bar) and beef (boeuf). However you want these dishes cooked, flavoured or seasoned is up to you; you’re even in charge of your own sauces.
There, of course, plenty of vegetarian friendly dishes as well, so do not fear if meat is not your thing.
By Monaco standards, the prices are reasonable and the wine list is, again, nice and extensive.
Dining in the Monte Carlo area of Monaco always offers you the chance to spot celebrities and other wealthy socialites, so keep your eyes peeled while you dine!
U Cavagnetu: Around the Monaco-Ville area, you will find a number of little eateries that make up the other end of the spectrum in this fabulously wealthy part of Europe.
And it’s here you’ll find some of the best spots to try the local cuisine, namely Monégasque food.
U Cavagnetu is popular with locals as well as tourists, making the atmosphere very pleasant and authentic indeed.
Try the tasty pasty-like barbajuan for a quick starter snack before moving onto something more substantial. As you might expect, the prices are considerably lower than the fine dining restaurants of Monte Carlo, but the experience is also unique in a different way.
Le Grill: Another one in the Hotel de Paris, Le Grill has to-floor views to accompany the great food.
The soufflé is renowned for being exquisite and varied as it is prepared with fresh ingredients that are available from the local market, whatever they may be.
Drink
As you might expect, the nightlife in Monaco is extraordinary in its lavishness. But as well as being expensive (depending on where you go) it’s also incredibly hip and you may just get the chance to rub shoulders with some famous faces.
Despite its decidedly uncool name, Jimmy’z is actually one of the hippest places in Monaco. It has been leading the nightlife in the city for over 30 years and the place is huge, with the dancefloor likely to be full of the super, super rich.
Table service is ludicrously expensive, in fact, everything is.
Black Legend, La Rascasse, NI Club, Sass Cafe and The Living Room make up the list of other hotspots that you might like to go for an evening of revelry.
They open late and stay open later, so make sure you’ve had a nap during the day and are prepared to do some serious spending.
