La Passagère - Hôtel Belles Rives

The first thing to strike guests in this hotel, where Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald's tumultuous romance played out in the 1920s, is its jaw-dropping location. It's not easy for a chef to make his mark in such a setting, but Aurélien Véquaud does just that. In a fine dining menu that, naturally, embraces the Mediterranean (think superb little tunny, semi-confit tomatoes and rocket vinaigrette), the chef's origins – the Vendée in western France – still shine through on each plate. Unpasteurised cream jazzes up the crab in the signature dish (a soft esquinado cannelloni, verbena foam and fennel), and marinière of shellfish with Oscietra caviar accompanies the sea bass. The terrace commands a breathtaking view of the sea and the mountains of the Estérel.