Restaurant new 28/11/07 15:22 Page 097
LE MAS PROVENCAL 6 km from Monte Carlo in the village of Eze, lies the dreamy
Le Mas Provencal, a quintessentially romantic location which, with its unique venue,
also happens to be the favourite restaurant of Bill Clinton when he is in Europe.
One of the restaurant's most beautiful features is its idyllic secret garden,
perfect for future trysts, and when you taste the food it becomes even more
clearly the ideal place for romance.
If we loved the garden, we could hardly find words to express how amazing the
restaurant's interior is: Nigel Ross knows it of old having had a house in the area for
many years and also having visited Le Mas Provencal on innumerable occasions but
even he is still swept away by the literally thousands of flowers hanging from the
ceiling and filling the air with divine scent. The atmosphere created by this unique
feature is fabulous, and even the tables are imaginatively decorated with gorgeous
floral centrepieces.
We don't say the food is secondary to this incredibly creative ambiance,
and a signature dish is its unique suckling pig cooked in special ovens, the meat
sweet and tender beyond belief. There is also originality in the restaurant style,
as is epitomised by a Parmesan risotto which is served inside a big block of
parmesan cheese: not simply a gimmick but permeating the whole dish with
that inimitable flavour.
To add to the atmospheric quality of Le Mas Provencal, there is live music and
dancing. There is only one sitting each night, so there is no pressure to do anything
but relax, and join in the stylish but relaxed conviviality of music and singing:
it turns into a party every time and we defy you not to get up and dance: indeed we
were positively encouraged to stay as long as we liked. We found our drivers really
appreciated the fun of this unusual and lovely place - truly a destination restaurant in
every sense.
Le Mas Provencal
LES MILLÉSIMES, NOYERS-SUR-SEREIN Supercars on Tour paid two visits here
in September 2007 on the Monte Carlo 1000 Tour, and one on its Grand Tour this year.
The Grand Tour visit took place on a Sunday when many French medieval villages
are closed to traffic, so we obtained special permission from the mayor to enter!
Being the only cars in the place on a Sunday was just the first of a number of
delightful revelations in this village bursting with character. As well as the gourmet
restaurant there's a recently opened bistro with a gorgeous delicatessen next door
to it, and the bistro is separated from the restaurant and kitchens by a tiny
cobbled alleyway.
On our Monte Carlo Tour, we ate inside the bistro, dining out on a fantastic three
course lunch which included excellent wine. David Ross declared that the Chablis
here was the best he'd ever tried, which is entirely logical as the restaurant is situated
at the gateway to the great Chablis vineyards, in one of the prettiest villages in France.
Indeed so much so that it's often featured in films.
On the second visit, when the village had been closed to other traffic,
tables were laid out in the little cobbled street between bistro and restaurant and
everyone remembers with a sigh the delicious hot gammon and its superlative
sauce we enjoyed that day, as well as the friendliness of the people in the village
whose curiosity had been aroused by the sight of all those beautiful Supercars!
This is the land of gourmets, and M. Denis Paillot opened Les Millésimes in 2007,
serving typically rich, delicious products such as marbled ham, terrine de foie gras
and for the braver among you, andouillette, a dish some English palates find a little on
the powerful side!
The gourmet restaurant is in a beautifully renovated 17th century stone barn filled
with lovely pictures and antiques. Its ultimate dining experience takes place in the
Renaissance Room, where chef Alain Gand creates sensational flavours and it need
hardly be said that the cellar of over three hundred wines, as David had noted,
is first class.
Les Millésimes
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