Bessem in Mandelieu-la-Napoule – surprise menus under the plane trees

Two minutes from the town hall of Mandelieu-la-Napoule, the Tunisian chef Bessem Ben Abdallah cooks one-star Mediterranean food without a printed menu, in a garden shaded by plane trees.

Mandelieu-la-Napoule is better known for its golf courses, its marinas and the castle at La Napoule than for its restaurants. Yet two minutes from the town hall, on the avenue de la République, a walled garden hides one of the most personal kitchens on this stretch of coast. Bessem Ben Abdallah opened his restaurant here in 2017; the MICHELIN Guide awarded it a star in the 2024 selection, and the 2026 guide keeps it.

This is what to expect: the garden and the dining room, the chef and his surprise menus, and what to know before you book.

01A garden in the middle of town

From the street there is little to suggest it, but behind the house lies a terrace shaded by plane trees, palms and an olive tree, where a dry-stone fountain splashes and, in summer, the cicadas take over. Thirty-five guests can sit outside and thirty-five more in the dining room, which has large bay windows, a roof that opens and soft pastel tones; the kitchen team can be watched at work through the glass.

The chef spent five months renovating the house before he opened, dressing the white walls with plant frames and the tables with linen and his own choice of plates. There is free private parking at the door.

02From Courchevel to the Riviera

Bessem Ben Abdallah grew up, as he tells it, on his mother's cooking and his grandmother's tricks, and qualified in cookery and pastry at the Institut Méditerranéen de Tourisme in 1997. His first job, in 2000, was at the Métropole in Monaco; he went on to L'Âne Rouge on the port of Nice under Michel Devillers and to L'Orangerie on the Île de la Cité in Paris with Michel Del Burgo. From 2007 to 2010 he was Pierre Gagnaire's executive chef at Les Airelles in Courchevel, where the restaurant held two MICHELIN stars, before running the kitchen of Hôtel Le Lana in Courchevel for five years and cooking at Spondi in Athens.

Insider tip

Closed Monday and Tuesday. Le Dégustation is served to the whole table, up to 21.00.

The MICHELIN inspectors describe his cooking as delicate, Mediterranean and very much his own, built around the catch of the day. Some of the ingredients come from close to home: he serves his own single-estate Tunisian olive oil and keeps hens for fresh eggs. When the star was awarded, the guide singled out fish from the small boats, grilled and served with artichoke purée, seasonal vegetables with Parmesan and a yuzu and combava broth lifted with tagetes and lovage – and the talent of the pastry chef.

03Two menus and no menu card

There is no carte. Every dish is composed on the day from the season's produce and the chef's inspiration, so the menus are not known in advance. Le Tuniçois costs €125 and brings canapés and amuse-bouches, a starter, fish or meat, dessert and petits fours. Le Dégustation, at €175, runs to seven services – canapés and an amuse-bouche, two starters, fish and meat, cheese, dessert and petits fours – and is served to the whole table, up to 21.00. A wine pairing costs €60 for three 10cl glasses or €75 for four.

These prices are the ones on the restaurant's menu page, checked on 25 October 2026; some older pages on the same website still show lower figures, so confirm when you book. Allergies and intolerances should be mentioned at the time of booking. Gault&Millau rates the restaurant 14.5 out of 20 in its 2026 guide.

04Opening hours and booking

Bessem is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The restaurant's menu page lists dinner from Wednesday to Sunday, 19.30 to 21.30, and lunch at weekends, 12.30 to 13.30; the MICHELIN Guide lists lunch from Wednesday to Sunday and notes that lunch is not served in summer. Tables can be booked through the form on the restaurant's website or by telephone, and gift vouchers are sold online.

For a celebration, the dining room and the garden can be reserved in part or in full for private and business events.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.