Colette in Saint-Tropez – a star beside the writer's summer house

At the Hôtel Sezz near the Baie des Canebiers, next door to the house where Colette spent her summers, Philippe Colinet has held a MICHELIN star since 2021 for plant-led Mediterranean cooking.

In the mid-1920s the writer Colette discovered Saint-Tropez, then still a fishing village, and bought La Treille Muscate, a house above the Baie des Canebiers where she entertained the great names of her day under the wisteria with vegetables from her garden. The Hôtel Sezz, a five-star design hotel 250 metres from the Plage des Canebiers, is her neighbour today, and its gastronomic restaurant carries her name. Under Philippe Colinet it has held a MICHELIN star since 2021, and the 2026 guide keeps it.

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

01A terrace by the pool

The restaurant follows the lines of the hotel: a sleek, minimalist dining room for 30 and a terrace for 45 among olive trees and palms, looking over the Sezz's pool, with white sails stretched overhead. The MICHELIN inspectors describe a spacious patio; the hotel speaks of a festive yet intimate atmosphere. For a closer look, a chef's table designed by Christophe Pillet stands in front of the glass that opens onto the kitchen.

Parking and valet service are free, dogs under ten kilos are welcome, and on Monday evenings there is live music from 20.00 to 22.00. The dress code is casual chic.

02Philippe Colinet's plant-led kitchen

Philippe Colinet, a Maître Restaurateur who had cooked in the Loiret among other places, took over the kitchen when the restaurant reopened in the summer of 2020, and the star followed the next year. His approach starts with the produce: how it grows, and long conversations with the market gardeners, fishermen, farmers and oyster growers of the region, whom he visits in the winter months while the restaurant is closed. He forages too – sea fennel from the beach beside the Sezz, blackberries, wild fennel and salad burnet – and the hotel now has its own herb garden.

Insider tip

Dinner only, May to October. Reopens on 7 May 2027.

The MICHELIN Guide calls him a seasoned chef with confident technique and describes a stripped-back menu leaning towards plants and seafood, showcasing vegetables and the flavours of Provence. Gault&Millau awards the restaurant two toques.

03Substances and Sens

The menu dated August 2026 offers two tasting menus. Substances, in five acts at €165, ran from aubergine cooked, braised and smoked, through gamberoni with rhubarb and pomegranate and small squid with saffron risotto and aïoli, to John Dory with basil, chicken jus and kale, and apricot with chilli, honey and pollen. Sens, in seven acts at €205, is built around the five senses, from cauliflower with caviar, curry and anchoïade to pigeon with watermelon, beetroot and soy, and a Peruvian chocolate dessert with buckwheat and hazelnut praline.

Wine pairings cost €66 for three glasses, €110 for five and €145 for seven. À la carte, starters cost €33–72, main courses €65–78 and desserts €25–27, with cheeses from the Var at €30. The menus change with the seasons.

04Season, hours and booking

Colette is open for dinner only, from 19.30 to 21.30, from May to October. It closes on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in May, June, September and October, and on Monday and Tuesday evenings in July and August. The restaurant has now closed for the winter and reopens on 7 May 2027. Tables can be booked online, by email or by telephone, and gift vouchers are sold on the restaurant's website.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.