La Chèvre d'Or in Èze – two stars in an eagle's nest above the sea

A violinist gave the castle its name, a hotelier turned it into a restaurant in 1953, and Walt Disney is said to have told him to build a hotel. Today, Tom Meyer cooks two-star cuisine at the very top of Èze.

The restaurant La Chèvre d'Or is located where the road ends. The car is parked below Èze, and the last stretch up through the medieval village is done on foot, through narrow stone alleys. Château de la Chèvre d'Or describes itself as an eagle's nest on a limestone cliff, and it is no exaggeration: from the dining room, you look straight down onto the Mediterranean and across towards Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

The restaurant has two stars in the Guide Michelin France 2026. It has held one star since 1975 and two since 2000, and since 2024 the kitchen has been led by Tom Meyer, Meilleur Ouvrier de France 2023.

The violinist, the hotelier and Walt Disney

The castle is medieval but was rebuilt in the 1920s. The name comes from a former owner, the Yugoslav violinist Zlatko Baloković, who named the house Château de la Chèvre d'Or – the castle with the golden goat.

In 1953 the castle was bought by the hotelier Robert Wolf, who wanted to turn it into a restaurant. According to the hotel's own history, it was Walt Disney who advised him to build a hotel instead, and from 1956 it gradually took shape. Wolf subsequently bought up private houses in the village and converted them into hotel rooms, which explains why Chèvre d'Or today is spread across several buildings along the hillside.

In 1954, the house became one of six stops on La Route du Bonheur, the route of hotels founded by Marcel Tilloy, which became the forerunner of Relais & Châteaux. Chèvre d'Or is still a member of the organisation.

Five chefs and two stars

The restaurant's history can be read as a list of French chefs. Jean-Marc Delacourt became head chef in 1998 and took the second star in 2000. Philippe Labbé ran the kitchen 2003–2009, after which came Fabrice Vulin and Ronan Kervarrec. From July 2016 it was Arnaud Faye, who came from Domaine de Chantilly and who became Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2019 while working here.

In 2024, Tom Meyer took over. The hotel describes his cuisine as bold and poetic, rooted in the region's produce, with flavours moving between green, sea and iodine. The fact that two chefs in a row with the title Meilleur Ouvrier de France have led the same kitchen says something about the level the house is aiming for.

The dining room with windows facing the Mediterranean

The dining room is small. When Monaco Life visited the restaurant in 2021, it took a maximum of 48 guests, and instead of a terrace there were large floor-to-ceiling windows framing the sea and the boats far below. It is the view that is the room's decor.

Around the house lie terraced gardens, including a garden with 300 citrus plants. For simpler meals, the hotel's two other restaurants are available: Les Remparts with a Mediterranean menu and Le Café du Jardin by the pool.

The guests who made Èze famous

Chèvre d'Or has long been a destination for the film elite, particularly during the Cannes Film Festival. The hotel itself lists Lauren Bacall, Marlene Dietrich, Elizabeth Taylor and Humphrey Bogart among its guests, as well as Roger Moore, Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery. A scene in the 2007 film The Bucket List was filmed here.

The hotel's 45 rooms and suites are located in the village's old houses, and several suites are named after people who have stayed in the area, such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean Cocteau.

How to make the most of your visit to Èze

Èze is located between Nice and Monaco, high above the coastal road. Do come in good time before dinner and wander around the village once the day-trippers have gone home – the evening light over the sea is the reason why so many choose to book a table here.

Read more about the village in VERA PI's guide to Èze and about the coast in the guide to the French Riviera. Monaco, the neighbour to the east, can be found district by district in VERA PI's Monaco guide, and more restaurants along the coast can be found at metromode.co.