La Part des Anges – Saint-Tropez's angels' share of bistronomy

On a quiet pedestrian lane in the heart of the village, close to the church and the old port, La Part des Anges occupies an intimate dining room with a small terrace. The restaurant is selected in the MICHELIN Guide, a mark of attention rather than a star, recognising cooking that stays close to the Mediterranean without settling for easy formulas. It is run by two men who already knew Saint-Tropez's kitchens well before they joined forces: Éric Précigoux, who spent two decades at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's side opening restaurants from New York to Paris, and chef Thomas Elhyani, trained classically and seasoned in kitchens alongside Pierre Gagnaire and Guy Martin. Thomas writes a chalkboard menu that follows his own seasonal wanderings. Named after the portion of spirit that evaporates from a barrel as it ages — the angels' share — the restaurant turns that image of quiet transformation into a room that feels both polished and unpretentious.

01The room and the setting

Tucked into a pedestrian street behind the marina, steps from the parish church, La Part des Anges was opened by two friends already familiar faces around the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and connoisseurs of its leading tables. The dining room keeps to an elegant, intimate register the owners sum up as luxury without excess, and what began as a cosy space has grown through the addition of a terrace; the soundtrack runs to chanson française and other hits from the 1970s to the 1990s rather than anything more fashionable.

02Éric and Thomas

Éric Précigoux began his career in New York beside chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the three-MICHELIN-starred Alsatian behind a group of 65 restaurants worldwide, and spent twenty years at his side, helping open around twenty of them, including the Avenue Matignon branch of Market in Paris. He went on to advise on openings across the south of France for the Annie Famose group — La Petite Plage, l'Italien and Kinugawa, all in Saint-Tropez, where he met Thomas — before becoming F&B director for Les Airelles Collection and later joining Paris Society for the launches of Le Piaf in Courchevel and Maison Revka in Saint-Tropez.

Insider tip

Open daily except Wednesday lunch; reduced winter hours from 4 December to 10 January.

Thomas Elhyani trained classically through a CAP, BEP and vocational baccalauréat, then cooked in kitchens alongside chefs including Pierre Gagnaire and Guy Martin. A decade ago he opened his own restaurant, Fleur de Sel, in the lanes of Grimaud, running it for five years before moving into consulting and restaurant openings for Eric Fréchon's Saint-Tropez addresses, among them La Petite Plage, the chef honing his skills there after that earlier stint in Grimaud — the project that brought him together with Éric, and the partnership that became La Part des Anges.

03The cooking

The carte is written on a slate that changes with Thomas's own seasonal wanderings, inside a dining room the owners describe as elegant and intimate, balancing luxury and refinement. The cooking itself stays close to the market: bistronomic food built on fresh, seasonal produce, favouring simplicity and flavour over flourish. Expect generous, discerning bistronomy, with vegetarian and gluten-free options worked into the seasonal rotation.

04Wine and drinks

Among the bottles on the list is Champagne EPC, founded in 2018 by Edouard, Jérôme and Camille after they discovered a shared passion for champagne and a wish to run their business on their own terms. EPC involves its winegrowers directly in blending each cuvée, a collaborative model the house presents as unusual for the region, producing champagnes meant for free, easy drinking rather than any single occasion.

05The neighbourhood

Rue de l'Église runs just behind Saint-Tropez's parish church, one of the narrow lanes threading through the old village between the main square and the harbour. It is a quieter pocket of the resort, away from the quayside crowds, yet only a short stroll from the port where the yachts line up each evening.

06When to go and booking

La Part des Anges opens every day except Wednesday lunchtime, with service from 12:00 to 14:00 and 19:00 to 22:30, as published on its website in October 2026. Over the festive season the hours narrow: from 4 December to 10 January it opens Thursday to Sunday only, for lunch from 12:00 to 14:00 and dinner from 19:00 to 22:00. The dining room is air-conditioned and the small terrace catches the evening life of rue de l'Église; tables are best secured by phone or email ahead of a Saint-Tropez summer.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.