La Table du Cap Estel in Èze – a new star on a private headland

Behind a discreet gate at Èze-Bord-de-Mer, Kévin Garcia – formerly of Le Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower – cooks the sea and the hotel's herb garden in a marble dining room above the water. La Table du Cap Estel won its first MICHELIN star in 2026.

Cap Estel occupies a small private headland at Èze-Bord-de-Mer, below the corniche road between Nice and Monaco. The MICHELIN inspectors describe it as one of the most secluded and exclusive spots on the Côte d'Azur: guests arrive through a discreet gate and follow a winding path that seems to lead away from the world. In the 2026 guide, its gastronomic restaurant, La Table du Cap Estel, received its first star – one of eight new stars in the region this year.

The star came quickly. Kévin Garcia took over the kitchen in 2025, after seven years at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

01From the Eiffel Tower to Èze

Garcia was born in Wattwiller in Alsace, to a Spanish father, and grew up between the two kitchens. He trained at JY'S in Colmar and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon before joining Frédéric Anton at Le Pré Catelan. In 2018 he took charge of Le Jules Verne, Anton's restaurant on the Eiffel Tower, where he won a second MICHELIN star in 2024. A year later he moved south. "A cuisine that does not seek to impress but to connect," is how he sums up his approach.

Herbs are central. Together with Cap Estel's gardener, Garcia has planted a kitchen garden of tarragon, summer savory, lemon thyme and wild fennel: lovage lifts a meat jus, fennel gives a fish its aniseed freshness, and a basil infusion sharpens the sweetness of tomato. The MICHELIN inspectors praise clear, unadulterated flavours that favour precision over show.

02Marble, columns and the sea

La Table is on the ground floor of the Manor House, the Florentine-inspired villa at the heart of the estate. The dining room has black and white marble, Greek columns, a striking chandelier and large bay windows onto the sea. On summer evenings the tables move out onto the terrace, close enough to the water to hear it, with the palms of the Mediterranean garden overhead.

Insider tip

Closed in winter; reopens 6 May 2027.

03A headland with a past

According to the hotel, the first to fall for the site was Frank Harris, the Irish author and publisher and a friend of Oscar Wilde. From 1900, the old pig pastures became a small establishment for wealthy Americans wintering on the Riviera; Countess Mery de la Canorgue planted the gardens and their giant ficus trees, and in 1923 the property passed to André Embiricos, heir to a Greek shipping family and a racing driver. After the war the hotelier Robert Squarciafichi made it one of the most sought-after addresses on the coast, and between 1951 and 1993 it received guests from Greta Garbo and Anthony Quinn to the Rolling Stones and U2. The hotel also says the Beatles found inspiration here for "Michelle".

04The menu

Garcia cooks set menus of five or seven courses. The most recently published menu opens with salt cod in a saffron broth with fior di mascarpone, then lightly smoked bonito with fresh horseradish, toasted rice cream and Osciètra caviar. Gamberoni appear twice – marinated in a tomato consommé with vanilla and basil, then seared with strawberry vinegar and a tarragon sabayon – followed by the catch of the day with broccolini and a lemon and chorizo butter, and charcoal-grilled beef with confit aubergine, guanciale and a seaweed-smoked jus. The seven-course menu adds caramelised veal sweetbread with Robiolino cheese and wild garlic.

Desserts follow the garden: fig with rhododendron honey ice cream and eucalyptus, Tahitian vanilla with caramel and rice cream, and a frozen Èze lemon with a leaf and flower infusion and champagne granita. There is a cheese trolley, and pairings with or without alcohol. The menu changes with the season.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.