L'Abysse in Monaco – Yannick Alléno's two-star sushi counter

At Hôtel Hermitage, Yannick Alléno and sushi master Naoki Kikuchi serve an omakase built on Mediterranean fish and Japanese technique. L'Abysse Monte-Carlo won two MICHELIN stars eight months after it opened.

L'Abysse Monte-Carlo opened at Hôtel Hermitage on 10 July 2024, the day after Prince Albert II cut the ribbon. It is Yannick Alléno's second address in the principality, after Pavyllon in the same hotel, and the Mediterranean sibling of the first L'Abysse at Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris. Eight months later, the MICHELIN Guide 2025 gave it two stars; local press described it as the first two-star Japanese restaurant in Monte-Carlo. The 2026 guide kept both.

01Two chefs, four elements

The idea is a meeting of two disciplines. On one side are the vegetables of the Monegasque hinterland, cooking at precise temperatures and the extraction techniques Alléno has developed for his sauces and jus. On the other is the work of the sushi master – since the opening the post has passed from Yasunari Okazaki to Naoki Kikuchi – who shapes each piece of rice and fish to order at the counter. The restaurant frames the meal around the four elements and, through them, the four seasons.

Kikuchi works with fishermen who use targeted, sustainable methods, and the menu shifts with what they bring in. One ritual comes from Japanese fishing tradition: gyotaku, the old practice of inking a fish and pressing it onto washi paper to record a catch. At L'Abysse, guests leave with a print of the fish they ate that evening.

02The room and the counter

The interior was designed by Laurence Bonnel-Alléno with the architects of RoWin'atelier. It is done out almost entirely in white, with a light-wood counter, navy carpet and banquettes, and shell-pink chairs. The MICHELIN inspectors advise taking a seat at the counter for the most authentic experience – it is where the knife work happens, a few centimetres from the plate.

Insider tip

Dinner Tuesday to Saturday; ask for a seat at the counter.

03Omakase, Collection or Matataki

Omakase means "I leave it to you", and the full menu of that name is the house's long form: a series of savoury "émotions" from Alléno's side of the kitchen, a sequence of nigiri from the counter, then the sweet "amamis". The Collection menu is a shorter version of the same journey. From Tuesday to Thursday there is also Matataki – "the blink of an eye" – with two amuse-bouches, two émotions, a sashimi plate, three nigiri, an otoro tuna temaki, an interlude, an amami and a mignardise.

Any menu can be extended. The list of additions includes wood-fired Osciètra caviar in a kombu leaf with spinach and buttermilk, grilled langoustine with nori, an otoro temaki and a plate of sashimi, and nigiri are offered by the piece – squid, mackerel and red mullet at the lower end, chutoro and otoro tuna, red shrimp and a caviar gunkan at the top. Wines come from the cellars of the Hôtel de Paris, alongside a list of rare sakes and Japanese whiskies chosen by the hotel's sommeliers.

04At the Hermitage

L'Abysse shares its address with Pavyllon Monte-Carlo, Alléno's one-star counter restaurant, where meals are served on a garden patio with a view of the sea in fine weather – so the Hermitage holds two starred restaurants by the same chef. The Casino, the Opéra and the Hôtel de Paris are a short walk away across Place du Casino.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.