Le Cap in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat – Provence under the Aleppo pines

Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat stands at the very tip of the peninsula, hidden from the road by its gardens, with the Mediterranean on three sides. It opened in January 1908, and since 2015 it has been run by Four Seasons. Its gastronomic restaurant, Le Cap, holds one MICHELIN star, confirmed in the 2026 guide; the inspectors describe the hotel as a favourite of international VIPs and tell readers to make a beeline for it.

Le Cap is a seasonal restaurant. In 2026 it served dinner from 7 April to 24 October, so it is now closed until spring.

01Dining room or pine terrace

Guests choose between a dining room and a terrace in the garden, shaded by tall Aleppo pines. The hotel's interiors, restaurants included, were redesigned by Pierre-Yves Rochon in 2009, and the hotel credits Gustave Eiffel as the architect of its original 1908 rotunda. The wine list runs to 1,200 references from the great French vineyards, with a selection of Italian and Spanish wines, overseen by beverage director Alessandro Nigro Imperiale.

02Yoric Tièche's Provence

The executive chef, Yoric Tièche, was born in Aix-en-Provence, and the region is his starting point. "I like to revisit great classics of Provençal cuisine with a modern twist," he says on the hotel's website, and he has spoken of wanting to give the Grand-Hôtel's restaurants a real local identity – "an experience that guests can't get at other restaurants". Some of the vegetables and herbs come from the hotel's own gardens. Desserts are by pastry chef Pierre-Jean Quinonero, whose creations the MICHELIN inspectors call equally worth writing home about.

Insider tip

Seasonal: in 2026, open 7 April to 24 October, dinner Tuesday to Saturday.

03What to order

The menu is written in "waves". The 2026 summer menu opened with tomatoes seasoned with Espelette pepper and herbs from the garden, smoked aubergine with frosted cantaloupe melon and fresh almonds, a roasted violon courgette with black garlic, early figs from the hinterland and gorgonzola, and oysters from Maison Giol with cucumber, seaweed and Osciètra caviar.

The second wave brought red mullet lacquered with tomato, with bottarga gnocchi and a light saffron fish soup; carabineros shrimp with ravioli of tamari mussels; a roasted blue lobster with green beans and almonds; saddle and chop of lamb with an anchovy caillette; and rabbit rolled as a porchetta à la niçoise with Swiss chard ravioli. Quinonero's desserts included a Provençal peach with jasmine and Beaumes-de-Venise and a crunchy gavotte with coffee, whisky and cappuccino ice cream.

Two tasting menus frame the carte: Grand Bleu, in four waves, and Contemporary Petits Farcis, a homage to Nice's stuffed vegetables. The menu changes with the produce, so the 2027 dishes will be new.

04La Table Krug and the rest of the hotel

In season, Tièche and Nigro Imperiale also run La Table Krug, a private table in the gardens for up to five guests: five courses, each paired with a Krug cuvée, from Grande Cuvée to Collection 1995. The hotel's other restaurants are Club Dauphin, a Mediterranean grill by the pool, and the bistro-style La Véranda, and there is Le Bar. The coastal path around the cape passes just below the gardens.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.