Miraé by Mauro Colagreco – socca to tarte tropézienne on the Cap

Serious cooking, in holiday clothes. Miraé is the easy-going table at Villa Miraé, the five-star hotel on the Chemin de la Garoupe that was for decades the Impérial Garoupe, and it takes its cue from the coast that runs from Genoa to Saint-Tropez – the shared kitchen of the French and Italian rivieras, re-read by Mauro Colagreco, the three-Michelin-starred chef behind all of the hotel's food. The house calls it a dolce vita escape, and the menu reads exactly that way: socca, spaghetti alla genovese, tarte tropézienne. It is served on a sunny terrace a short walk from La Garoupe beach, from breakfast into the evening, and it is open to everyone, not only to guests of the hotel. If Amarines, the hotel's gastronomic pavilion, is Colagreco in evening dress, Miraé is the same talent with its sleeves rolled up – and for a long lunch after a morning on the sand, there is nowhere better on this side of the Cap.

Here is the hotel, the chef, the dishes and how to spend a day at Miraé.

01A new chapter on the Garoupe

For decades the Impérial Garoupe was one of the quiet grandes dames of Cap d'Antibes. As Villa Miraé it has opened a new chapter, as part of the Inwood Hotels collection and a member of Relais & Châteaux, and it reopened for the 2026 season on 17 April. Food is at the heart of the new house, and all of it carries Colagreco's name: Amarines for dinner in the gardens, the bar on the Amarines terrace for the evening, and Miraé for everything else.

02The terrace

Miraé lives outdoors. The tables are set on the hotel's terrace, under cream parasols, with olive trees in pots and the ochre arcades of the villa all around; if the weather turns, guests are moved inside when there is room. It is a bright, convivial place, made for a long lunch after the beach, and it has the unhurried rhythm of a private house in summer rather than the formality of a hotel dining room.

Insider tip

In season: breakfast to dinner, every day.

03The chef

Mauro Colagreco, born in Argentina, made his name on this coast. His restaurant Mirazur, in Menton, on the Italian border, holds three Michelin stars and was named the best restaurant in the world in 2019. He is a pioneer of what he calls circular gastronomy: cooking led by vegetables and local biodiversity, changing with the seasons and relying on short supply chains and producers who share that approach. That philosophy runs through the whole of Villa Miraé – and at Miraé it is applied to the emblematic dishes of the two rivieras, with what the hotel calls the chef's contemporary, daring touch.

04From Genoa to Saint-Tropez

The menu is a journey along the coast in three courses. Start with socca, the golden chickpea pancake of Nice, eaten hot and peppered from the street stalls of the old town to the beaches. Move east to Liguria for the spaghetti alla genovese. Finish in Saint-Tropez with a tarte tropézienne, the cream-filled brioche that became the sweet emblem of the Riviera. Three dishes everyone on this coast knows by heart, cooked by one of the most admired chefs working on it.

In the morning, breakfast brings artisan pastries, fresh fruit, eggs and local specialities, made with seasonal produce – and it is open to non-residents, which makes it one of the best ways to start a day on the Garoupe.

05From breakfast to dinner

In high season Miraé serves all day, every day: breakfast from 7.00 to 11.00, lunch from 12.00 to 15.00, a lighter snacking menu from 15.00 to 18.00 and dinner from 19.00 to 22.00. The restaurant follows the hotel's season – in 2026 dinner ran until 30 September and lunch until 17 October – so check the new season's dates before you plan around it. In the evening, the open-air bar on the Amarines terrace looks over the sea every day from 18.00 to 23.00, with signature cocktails built on lavender, citrus and the flavours of the Riviera.

06Make a day of it

Miraé is made for the full Garoupe day. Breakfast on the terrace, then the sand at La Garoupe, a few minutes' walk away. Walk the coastal path that leaves from the end of the beach and follows the rocks towards Villa Eilenroc, or climb to the Garoupe plateau for the lighthouse, the sailors' chapel and the widest view on the Cap. Come back for a late lunch of socca and spaghetti – and if the day has gone well, stay on for dinner at Amarines in the gardens.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.