So'Mets – Anne-Sophie Sabini's own story on a Beaulieu backstreet

So'Mets sits a few streets back from the seafront in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, on the stretch of Côte d'Azur between Nice and Monaco, in a modern dining room that chef-owner Anne-Sophie Sabini fitted out herself over four months of work, from the kitchen layout to the last piece of decor. The name is a pun — a contraction of "les mets de Sophie", Sophie's dishes — and the kitchen follows the same spirited logic: French bistro classics recast with a Mediterranean accent, built from market produce and changed with the seasons. Sabini, a thirty-something originally from Lyon, opened the doors on 21 January 2022 after years spent as sous-chef in some of the coast's most decorated kitchens, and that training shows in the precision behind the apparent ease. So'Mets holds no stars but is selected in the MICHELIN Guide — recognition for a table that plays a different, more personal game, generous and rooted in one chef's own story.

01The room and the setting

The dining room blends elegance and informality in equal measure: a modern, cosy space that Anne-Sophie Sabini describes as reflecting her own energy, built from scratch in four months of work she managed entirely herself, down to designing the kitchen and decorating the dining area.

Press coverage from the restaurant's opening described the result in detail — parquet flooring against old stone walls, dark metal and black-and-white tones, a small cocktail bar, and a veranda terrace opening onto a shaded backstreet in the centre of town. Parquet, murs de pierres, bois et métal, noir et blanc, bar à cocktails, terrasse-véranda, rue ombragée… Après cinq mois de travaux, le lieu déborde d’énergie, comme cette jeune femme qui a bien choisi ses escales en gastronomie.

02The chef

Anne-Sophie Sabini built her career in some of the Côte d'Azur's most decorated dining rooms before striking out on her own. She worked as sous-chef at La Vague d'Or under Arnaud Donckèle in Saint-Tropez, at L'Oustau de Baumanière under Sylvestre Wahid, at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Paris, and alongside Yannick Franck at La Réserve de Beaulieu, where she opened La Table de la Réserve.

Insider tip

Open Wed–Sun; closed Mon & Tue; average spend about €35 for two courses, drinks excluded.

Her LinkedIn history confirms that long apprenticeship close to home: Chef De Cuisine La table de la Reserve Mar 2015 - Jan 2021 5 years 11 months Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, before she began work on her own restaurant. Today she runs So'Mets as both chef and owner, favouring simplicity and constant reinvention over technical display, and valuing what she calls "transmission" — passing on what she has learned.

03The cooking

The kitchen draws on specialities from across the Mediterranean basin rather than staying strictly Niçoise or Provençal, reworking fresh, seasonal ingredients into classic recipes given a lighter, more contemporary finish. The carte is short and renewed through the year, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options built into the same menu rather than offered as an afterthought.

04What to order

The dish regulars single out is the one that gives the restaurant its name: "le terre et mer so'mets", roast octopus and black pudding with a carrot purée and a citrus vinaigrette Le terre et mer <« so'mets » poulpe et boudin noir rôti, purée de carottes vinaigrette aux agrumes — a plate diners describe as the house signature. Elsewhere the carte runs from a shared starter such as Houmous de févettes, citron vert, coriandre to mains including a slow-cooked Osso bucco de veau, légumes du soleil façon ratatouille, burratines jus aux herbes fraîches and a simple Entrecôte de bœuf, purée de pommes de terre maison, jus de viande. To finish, Sabini reworks a bistro standard into Tarte au citron, selon l'interprétation d'anne-sophie « déstructurée, revisitée », alongside a house Ile flottante "so'mets", crème à la vanille, pistache ou praliné.

05Wine and drinks

The cellar favours small growers over big names: biodynamic and sustainably farmed wines from independent winemakers, alongside alcohol-free cocktails and homemade soft drinks for anyone skipping wine altogether.

06When to go and booking

So'Mets serves lunch and dinner Wednesday to Sunday, from 12:00 to 14:00 and 19:00 to 21:30, and closes on Mondays and Tuesdays. Tables can be booked online or by phone on +33 9 88 33 82 45, at 5 Rue du Lieutenant Colonelli in the centre of Beaulieu-sur-Mer.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.