Saint-Tropez, France - 20-22.07.10
During what was a very tranquil and relaxing stay at my friend’s family house in Villefrance Sur Mer, near Nice on the Côte d’Azur, someone came up with the bright idea that we needed a break from tranquil and relaxing in favour of some proper ‘South of France partying’.
Now the last time I was in St-Tropez, I arrived on a yacht, and upon arrival at the bay, we were swiftly collected by Nikki Beach’s speedboat, which promptly delivered us to the pier and onto our table for lunch at the beach club. We only spent the one afternoon in St-Tropez, and I am now a firm believer that you don’t want to spend much longer than that there, as it may inevitably lead you down a slippery slope of either spending all your life’s savings spraying Cristal at Les Caves du Roy, or returning home a vastly different looking person after succumbing to plastic surgery in an attempt at fitting in. Natural is just not St-Trop darling.
This trip was very different from the last: instead of a stunning yacht, we arrived by Fiat Punto. Instead of being collected and delivered in style to Nikki Beach, we had to first fight for a reservation to get into one of the more mediocre beach club as all the decent ones were full already, then we had to queue for hours to get into the car park. Not so glamourous!
That was the sum of our first couple of days in St-Tropez. Not a major success. We did however stumble across a delightful restaurant in the town. L’Auberge des Maures is a real find - a hidden gem with cute Provencal décor and friendly staff. Best of all, it enabled me to discover one of my top ten dishes of all time - the slow cooked caramelized veal. Look for it in the House Specials. This is a divine dish, and is large enough to feed four hungry diners. Our starters were all lovely too, but the portions were large which meant less room for the veal!
On our way out of the hotel on our second night (the perfectly well located and excellent value for money Hotel Sube), as if by fate, one of my friends bumped into her billionaire employer. A few glasses of champagne later, we had an all-expenses paid dinner at Villa Romana and the best table at St-Tropez’s current nightclub of choice - VIP booked for that evening, as well as a coveted table at Club 55 for lunch the following day. The rest of our trip went swimmingly and we were given our opportunity to live the high life and party hard for just a little while before heading back to Villefranche the next afternoon.
The meals at Villa Romana and Club 55 were nice but not memorable, so I won’t bother explaining what we had. Club 55 is really worth going to for the celeb spotting and the excellent house band, which creates a really cool vibe to the place from around 2:30pm onwards.
For me it was a relief to leave St-Tropez, as I can only describe our time there as hard work. All the money wasting, stiletto wearing on the beach, and fighting for table reservations can only suit those who are either fascinated to see it, or who have enough money to be part of it.
On our return journey to Villefranche, we drove several miles out of our way inland to try a restaurant we had been told was amazing. Bruno is famous in the South of France for its six-course truffle menu. For €65, €85, €95 or €110 you can choose between various qualities of truffle to be prepared with your meal. We went for the €85 option which was delicious, but I would be tempted to go for the most expensive option next time to taste the difference. The meal was wonderful - if a little rich, but unfortunately not spectacular. What did make the experience really special however, was the beauty of the setting. We sat outside on a beautifully set table amongst gorgeous statues, calming fountains and pretty trellises. We never wanted to leave. This would be an incredible setting for a wedding, or anniversary dinner. Well worth a visit.
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| St-Tropez Port at Sunset |
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| Artichoke at Club 55 |
Hotel Sube
15 Quai de Suffren
15 Quai de Suffren
83990 Saint-Tropez
T: +33 (0)4.94.54.89.09
L’Auberge des Maures
4 Rue Routin
83990 St-Tropez
T: +33 (0)4.94.97.01.50
Bruno
Campagne Mariette
83510 Lorgues
T: +33 (0)4.94.85.93.93
Club 55
43 Boulevard du Général Patch
83350 Ramatuelle
T: +33 (0)4.94.55.55.55
