With a view that looks over Monaco, Michelin two-starred Chèvre d’Or has the view to go along with its beautiful food. It was an especially pleasing lunch all the more so because we had pre-lunch aperitifs in the garden and arguably had the best table in the restaurant – a round table next to two large windows that look out over the Cote d’Azur (sometimes it’s good to travel with a group – there were eight of us). Coupled with a very friendly sommelier who immediately made us feel relaxed in the largely formal atmosphere of the restaurant, this was easily one of our favourite high end dining experiences on our trip to the south of France a couple years back. I didn’t realise it at that time but dining at Chèvre d’Or was on Jack Nicholson’s bucket list in the 2007 movie “The Bucket List” and I can see why.
Chèvre d’Or (Golden Goat), the hotel and its restaurants, are built into the slopes of the hills of Eze. We visited Eze for its well regarded garden where you can get great views of the coast overlooking Cap Ferrat on one side and Monaco on the other. The town of Eze itself is a fun place to roam around with its narrow medieval alleyways. A couple of my friends stayed in the hotel but were not impressed being that they felt the rooms needed refurbishment. Nonetheless, the restaurant is well worth the stop and makes Eze a good half-day visit coupled with lunch or dinner. The restaurant is helmed by Ronan Kervarrec with pastry chef Julien Dugourd and both present interpretations of french food that is lighter – possibly reflecting a more mediterranean flavour. I think this was particularly suitable to my taste as I’m not into food with a lot of heavy sauces. Perhaps it’s because we are in the Cote d’Azur where sun, sea and surf seems to go best with seafood based dishes and desserts with fresh fruit.
Bread to die for. I really hate when the bread is good because I just can’t help myself especially with good butter or olive oil. Inevitably, I get stuffed on the bread. My favourite bread on this trip was definitely the olive roll at Chèvre d’Or. The bread was a brioche with a black olive tapenade baked in. I still think about the buttery light sweetness of the brioche and the savoury olives.
The light mediterranean flavours continued. I think because we were there for lunch, our menu was much lighter in touch that the standard dinner dishes. In fact, looking at photos from others who have visited, our meal was much more seafood based. Le Chèvre d’Or does have a tasting menu that changes daily depending on what’s freshly available. Also because we were a larger group, we couldn’t order from the a la carte and were given a choice of two menus – three courses at EUR75 and five courses at EUR135. Chèvre d’Or’s current website reveals a lunch tasting at EUR85 or EUR110 and a dinner tasting menu at EUR205. For those on a budget, I think lunch presents better value although dinner may contain more of the chef’s signatures dishes.
Besides the bread, I also really enjoyed the lobster. I think this was one of my favourite dishes on the whole trip. It was also just very prettily presented with wonderfully fresh colours. A small cup of bisque with a dash of caviar accompanied the lobster.
Dessert was a wonderfully fresh, light strawberry tart. While we missed out on the restaurant’s signature lemon tart, I think we were happy with what we received. I think it’s always nice to have a bit of a surprise, leaving the chef to select what he can do with the day’s ingredients.
Our sommelier, Claude Derrien recommended some nice wines to accompany our meal, which didn’t break the bank. We had a 2011 Saint Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly from Bernard Moreau – a cheaper and thus, cheerful, variant on a Montrachet and a 2010 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre.
On the whole, I’d definitely recommend coming for lunch. Given the ingredients and the presentation of the food and portions, as well as that million dollar view, I thought lunch was good value.
The Chèvre d’Or shuts down during the winter season and opens only from March until November. Le Chevre d’Or’s website: http://www.chevredor.com/uk/chateau-chevre-d-or-eze-official-site.php. Booking online was easy.
