In the span of one week, Jon and I ate at Mirazur in Menton, Keisuke Matsushima in Nice (one Michelin star each) and Le Pre Catelan in Paris (three Michelin stars). It’s a rough life. That said, of the three meals, our favorite was (by far) dinner at Mirazur.
The town of Menton is the farthest east you can go on the French Riviera before you hit Italy (Ventimiglia, to be exact). It’s a sleepy, but pretty harbor town. Not glitzy or chic, which is why it’s an unusual place to open a high-end restaurant. If you hop off the train at Menton-Garavan, it’s just a 10-minute walk from the train station to the Mirazur restaurant. Just follow the signs for customs (la douane), because the restaurant is located literally yards away from the Italian border checkpoint.
The building exterior is highly unattractive. Our hearts sank when we saw the restaurant’s concrete, Ft. Lauderdale-gone-bad facade, but lifted again when the maitre d’ came out to shake our hands and welcome us. From the moment we were so warmly greeted, dinner was fun, delicious and interesting.
Deciding to splash out, we started with aperitifs of a crisp, Billecart-Salmon Brut rose champagne, which we happily sipped with four excellent amuses, the standouts of which were a colorful and intensely-flavored eggplant-and-creme and tomato-and-avocado pair. The chef-owner of Mirazur, Mauro Colagreco, worked with Alain Passard at l’Arpege (a pedigree that’s what got us interested in the restaurant), so wizardry with raw vegetables wasn’t a surprise. The simple and delicious amuses told us we were in for a treat.We ordered the tasting menu, which was an incredible value at 70 euros a person (in comparison, the 140-euro per person tasting menu at Le Pre Catelan didn’t hold a candle to our meal at Mirazur), ordered our wines, and off we went.
Every course was visually gorgeous and ranged from merely very tasty (the asparagus ice cream in a citrus and fennel veloute) to revelatory (the “spring garden,” the foie gras with citrus and beetroot confit, and the langoustines in dashi broth). The servers were professionally attentive, but also friendly, following our lead and mixing up French and English when describing the food or the fanatical way chef Colagreco guards the restaurant’s vegetable garden. Our fellow diners were almost all French-speaking, and the dining room was full, but not packed, on the Sunday night we were there. It was a good atmosphere, especially after sun set: the lights along Menton harbor twinkled, and the unappealing train tracks passing under the second-floor dining room disappeared.
The photos above give you some sense of how painstakingly the food is presented at Mirazur, and without boring you with all the details, I’ll give a specific shout out to the langoustines in dashi broth (photo at the top of this post), the colors of which reminded me of the scallops dish at L’Astrance in Paris (home to another Alain Passard protege) but tasted fresh and vivid in a way only simple, well-sourced ingredients can.
Langoustines are ugly creatures, and when they’re translucently raw like they were at Mirazur, the chef did well to cover them in a gorgeous blanket of flowers and greens. The lukewarm dashi broth was salty and seafoody, and the langoustines were sweet and delicate. Every ingredient played a big role, and I loved how all these simple elements came together with every spoonful.
The foie gras (third photo down) was melt-in-your-mouth silken, like slinky tofu, but rich and meaty as only foie gras is. The dish was lightened and brightened by the strong flavors of the citrus confit and the vegetal beetroot confit.
Last but not least of my three favorite courses is the ‘Jardins du Printemps’ (fifth photo down), which at first appears to be a dull pile of salad greens, but actually turns out to be a carefully-constructed mix of raw and pureed vegetables. The raw greens are not only flavorful, but also add a variety of texture and crunch to spoonfuls of a green puree that’s hidden beneath the greens. The pine nuts do their sweet, nutty thing and as someone who is rarely impressed by vegetables, I was knocked over by the flavors in this course. The chef guards his garden for good reason, it seems.
Our tab for two came to almost 240 euros, and we thought it worth every cent. Make the trip to Mirazur in Menton and be sure to let me know what you think.
this is a great description of Mauro’s wonderful dishes!! Your pictures really capture them well!
Unfortunately he hasn’t reached the 2nd star yet…. as you write -he got his first one just recently which is not too bad for having opened just a year ago!!
Next time you come to Menton you MUST have your aperitivo down in the bar with the sun setting over the old port of Menton – it’s one of the most beautiful spots you can find on the French Riviera – even though its already the border…
Next time you come to Menton. just let me know, I might give you some more tips…
Sigi
Thanks — Mirazur does only have one star, a status which really underrates the restaurant, despite the argument that having any stars at all is an accomplishment.
Eating tips for the Riviera are always welcome!
Oh my, that sounds and looks amazing! next trip to the South I will HAVE to go to Menton for the purpose of dining there.
Thanks for the appetizing review.
Great post. Had a lovely lunch there last week. Account available on my blog. Cheers.
from my initial thought petals in recepies was absoloutely shocking but i grew to like it, for i have 3 michelin stars between my 2 resturants, i realised some of your dishes are enlightening i would like you to contact me because i would like you to come aboard on my chef staff. Thank you for your time. luichiano
Hi,
Excellent description of the wonderful food at Mirazur. My wife and I eat there abount 9 months ago. You should also visit the restaurnat Paris Rome which is a stones throw from Mirazur. Just walk down the hill and turn right at the foot of the hill. Paris Rome is just there. Paris Rome also carries a one star. The food is excellent but the setting is nothing like Mirazur.
I wouls be most grateful iuf you would ask Sigi to send me any other recommendations for Menton/Garvan.
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your comments and the Paris Rome rec, and I’ll see if I can dig up Sigi’s email address for you.
este cocina estoy mui bien
hermosa fotografía, esperamos poder visitar menton y apreciar personalmente los delicados platos de mauro.
Gracias, Laura. And if you do try Mirazur, I’d love to know if it’s still as tasty as I remembered. I haven’t heard anything about it in over a year . . . .
[…] bittersweet rhubarb compote balanced out the pigeon’s meatiness. (How disturbing is it that I am a big fan of eating pigeon, our friendly rats of the […]
Hello,
Heard about it from the States on the international channel 5
I was an executive chef, awards winning in including one from the
James Beard House.
I was born in FR but leave in the States since more than 20 years and became a citizen, before leaving for the States I spent a few years in Menton, indeed nothing similar was there..
I will fly non stop to Nice tomorrow AM, and will be in the Menton-Italian border for a few days, will love to try it and report
Best
Henry
your review encapsulates what a wonderful dining experience this was. A second star would be richlydeserved!
Nick, it’s great to hear the food there is still delish. Thanks for sharing your impression.
Hi , just wanted to let you all know that Mauro Colagreco has just been awarded “Cook of the Year ” by Gault-Millau…the bad news is, that the restaurant is closed from November to Februray 😦 – will try to figure out where he’s cooking in winter…
Hi Sigi, thanks for the update, and congratulations to Mauro Colagreco! Why is the restaurant closing for the winter? Too little customer traffic on the Riviera during that time of year?
un saludo a mauro ,desde argentina ,tengo una rotiseria en un pueblo de santa fe ,estudie para cocinero en cordoba,realize pasantias y hasta fui a españa a trabajar en un corto periodo de tiempo,lejos de su nivel y su talento ,admiracion adonde a llegado,a mis 36 años desearle lo mejor y que siga triunfando
que decir ,tv mama in argentain .es arquitecta ,en el gourmet ,com .trabaja un tal cheff ono fanatic del futbol argentino hice una pasantia para el en cordoba ,pomme de terre y fondo de coccion .me fui secain algunos vasos parecia magia japonesa que influia sobre los cocienos del lugar.una noche unicamente lo vi en un mes .se paraba en las alturas y tomaba nota .estuve de paseo despues que me cerraron las puertas de peron en europa ,en una ciudad de francia llamada mombellier ,cercano al lugar donde esta tu restaurant ,fue en el 2004 .estuve sentado en el centro de la ciudad tomando un cafe .mi vida en cocina hago mi trabajo y me retiro ,desconozco losgrandes autores o la fama o los lugares de elite de cocina en el mundo.es simple mirando en la computadora casualidad encontre el sitio web .te comento lo del cafe en la plaza porque viendo pasar a los transeuntes ,siendo argentino vi pasar a una persona con la camiseta de los pumas,te gusta el rugby parecio que eras vos ,perdon usted segun su status .no soy una persona extovertida asi que un placer si era usted cheff ,por ahi confunde la gente roles dentro deun trabajo.que disfrutes lo que haces mauro con el mayor de los respetos a tu quehacer como persona.
Here’s an article on the inside of the Michelin Star rating system. “Lunch with a Michelin Star Inspector” and have a look at how they decide on how many stars to give:
http://nov0caine.posterous.com/the-elusive-michelin-star#
Gilbert, if you’re interested in an “inside look” at the Michelin system, you might enjoy this New Yorker interview with a Michelin reviewer:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/23/091123fa_fact_colapinto?currentPage=all
He is at Manresa these days. Wish I was there.
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MMoore
Hi,
We ate at the Mirazur on the 3rd October this year and I can’t sing its praises highly enough. What a wonderful experience.
The staff were polite, knowledgeable and extremely helpful; and the food was to die for. I found myself eating things that I would never have dreamed I would like, including snails and algae foam.
We decided to go for the Carte Blanche menu and he really pulled out all the stops, everything was superb.
While the restaurant was closed we did see the maître d’, the sommelier and another of the waiters all having lunch together in a little restaurant called Carnival down by the quay side in Menton (and the sommelier really looks like he enjoys his food), who knows, maybe we should have tried there, you know what they say about Rome etc.
All in all, I can’t wait to go back there and try what Mauro comes up with next.
@Peni – Thanks for such a detailed update, and I’m so glad to hear Mirazur is going strong. You just never know what happens to a place if you haven’t visited in years or even in months. I’ll look forward to re-visiting the next time I’m visiting the Cote d’Azur.
Great menu on 3rd October, Chef’s Choice. A few of the dishes you described. Vegetables were as good, if not better, than any I have had anywhere.
But…
The fish had bones left in; after I had made a point of saying how much I disliked bones. We left the course almost untouched with no comment other than a shrug from the staff.
Dessert looked fabulous but the Coriander Cream tastes mainly of just mildely green!
Good night with stunning views, good food but only just up to its one star.
Regards, Michael.
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