Located in Saint-Tropez’s laid back La Ponche district, the Restaurant-Bar at Hotel La Ponche charms with its seaside location adjacent to a small beach. It’s just a short walk from the busy port to this Saint-Tropez institution, but we love the more secluded location and view of the gulf of Saint-Tropez from the restaurant’s terrace.
The Restaurant has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a fisherman’s bar and if you’re looking to dine in Saint-Tropez proper, you can’t go wrong here. Chef Thomas Danigo, from Michelin-starred Galanga in Paris, transforms traditional Provençal ingredients into elegant, elevated creations on a thoughtfully curated menu.
We enjoyed dinner at sunset on the enclosed terrace – which is a nice touch as the wind coming off the gulf can be strong. We opted for the tasting menu with wine pairings, which were also mostly local, but we did appreciate the server’s candor that she didn’t prefer red wines from the south as she poured us a pinot noir from the Loire Valley.
To us, the standout dishes were the cheese tartlet topped with raw vegetables and Espelette pepper jam, the lamb chops with gremolata and herb sauce, and the lemon and basil cream for dessert. Our son absolutely loved the warm chocolate mousse with hazelnut shards, cocoa crumble and fior di latte ice cream and devoured it before falling asleep.
We took the opportunity to head down to the bar and enjoy an after dinner drink before heading back to our hotel. We loved the chic midcentury vibe of the bar, and the cocktails were definitely on point. Given that it was late, we opted for classic gin martinis rather than something off their list of signature cocktails, but we were very intrigued by their names, which are complete phrases (in French) inspired by French artists, writers, and actors.
Note: Hotel La Ponche provided support for the reporting of this story.