La Vague d’Or – Cheval Blanc St-Tropez

83990 SAINT-TROPEZ
19/20
 Exceptional Restaurant
SHARE SHARE
BOOK
© Maki Manoukian
© R.Haughton
© R.Haughton
13 PHOTOS
Chef
Arnaud Donckele
Cooking
French | Gastronomic | Signature cuisine
Services
Access for people with disabilities | Private Parking | Valet parking
Style
Elegant | Exceptional setting | On the beach | Romantic
Budget (€)
Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)
480 to 490

Gault&Millau's review 2026

With Arnaud Donckele, there are always two blades. The first is for the premonition, the visual, the ingredients identified, the sensory pleasure announced from the first bite where each element harmonizes with the others. There's no doubt about it: everything works, the products are magnificent, the original flavors are respected, temperature, texture, all the lights are green. And then, and then.... There's all this fabulous work, known, assumed, evoked, all this alchemy necessarily mysterious, imagined by the most imaginative, but also perhaps the hardest-working of our five toques. It's true that Thierry Di Tullio, as zealous master of ceremonies, has already told you all about it, at the start of the meal, detailing the menu at length, then in front of the plate, retelling the story in a different way, detailing the crucial points to the point where you already think you've digested the dish before you've even started. But the second blade... It sweeps you away with as much violence as surety, revealing the unspoken and even the unheard-of, which may be in the rabbit juice infused with Barolo vinegar, also hiding rosemary, black olive, Corsican ham to produce the most extraordinary elixir to accompany this seemingly rustic starter, rabbit, saddle, rib, giblets.. "An evocation of a dish of leftover rabbit from the previous day, which grandmother made into a cold salad as a starter," adds Thierry enthusiastically. In this idyllic setting, Saint-Tropez as we rarely see it, glittering across the bay as you enjoy the sunset on this serenely luxurious terrace, each dish possesses that double-bladed magic, the pearly saint-pierre with tomato confit sauce, the clam with cuttlefish garlic, a jewel disguised as a joyous Provencal dish, the gently roasted pigeon, its precise, light sauce counterbalanced by the second course, a Senator Couteaux-style effilochée for maximum concentration, or the poularde de Culoiseau girolles artichaut sauce poulette, which reveals unsuspected depth through the variety and communion of flavors and textures, thanks to a cooking broth infused with lemony farigoule. The imagery of the Tropezian "show off" is undermined by this progressive flight, this multi-stage rocket that crosses the stratosphere to escape into the firmament. Neither the meticulous ballet of a remarkably supervised service, as natural as it is precise in its announcements, comments and responses, nor this atmosphere of opulence for a clientele that takes its vacations when it wants, will distract you from these secret and personal emotions. Our Chef of the Year 2018 is a personality apart in his own world, and to rub shoulders with his menu of the moment, detailed in two large menus (one tasting, one menu-card offering all the choice you want) is a great opportunity. Brilliant desserts in the desired line, pretty, fresh, unctuous, and of the same precision, apricot whipped cream meringue as the wild strawberry orange bigarade, sage officinale lace of turnip: cellar of palace gathering all the great names awaited by an international public which likes the large labels but does not disdain to be advised and guided on the small ways of Provence.
LOCATION

LOCATION

© OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap
Address Plage de la Bouillabaisse
83990 Saint-Tropez
NAVIGATE TO
Opening hours

OPENING HOURS

  • MON
  • TUE
  • WED
  • THUR
  • FRI
  • SAT
  • SUN
People
  • Arnaud Donckele
    Arnaud Donckele Chef
    Arnaud Donckele Arnaud Donckele Chef
  • Boris Alliès
    Boris Alliès Pastry Chef
    Boris Alliès Boris Alliès Pastry Chef
  • Thierry Di Tullio
    Thierry Di Tullio Chef de service
    Thierry Di Tullio Thierry Di Tullio Chef de service
  • Thibault Henry
    Thibault Henry Sommelier
    Thibault Henry Thibault Henry Sommelier