Cooking the Riviera
at sea level.
A small dining room with a bigger window. A handful of unhurried rituals. One good fish, a little flame, and the patience of someone who is not in a rush.
Léa Marchand cooks
like her grandmother
cooked.
Born in Sault, trained in Lyon, and home again at thirty-two — Léa runs L’Étoile with a small brigade and a deep belief that good food does not need to announce itself. The menu changes by the season, the morning catch, and the conversation she had with the farmer at five.
Seven movements,
always changing,
never long.
A few extracts from this evening’s composition. Tap each to read the kitchen’s notes.
Premier mouvement
Loup de mer · au sel
Loup de mer · au sel
A whole sea bass, baked in coarse salt from Camargue, opened tableside, served with the lightest of butters.
Deuxième mouvement
Tomates · 17 façons
Tomates · 17 façons
Seventeen tomatoes from a small farm in Saint-Paul, dressed seventeen ways. Léa changes the order each evening.
Troisième mouvement
Agneau · de Provence
Agneau · de Provence
A shoulder of Provençal lamb, seven-hour-braised over rosemary, with a small glass of Banyuls and patience.
Final
Figues · au miel
Figues · au miel
Figs from our garden, warmed with honey from our beehives, served with crème fraîche and the smallest of biscuits.
Tasting menu €185 · Pairing €110 · The full menu is presented in the dining room. Allergies, intolerances and quiet wishes are accommodated by Chef Léa with care.
Tuesday — Sunday
Two seatings · 19h30 & 21h45. Closed Mondays for the kitchen’s rest.
Daily · all summer
12h30 — 14h30 · Under the wisteria · Children welcomed loudly.
From 17h until late
A small honesty bar, a Steinway in the corner, and Pascal who knows what you mean.
Slow ways
to spend a day.
A morning with Chef Léa
Two hours in the kitchen, two recipes you’ll cook badly at home, an apron stitched with your initials.
The cellar at midnight
A late-night descent into the Étoile cave with sommelier Pascal — nine wines, none of them shouted.
Sea-glass mornings
Six o’clock coffee on the rocks, then a walk for the morning catch and conversation that doesn’t require an answer.
Le Riva at noon
Our 1962 Aquarama takes six guests to Île Sainte-Marguerite for an unhurried picnic and a long swim.
The garden hour
Eight hectares of citrus, fig and slow-blooming jasmine. Maps provided, phones discouraged, hammocks accepted.
A small library
Three thousand books, green velvet, a fire most evenings of the year. Bertrand will recommend something.
From six in the morning
until quietly past midnight.
06:00 · Sea-glass mornings
Coffee on the rocks, then a slow walk for the morning catch.
08:30 · Breakfast in the orangery
Cherry compote, soft cheese, croissants made before the sun was finished.
11:30 · Garden hour
Maps, hammocks, lemon trees, no phones. Madame Rose may join you.
13:00 · Terrace lunch
A long lunch under the wisteria. Children welcomed loudly.
16:30 · Tea & a quiet book
Library hours. A panelled room. Three thousand books. A fire.
19:30 · L’Étoile · seven movements
Léa cooks the day. Pascal pours the night. The sea is the third guest.
23:00 · Le Bar
A small Steinway in the corner. A short list of regrets. None served here.
A table is an act
of small ceremony.
Most of our evenings sell out by the third Thursday. We hold a few seats by candle, for those who insist quietly.
Reserve a table