Tucked away in a stunning location at the foot of the mountains in Menton, overlooking the Mediterranean, the two Michelin star restaurant Mirazur is the crowning jewel of the French Riviera. 

Mirazur is currently rated as the number three restaurant in the world, and I can truly say I understand why!

Creative, unpretentious, and above all delicious, the food of the talented Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco can be best described as Mediterranean – as it draws on his Italian-Argentinian heritage while incorporating his interpretation of the local French cuisine.

The restaurant first opened its doors in 2006, earning its first Michelin star in 2007, and a second in 2012.

The just-picked herbs and vegetables in most dishes come from the chef’s own backyard farm or the local market at Ventimiglia.

I don’t know about you, but I had never been to a restaurant which served a poem alongside their bread. And whoever Pablo Neruda was, the dude obviously cared deeply about bread, so I only felt it appropriate to honour his work, by of course, taking his poem home with us, along with our personalised menus.

Mauro Colagreco’s standout signature dish at Mirazur is without a doubt the salt-crusted beetroot with oscietra caviar cream. I am not sure a further description is necessary as the photo below speaks for itself.

To the restaurant’s credit, there is a great vegetarian menu and I was in no way made to feel like my food preferences were a nuisance to the kitchen. We went to Mirazur for a late lunch, and got the nine course signature menu at EUR 210 (no drinks included).

Our mains consisted of forkbread, brill, fricassee of shellfish, stuffed squid, texture of carrots and saddle of lamb. All plating was impeccable and food presentation was on point. I’m not going to lie, the green tomato gazpacho with hazelnuts and sorbet (in the title photo) was simply amazing! 

I am very much so a “struggling pescatarian”, meaning that as much as my fiancé tries to pretend that I eat some fish, all I do is just push it around my plate and force him to eat my dish (with the exception of tuna! yum!), or just shove it in my mouth and chase it with a drink when the chef is watching me (yes, Saito I mean you!).

One of the most fun non-food-related things about Mirazur is that it is literally two minutes away from the border with Italy. So, needless to say, after we chased some delightful desserts and petits fours with a strong espresso, we couldn’t resist the urge to check out what is on the other side of the border 😀 

When all was said and done I would say with absolute certainty – this restaurant was definitely worth the detour 😉