Words by Jessica Cooper
When touring along the French Riviera, one must make the inevitable stop at the iconic St Tropez. The choice of beach clubs and restaurants in St Tropez can be overwhelming, but those who are in the know are aware that the best place in St Tropez to enjoy a meal and a lounge by the sea is Hotel Byblos’s Byblos Beach Ramatuelle.
An unpretentious and laidback jewel set right on the iconic white sands of Pampelonne Beach, Byblos Beach Ramatuelle offers the quintessential Riviera vibe with an elegant and contemporary design influenced by the maritime world. The restaurant is open and airy with high wooden beams that move the wind, paying homage to the sails of yachts that are always found cruising along the Riviera coastline.
Whilst the location is visually gorgeous, I was here to discover the much-celebrated, eco-responsible gastronomy Byblos Beach restaurant specialises in. The restaurant offers light Mediterranean cuisine and what I love about it is that ingredients are sourced from local farms and Byblos’s own private gardens. Chefs go out of their way to source ingredients from nearby market gardens, fisheries and farms and this can be seen in the thoughtful menu which has a small, but ample variety of offerings to suit almost any diet.
We started our lunch with grilled chicken and eggplant parmigiana which had classic Mediterranean flavours on a plate – moist chicken with bursts of herby tomato and grilled aubergine, which made for a super fresh and rustic dish. We also had tuna steak served with pan-fried sweet and sour peppers. The tuna steaks were beautifully cooked and the peppers firm, lightly charred and deliciously tangy and sweet. Portions here are generous but light, which is exactly what you want if you plan on swimming afterwards.
For dessert, we opted for a beautiful looking pavlova with light meringue petals artfully arranged in a red berry coulis and some fresh locally sourced strawberry sorbet on the side. Beach clubs tend to rely on the basis of ‘the place to be seen’ and are a bit sub-par on the food front, but here the food is excellently cooked and the passion for creating well-made, authentic dishes can be seen in the open kitchen.
There’s also a wide selection of cocktails (alcoholic and non), the former of which are very boozy and strong and can be conveniently taken to your personal sunbed on Byblos Beach Ramatuelle’s own beach club just a step in front of the restaurant.
The most surprising delight from Byblos Beach was the music. The DJ of the jour always knows how to get diners up and dancing. The vibes here are infectious and soon even the most reserved of diners were up and dancing or swaying along on their seats.
After lunch, we just had to spend time at Hotel Byblos’s buzzing beach club situated on the sandy Pampelonne Beach just a literal step from the restaurant. With generously sized wooden sunbeds and beautiful openwork rope parasols, like the restaurant, the beach club carries the same fun, laidback vibes that celebrate what St Tropez is all about: fun, chic and authentic. With excellent music to boot.
Factbox
Address: 42 Bd Patch, 83350 Ramatuelle, France
Phone: +33 4 94 43 15 00
Website: byblos-beach.com
