Mirazur, Menton

Mirazur in Menton holds three Michelin stars and was ranked the world's best restaurant by the World's 50 Best in 2019, a recognition that placed this clifftop dining room on the Franco-Italian border among the most scrutinised tables in global gastronomy. Chef Mauro Colagreco, born in Argentina and trained in France under Bernard Loiseau and Alain Passard before opening Mirazur in 2006, builds his menu around the kitchen gardens that terrace down from the restaurant toward the Mediterranean. The garden follows a biodynamic growing system on lunar calendar cycles that determines what appears on the plate each day. Among the recurring preparations are caviar with cream and French toast — a celebration of luxury in its most elemental form — garden-grown vegetable courses that change with each lunar phase, and interpretations of Menton's famous lemons that might appear as granita, sauce, or the defining acid note in a fish preparation. The restaurant occupies a 1920s belle époque villa with a terrace cantilevered over the hillside; on a clear day the view extends east to the Italian Riviera and west along the Alpes-Maritimes coast. The tasting menu runs to approximately €280 per person before wine pairings; the cellar spans southern France, Italy, and a serious selection of natural producers. Reservations open two to three months in advance and typically fill within hours of release.