ST TROPEZ

RESTAURANT BAYADER 
HOTEL BYBLOS

In the middle of St Tropez is a Mediterranean village of such exquisite prettiness that it cannot be real. It is not. The clustered fishermen’s houses, each perfectly proportioned and immaculately maintained, are not what they seem. No horny-handed sons of the sea sit mending their nets outside these front doors, and no fishwives call from the upper windows. For this is actually a haven of exclusivity and unashamed luxury. It is the Hotel Byblos. Its faux appearance appeals to the thespian manqué in your correspondent. Indeed, I like this theatrical set so much that, on my excursions to St Tropez, I always try to include in my itinerary a visit to the hotel’s excellent Restaurant Bayader.

You will know of the Byblos, I am sure. Since it was opened in the 1960s by Prosper Gay-Para, it has attracted many of the world’s most glamorous ladies and gentlemen (and those persons employed by the press to report upon them). Subsequently bought by Sylvain Floirat, it is now owned by Monsieur Floirat’s great-grandson, Antoine Chevanne. He has maintained the hotel to the highest standards, so that the Beautiful People still flock here each season.

I cannot claim to be among their number. But I do try to dress well, and the Byblos strikes me as a place at which sartorial standards still matter. Thus it upholds the spirit of the motto I have given to the whole of St Tropez: See and Be Seen. It would be a shame to go for dinner at the Bayader and not to make an effort with one’s clothes. On my most recent visit, despite the high temperature, I had struggled into one of the stiffest of my stiff collars.

I was greeted by Fausto Mancosu, from Sardinia, the First Maitre d’. He continues to be a model of courteous solicitude. He showed me to a large round table by the outside pool. Here I settled into an off-white chair and looked through the surrounding columns to the darkening sky. Spotlights shone down upon the blue bathing water, upon the warm brown of the floor tiles and across the orange and yellow walls of the ‘village houses’. I almost expected a tenor to appear through the palm trees and begin the first aria of the night’s opera. Instead, I was brought the menu for my perusal.

Chef Christophe Fiorino offers a three course set meal for 52 euros – a price which is certainly modest for this expensive town. Each month he changes the nationality of the cuisine offered on this menu. The carte, from which I chose, comprises dishes of a more straightforward kind, skillfully made from ingredients of very high quality. I began with foie gras and cèpe mushrooms, with roasted black figs. The secret was to ensure that all three ingredients entered the mouth simultaneously. Then the combination of tastes and textures was rich and well-balanced. My pasta – caserecci, with Roquefort, walnuts, cream and Parma ham – was appropriately satisfying, and my meat course – saddle of lamb with local herbs and tomato preserve – was so substantial that it almost caused me to end my eating immediately thereafter. Almost, but not quite – which was as well, because the concluding banana delight with passion fruit jelly and lime sorbet was utterly delicious and the highlight of the meal. (These four courses were 98 euros.)

Sommelier François Le Boulanger, from Normandy, has 200 offerings on his list. All are French. Prices range from 26 euros for a Provençal white to 2,800 euros for the 1998 vintage of Pétrus. There are some good things here, particularly among the clarets, but you will need your wits about you. For example, 1988 Mouton Rothschild is 530 euros by the bottle, but 2,720 euros by the magnum. I stayed in Provence for my white, a big, open Bellet with lots of vanilla (Clos Saint-Vincent, Le Clos, Sicardi-Sergi, 2005 – 82 euros), and went to Bordeaux for my red Moulis, an elegant, restrained, old-fashioned claret of the sort which is now being pushed aside by the fruit-laden bully-boys (Chasse-Spleen, 1999 – 105 euros).

I enjoyed this drinking – as, indeed, I enjoyed the whole of my visit to the Restaurant Bayader at the Hotel Byblos. I always do. Decent food, good wine, proper service and a luxurious setting – the combination is a winning one. I left feeling that I had dined well – and enjoyed an evening on stage, too.

ADDRESSES

RESTAURANT BAYADER
Hotel Byblos, Avenue Paul Signac, St Tropez 83990 France.
Telephone +33 (0)4 94 56 68 00
Fax +33 (0)4 94 56 68 01
Email: saint-tropez@byblos.com
www.byblos.com
Open April to October