La Passagère is located in the Antibes, being one of the most popular terraces in the Riviera. Celebrated Chef Aurélien Véquaud offers promising dishes with his Mediterranean touch focusing on local seafood. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2016-2017 and 2018-2019.

PUMPKIN SOUP!

Ambiance

Being at the French Riviera on a hot August night, I was seated at the terrace with a stunning sea view. Hôtel Belles Rives, where the restaurant is located, looked charming at the back with trees popping out here and there. Besides the gorgeous view, decoration of the terrace looked rather confusing, hesitantly stuck in between fine-dining and casual. The chairs were not comfortable for a long tasting menu experience.

Taste

I chose the “Getaway Invitation” menu of the chef among the other options. It was a surprise seven-course tasting menu. The experience started with a generous number of appetizers. My favorite one was the exotic fried kumquat, which was sweet at first and tart afterwards. Ravioli with black olive and caramelized onion was a palate-pleasing one with the distinct toothsome taste of onion. Following the appetizers, rye bread was served with a stimulating criste marin butter, known as samphire, having a fresh seaweed-like feel. Rye bread was rather inferior.

Castagnola fish with tomato cream, galangal and cherry tomatoes looked divine with the incredible plating. The tangy feel of galangal was a great couple with the fish. Next course was marinated tomato with fresh herbs and burrata from Italy. It was savory and contributed more than one can expect from a tomato.

With this dish, staff raised the expectation by telling that it is the signature dish of the menu. Crab with open ravioli, osetra caviar and verbena foam was no doubt the shining star, indeed. Especially the crab tasted heavenly.

Red millet, gnocchi, spicy mayonnaise and rockfish broth infused with lemongrass was accompanied by fried bread with raw fish was epic. The harmony of spicy mayonnaise with red millet was glazed with the fish broth.

Thyme sorbet was not what I anticipated. The idea was delightful but the execution was sloppy. The sorbet was so sweet that it almost felt like having a dessert.

Next course was sweetbread but since I’m not a fan, I didn’t enjoy this one.

Blackberries with black garlic ice cream and vanilla crumb were served as another sorbet. This second sorbet was definitely necessary for palette cleansing after the sweetbread course.

The first dessert was lemon sorbet with lemon souffle. It was a citrusy and zesty treat. I honestly prefer to have only one dessert course at the tasting menus. If there is going to be two different desserts, the whole menu needs to be adjusted carefully with small portions. I already felt very full even before starting the first dessert course, with no thanks to the pace of the service.

The second dessert was a mediocre one with no robust impact; chocolate with ginger and Sichuan pepper. Generous use of pepper would have been bolder and more memorable.

Receiving parting gifts is always a pleasure, this time being a brioche filled with almond cream. I saved it for breakfast since I was so full to taste at that very moment. It was luscious but would have tasted better if it was immediately eaten.

Creativity

There is still a place for improvement regarding the design of the plates. I was happy that everything was a surprise. Still, it would be nice to have some more intriguing elements.

Service

Pace of the service was definitely slow. This was one of the reasons that I was so full before starting the dessert courses. The pace is critical at a crowded tasting menu with lots of different dishes.

Empty dishes were left in front of me for ten to fifteen minutes occasionally. However, the staff was friendly and welcoming.

Making the reservation was quite painful. There was a problem with the online reservation. You have to phone the restaurant and then send your credit card information via email, which is very unsafe. There must be an online secured system (preferably tied to a bank) if the restaurant wants to have your credit card information. Not everyone is proficient with a virtual credit card but that’s the safest way for a reservation regardless.

Value

Although La Passagère is a good option for degustation experience in the French Riviera, it is not worth the price nor a must-visit restaurant compared to the other one-star Michelin restaurants all around the world. Additionally, wine suggestions of the sommelier were disappointing.