Restaurant L'Arazur — Restaurant in Grasse

Extremely disappointing evening at L’Arazur. We had read great reviews and with it being on the Michelin Guide expected big things considering we’ve had some amazing food since being in Antibes.

On a positive note and why I’ve given the review a 2 rather than a 1 - the waiting staff were extremely lovely and as we had requested an outside table, although they weren’t able to accommodate this immediately as soon as a table became available outside they were more than happy to move us there. The wine selection was also great and we had a lovely bottle of rose.

We opted for the tasting menu the amuse bouche was extremely underwhelming, not bad, but lacked any punch or real flavour. The charcoal bread however was tasty. The first starter was a bream tartare, it was delicate and had nicely fresh and subtle flavour. We were enjoying it until we both noticed tough stringy sinu / protein part of the fish that hadn’t been cut off the fish in its prep, which was slightly unappetising but with raw fish and also unexpected from a Michelin guide meal, it feels like basic prep etiquette. The second starter was the real stomach turner, we were served blue lobster, in lobster bisque with mushrooms and pistachio sorbet. Interesting flavour combination but we were excited to try. Unfortunately the lobster was so tough we were unable to cut through it with the spoon provided to eat it and the lobster that I did eat was gritty and the mushrooms didn’t taste of anything.

At this point we asked to stop the tasting menu, something that we would never usually do and have never done before but both agreed we didn’t want to be spending a lot of money on food that was not only tasteless but seemingly poorly prepaered. We told the waitress that we would like to stop the rest of the menu and explained why. We said that we were happy to pay for everything that we had eaten so far (including the lobster dish which both of us had hardly touched). The waitress (who it must be noted was amazing all evening) was extremely understanding and went to speak to the chef. The chef then came out and argued with us that we must pay for the entire menu as she had already cooked some of the fish and meat. We politely told her we wouldn’t be paying for food that we hadn’t had and she continued to argue that it was something wrong with us as “everyone else likes it”. (Although on reading some further reviews on here others have also been very disappointed by the tasting menu). The way she dealt with the situation was beyond rude and not what you would expect of a restaurant with such a gleaming status. It must be added that I also witnessed the same chef try and save a dish that had had a wine glass shattered above it try and fish the glass out of the dish rather than having to remake the plate.

We were then bought the bill for only the things we had received thankfully. It was a bitter pill to swallow throwing €126 on an amuse bouche and 2 unenjoyable starters.

We appreciate that it’s embarrassing for everyone involved when you feel as though you have to send food back and it isn’t something we ever do. To then be treated as though we were in the wrong was hugely unprofessional and made it a terrible restaurant experience on top of the terrible food. Maybe it was an off day but I wouldn’t recommend spending your money on the tasting menu. Maybe the regular...

We were a table of 6 and arrived 15 minutes early, before opening time and had to wait outside till 5 minutes after opening time. We were shown our table with not much of a welcome (we had a better welcome at the local diner at lunch; also no one bid us adieu when we left). The waiter or rather server was inexperienced and should have been trained better. Servers could not remember who ordered which dish even thought they took down our orders on a pad. Excusable if they had to memorise the orders...Our foam amuse bouche was refined but needed salt. Most of us had the mushroom soup which the server held the soup bowl with his thumb inside the rim. The soup was tasteless and the parmigiana cheese tile in the tasteless soup was rubbery. Fish starter was good; so was the foie gras. As for mains the fish was also ok as was the beef cheek and the pigeon with foie gras in pastry was quite tasty (although the mashed veg looked very grey on the plate). However the three others were surprised that their chicken dish was tasteless and bland and served shredded and reconstructed - lacking in texture and complexity. Server did not inform us the wine we ordered was from a younger vintage as that in the wine list. The wine was in excellent condition and served at the right temperature. And no tablecloth. No one was inspired to order desserts. I think the restaurant has seen better days but should not try so hard - instead stick to traditional French dishes. Overall it was a real disappointment for the prices we paid. If the prices were lower and the Michelin recommendation was taken down, we might not have been...

Due to our 4th anniversary, I was looking for a fine dining to celebrate this day. After hour and hours of strolling through Guide Michelin, L´Arazur turned out to be my favorite.

The little restaurant is located in a side alley near Antibes port. They only have around 6-8 Tables which is not a problem- it adds a cozy vibe to the place. The athmoasphere is very calm, and easy to talk -mostly about the absolutley superb food. More on that later on

About the Service there is absolutley nothing to complain about. We booked our tabel for 19:00 (7pm) and got served just some eyblinks later. The servers are super friendly and you feel like, thats what you should, that this place is great for a good experience. We got serverd some appetizers besides our main course. The beef filet with mashed potatoes, onions, mushrooms and sauce where super delicious and super tender. aswell as my girlfriends chicken with carrot puree which also was super tasty.

The dessert was a highlight aswell and some cute madeleines which were baked in caramelized butter, served with some raspberry jam-jelly rounded up the perfect meal. Oh, we also had 2 glaesses of champagne which were served cold as it should be. All in all.. 5/5 experience and I will come back there one day for sure. All in all, we paid ~170€ for two person (no starters)

Thank you for making out 4th...