Outside the festival weeks, Cannes is a small Riviera resort with a serious kitchen — the tables are easier to find, but still not to be left to chance
Cannes is a resort city of around 74,000 people on the French Riviera, with a seafront promenade, the Croisette, and an old quarter, Le Suquet, above the port. The best restaurants in Cannes follow that geography: grand hotels on the front, small kitchens in the old town, and islands within easy reach of the bay.
The city is known to the world for its film festival, which is covered in our guide to dining during the festival. This page is about the rest of the year, when Cannes restaurants are chosen for the food and the setting rather than for who is in town.
The Croisette. The waterfront promenade holds the grand hotels and the most polished dining rooms. This is where the city’s only starred table is found: La Palme d’Or, inside the Art Deco Hôtel Martinez at 73 boulevard de la Croisette, which holds one Michelin star in the current guide and is known for seafood and Provençal produce.
Le Suquet. The old quarter is quieter and more local. Noël Mantel’s Table 22, on rue Saint-Antoine, is listed in the Michelin Guide and serves traditional cooking with Provençal flavours. It suits an evening that begins with a walk and ends without a car.
The beach and the bay. Cannes is built around the sea, and the Croisette is lined with beaches as well as restaurants. Tables by the water are the most contested from June to September, when the city is at its busiest.
People who ask where to eat in Cannes are usually asking about the occasion rather than the address.
A business lunch needs a quiet room and a table that is not overheard. A celebration needs the terrace. A first evening needs somewhere unhurried near the hotel. A last evening needs the table people will remember.
The same restaurant rarely serves all four. We therefore choose by occasion, then by neighbourhood, and only then by name.
The Lérins Islands, Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat, lie offshore. Saint-Honorat has been home to a monastic community since around the year 410, and Cistercian monks live there today. A lunch on an island turns the meal into a half-day, with a short boat crossing in each direction, and is worth considering for guests who have already seen the Croisette. We confirm the restaurant and the boat times for your day.
Tell us the occasion and the dates, and we will arrange the table
In May, when the film festival takes place, the city’s restaurants operate under different rules. Demand is at its peak, and the best tables are taken far in advance. If your dates overlap, see our guide to dining at the Cannes Film Festival, and allow plenty of lead time.
We choose by occasion, then secure the table, the terrace, and the right hour. We arrange the driver, the boat to the islands when the lunch calls for one, and the quiet details such as dietary notes and a celebration marked discreetly. All of this runs through our fine dining and nightlife service. For a trip that combines the Riviera with business, our business concierge team keeps the diary in order.
It depends on the occasion. La Palme d’Or at Hôtel Martinez holds one Michelin star, while Le Suquet and the beach offer a different kind of evening
A terrace table at a hotel on the Croisette suits a celebration. A table in Le Suquet suits a quieter, more local evening
Outside the festival and the summer peak, a short lead time is often enough. For June to September and the festival, plan months ahead
Yes. La Palme d’Or at Hôtel Martinez holds one star in the current Michelin Guide, and several more starred tables lie just outside the city. We confirm the current list for your dates
We arrange access through direct relationships and timing, but we cannot promise a table where none is available. We will tell you early and suggest the closest alternative
