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The Riviera Through Yannick Alléno's Eyes

BEAUVALLON SUR MER BY YANNICK ALLÉNO OPENS AT COMO LE BEAUVALLON

Chef Yannick Alléno holds 18 Michelin stars across 26 restaurants and is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in contemporary French cuisine. His addresses span Paris, Courchevel, Montecarlo, Osaka, London and beyond. Beauvallon Sur Mer, on the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, is his first beachclub.

The French Riviera is a feeling as much as a place. Yannick Alléno will tell you this himself. From Beauvallon Sur Mer, his new restaurant at COMO Le Beauvallon, the chef describes the region as a source of energy: somewhere that shifts your perspective and leaves its mark on everything, from the atmosphere of a meal to the memories it creates.

For Yannick Alléno, it is something of a homecoming. He first came to the Riviera in 1994, and has been returning ever since. Three decades later, the sea still does something to him that he finds difficult to articulate and has no desire to resist.

What he has made of that feeling is Beauvallon Sur Mer — a beach club where the culinary vision brings the bright, sun-warmed flavours of the Riviera into conversation with Asian tradition. Positioned where the bay opens out and Saint-Tropez shimmers across the water, it is already the most talked-about address on the coast: arrived at by yacht as much as by road, animated by DJ sets and aperitif culture, and built around the kind of convivial, generous table that the Riviera has always done best. 

We sat down with Yannick Alléno to ask him how it all came together.

What is your earliest or most enduring memory of this part of France?

It goes back to 1994. I came for a culinary competition, won the Escoffier Prize, and fell in love with the area immediately. My family had always holidayed inland, so the sea was a revelation. I get energy from the water in a way I cannot fully explain. I now have a house near the Mediterranean in Tuscany, and I find myself coming back to the sea again and again. What I love most about the water here on the Riviera is its complexity. One moment it is blue; the next, completely grey. It has many moods. In a way, you have to earn your relationship with it. When the Riviera finally reveals itself to you, it gives you something very special.

When you think of the Riviera, what does it awaken in you?

When I come here, I see my life differently. Those shifting moods I was describing — you can feel that energy in the food. The light, the sea, the atmosphere all change your perspective. The Riviera is not simply somewhere you visit. It is somewhere that alters your state of mind. And naturally, that finds its way onto the plate.

When the Riviera finally reveals itself to you, it gives you something very special.

This is your first restaurant on the sea. What did the beach introduce to your thinking?

I have never underestimated the challenge. Beach clubs look effortless, but creating something truly successful in this environment is anything but. Guests arrive with friends and family — different expectations, different needs, different moods. You have to understand all of that and be present at every level. And then there is nature itself. The sea demands respect. It changes how you think about hospitality, making you attentive, adaptable and deeply connected to how people actually want to spend their time.

What drew you to COMO Le Beauvallon specifically?

My collaboration with COMO Hotels and Resorts is very important to me because it represents a human relationship between the founder-owner, Mrs Ong, and myself. She has a profound experience of life and a genuine love of food, and I love listening to her talk about both.Creating Beauvallon Sur Mer was never about doing something fast or flashy. It was about making something truly beautiful; the best of the best. That is a philosophy I recognise, and one I share.

The Riviera has such a storied past. What does modern Riviera dining mean to you?

The Riviera carries enormous history, and COMO Le Beauvallon is a symbol of the original Belle Époque. But I want to create a new one. Today's guests are looking for something quiet but joyful, timeless but forward-looking. We have something exceptional here: we sit directly opposite Saint-Tropez. It is a wonderful town — electric and full of atmosphere — but when you want to step away from all that, you come to Beauvallon Sur Mer. It’s a bit like being in Paris: the best view of the Eiffel Tower is never from the tower itself, but from somewhere looking towards it. We offer that same perspective on Saint-Tropez; close enough to feel its energy, yet far enough to enjoy it on your own terms.

If a guest leaves remembering just one sensation, what would you want it to be?

For me, the Riviera is not a single ingredient. It is a sensation. It is the taste of the Mediterranean carried by sunlight and freshness. It is something that feels alive. What we have created here makes the most of that while bringing something genuinely new. I am a great admirer of Asia, and of China in particular, because China has given the world something extraordinary in terms of culinary thinking. If you bring the Riviera together with that influence, you arrive at something exciting. For me, the defining sensation of what we create at Beauvallon Sur Mer is texture, combined with the finest local produce. That’s what I want people to carry with them when they leave.

Beauvallon Sur Mer by Yannick Alléno opens daily at lunch time from 12pm to 3pm and for dinner from 7pm to 11pm. It is just an eight-minute boat ride across the Gulf from the town of Saint-Tropez.

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