Indulge in a Michelin star dining experience on your Mediterranean yacht charter. Explore our curated list of five must-visit restaurants in the Mediterranean and discover culinary delights crafted by award-winning chefs against the backdrop of breathtaking coastal scenery, promising a gastronomic journey like no other.
Many of the world’s best chefs choose to base themselves in restaurants in the Mediterranean due to its bountiful produce, traditional cooking techniques, and reputation for food excellence.
The chef onboard your Mediterranean yacht charter will no doubt be skilled in creating dishes that draw on the region’s natural larder, but for something extra special, it’s worth going shoreside to try some of the world’s best Michelin-star dining experiences in their iconic settings.
From the home of Michelin stars in France, to the clifftop glamour of the Amalfi coast and the cultural prowess of Athens – a city that has more than a dozen Michelin-starred restaurants – there is an inexhaustible array of restaurants at which to enjoy an unforgettable meal. Here are some of the best.
On our Michelin-star tour of the Mediterranean, it feels fitting to start on the French Riviera, the heartland of Mediterranean yacht charters and a hub of the kind of French gastronomy that originally inspired the awards.
Monaco has long been a magnet for yacht charter guests and its choice of restaurants exemplifies the pull of the principality, which despite its small size manages to fit in seven Michelin-starred restaurants.
Many visitors head straight for Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse à l’Hȏtel de Paris, whose Jardins de Provence set menu has been wowing guests for more than 30 years and has earned Ducasse the highly coveted three Michelin stars.
For something more daring, try Blue Bay, in the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, which has a beautiful terrace for sensational sea views as you dine. Here, chef Marcel Ravin draws upon his Caribbean heritage to create Creole-style dishes inspired by his grandmother, which remind him of his childhood in Martinique.
Despite the global flavours, the dishes include ingredients found right here in the Mediterranean, from fruit and vegetables from the hotel’s organic garden to sustainable fish that adheres to the Mr Goodfish charter for responsible seafood. For his efforts, Ravin has been awarded two MIchelin stars.
It’s hard to picture a more romantic setting for a Michelin-star dining experience than on the veranda of Zass, sipping on a glass of crisp Falerno as you overlook the cobalt sea and watch the sun dip below the horizon.
Positano is an effortlessly elegant hilltop village that exudes old world charm and Il San Pietro, the five-star hotel located nearby, intends to keep it that way. A certain amount of regard should be paid to the serene setting, which has attracted everyone from Laurence Olivier to Julia Roberts in its time. This means mobile phones are not welcome, and guests are encouraged to dress for the occasion.
Chef Alois Vanlangenaeker’s dishes draw on the cooking traditions of the region while adding a touch of contemporary flair in keeping with the resplendent air as a pianist plays in the background. The restaurant’s signature dish is the John Dory, served with mashed potatoes with bufala yoghurt and a truffle and champagne sauce.
Ingredients largely come from the hotel’s organic garden or are sourced from local, small-scale producers. Alongside the food, guests can enjoy a foray into Italian and international wines, whereby the sommelier will lead them through some of the 600 labels from the hotel’s cellar.
Ahead of its opening for the 2024 season, this one Michelin star restaurant announced a new direction. A new tasting menu devised by head chef Vania Ghedini, combines the exemplary produce found in the Veneto region with tastes from her childhood in Emilia Romagna and her time spent in Morocco.
Dishes include a seafood tortelli that showcases the richness of the Adriatic’s biodiversity, while the rare Venetian shellfish moeche also features on the menu. There are also nods to the tastes of culinary director Massimo Bottura with the Zuppa Inglese dessert.
Within the sophisticated confines of the Hotel Cipriano on Giudecca Island, where the Belmond story began in the 1970s, a visit to Oro will make good use of your Mediterranean yacht charter’s tender. En route from yacht to restaurant you can see some of the captivating Italian city’s main attractions, which adds to this extraordinary Michelin star dining experience.
Across the Adriatic from Venice, the Boutique Hotel Alhambra is found on the southwestern side of Croatia’s Cres-Lošinj archipelago.
Set within Čikat Bay, and housed in an old villa, the restaurant takes its name from the hotel’s architect. Today the early 20th-century Austro-Hungarian facade lends the scene an air of grandeur that makes it a worthy stop-off for any Mediterranean yacht charter that reaches Croatia.
In the restaurant itself, head chef Michael Gollenz designs an ever-changing menu that uses locally sourced and seasonal ingredients, with particular attention paid to the natural vegetation of Lošinj Island – all of which can be expertly paired with a choice of over 400 wines.
Dishes to try include the oxtail ravioli with an Istrian truffle foam and foie gras, which the Michelin Guide makes special mention of.
The Greek capital is renowned for its excellent restaurants and there are plenty of Michelin-starred restaurants you could go for, but for a taste of the Greek islands and an appreciation of the simple pleasures in life, look no further than Pelagos.
With a much more relaxed attitude to dining than many of its peers, the ethos at Pelagos is very much about enjoying food in a convivial atmosphere. Chef Luca Piscazzi take a famously inclusive approach, saying that “Sharing food with friends, celebrating meals together and making people happy through food” is his life’s purpose.
On his Pelagos on Tour menus, Rome-born Piscazzi mines the culinary traditions of Greece by visiting some of its many islands and villages, talking to locals, and telling some of those stories in the dishes he creates in his superb tasting menus.
Having earned the restaurant its first Michelin star within six months of his arrival, it’s clear Piscazzi has found a winning recipe.
With so many Michelin-starred restaurants to be found in the Mediterranean, it can be overwhelming deciding which ones to plot into your itinerary.
This is where your charter manager and crew come in: they know your Mediterranean yacht charter destination better than anyone. So, whether you are looking for panoramic views as you dine on classic dishes in a refined setting or wish to discover food stories in your chosen charter ground in a sustainable way, your charter team can help guide you to Michelin star dining experiences you will remember forever.
With a much more relaxed attitude to dining than many of its peers, the ethos at Pelagos is very much about enjoying food in a convivial atmosphere. Chef Luca Piscazzi take a famously inclusive approach, saying that “Sharing food with friends, celebrating meals together and making people happy through food” is his life’s purpose.
To book your next yacht charter, please contact the Edmiston team today.