La Palme d'Or  

Out of all Cannes palaces, the Martinez has made the biggest impact in these past seasons. It is a 7th heaven remodeled into two prestige apartments, eleven junior suites and a 900 sq. meter spa. Three years ago, Christian Willer, who was at the stoves for over 20 years, passed the baton to his second, Christian Sinicropi, who has undertaken a complete reversal of the trend. It would seem to be a return to reason (less in the tabs than in the cooking) after reaching summits of complication and expense. Is this a new Sinicropi? Grilled sardine and red pepper ragout cooked like a stockfish; grilled Italian sausage; farm rabbit en brochette; fish of the day; veal or beef cutlet; cheese platter... and striking flavors like mini-brochettes of escargot and calamari, mustard perfume; red cabbage confit with meat jus; oyster-foie gras cannelloni, glazed with sangria (the oyster wins the flavor contest); Saint-Jacques and "sot-l'y-laisse" roasted en cocotte, quail egg in cream infused with chives and lemon confit; light all-apple soufflee; raisin-banana sorbet to end. This is a sample of what we find between 120 and 150 EUR à la carte (without wine); which can be more humbly discovered at 80 EUR on the menu or for 64 EUR at lunch. Andre Toscano continues the old regime for the moment. Let's see what effect our perilous times have on this detailed gastronomy. On the Croisette, The Relais Martinez is open every day with good Mediterranean cooking around 35/55 EUR (lunch menu at 30 EUR.