One of the most beautiful locations on Earth
has got to be Cote d’azur - the French Riviera. The place to be for sun, sea and luxury. Cannes, Nice, Monaco - are all here. And so is our restaurant for today.
The world-famous Mirazur. In this channel, I take you to some of the world's most
exclusive 3 Michelin star restaurants My name is Alexander.
I'm the Co-owner of Michelin star restaurant. Welcome to Alexander the Guest. Mirazur loosely translates to “look at the blue” With this view, it’s hard not to. Mirazur is the work of chef Mauro Colagreco. He was born in Argentina
in 1976 to Italian parents. When he became a chef he came to
Paris to learn from the greats. After living in Paris, Colagreco decided to slow things down a bit, and open a restaurant here in Menton. Chef believes in an ultra-short supply chain. They grow most of the ingredients. The vegetable garden has
30 types of tomatoes alone. Everything harvested and served in
the shortest possible time frame. That means the mushroom you’re
eating was picked that morning or even minutes ago. Mirazur opened in 2006 and got it’s first Michelin star within a year. In 2012 it got the second. It got the third in 2019. That year I visited for the first time. This was a big year for Colagreco, as Mirazur was named number one
in the worlds 50 best restaurants. The menu here is really unique because, there is none. Root vegetables, leafy
vegetables, flowers and fruit. These are the themes that rotate
according to the moon and stars. On the website you can see the schedule. there are some staple items, but
everything else is a surprise. Colagreco says this is the secret
to growing as a chef and evolving as a restaurant.
I love the bravery. We arrive at the restaurant and are amazed at the beautiful
1930’s rotunda building. The open kitchen takes the first floor, and the second floor is the
dining area with that view. Colagreco has a thing for nature, and wood
is front and center in his dining room. Here they go without the white tablecloths. It’s a sign they are less
formal and more personal. I love how there is lots of room too. We are mesmerized by this
beautiful view of the sea. One of the servers from Argentina tells us he would be happy to pull the blinds if we get bored of the view. I’m sure he says that to everybody, but his delivery was spot on
and it gave us a good laugh. I’m happy to see service
that is light and carefree. You can tell this attitude is baked
right into the culture here at Mirazur. That’s exactly how I like it. We go for the tasting menu for 380 euros. It started with a lovely tapas with a
nice selection of fancy finger food. There were Tartlets with
cabbage and kimchi mayonnaise Chips of tapioca with tuna tartar Pasta stuffed with spinach and parmesan cheese Canele with sage and comte cheese and a charred pain de ben with cream of pork. It was a nice way to open the meal. Then came the Sharing Bread. Soft and delicious. It’s served with his signature
lemon-infused olive oil. We also had this crown of celtuce topped
with stracciatella cheese and caviar. It was fresh, crisp and acidic. I really liked this one. The second course was a beautiful
presentation of the Salanova lettuce with Vermouth Sauce. Next a fresh salad with a great dressing that complimented the greens. It was creamy, balanced and really nice. The squid filled with spinach and swiss
chard in a green tea sauce was interesting. The flavor combinations here were really exciting and textures were surprising as well. Next was the ravioli with
goat cheese and mushrooms. Classic, traditional, comfort
food perfectly cooked. Then was the filet of sea bream with sake sauce. The sweet, fruity notes of the sake really
went really well with the salty seafood. At this point, I’m happy. Everything was going perfectly and
I was loving my experience so far. Then something rare happened. They gave me a glass of red wine on the house. Understanding that I’m a wine lover, they predicted I would want a
red wine with the next course. And they were right. They took my experience and made it even better. The main course was pigeon marinated with a sea plant harvested
from the sea across the street. The meat was moist and succulent and giving it some kick was
the yuzu sauce on the side. Yuzu is a tiny japanese citrus fruit. It kind of looks like an ugly lemon. It grows green and ripens to yellow and has an exotic flavor
profile of sweet, sour and tart. Chefs can use it to add zing to everything from dressing to desserts. After the main course, we often see a
cheese trolley in the fine dining world and here Mirazur was no different. It was full of amazing top-quality cheeses from artisans in the area and a range of
bread from soft and tangy to heavy and nutty. The leafy theme still continues The desserts really showcased the
chef’s mastery of temperature, flavor and presentation. This was a really progressive
way to end our beautiful lunch. Now for the drinks! In keeping with the laid-back style, welcome champagne is served with
white and rosé by the glass. Three wine pairings are offered with the food: one based on local wineries, one with a selection of natural wines and one with a nice French selection. And if you're also looking
for something really special, you can ponder the difference between
two Drappier champagnes from 2008: one aged in the cellar and the other aged on the bottom of the sea. Wine aged in the sea is a new concept. In 2010, a shipwreck from the 19th century with hundreds of bottles of champagne
was discovered in the Baltic sea. Many of them were drinkable, and
they turned out to be really good. They say the temperature, pressure and gentle
sway on the sea floor aged the wine to perfection. That’s when “Submarine wine” was born. Today, wine makers around the world are
experimenting with aging wine under water. Is it really better? I wanted to find out for myself, I just enjoyed the game of
finding the differences. And now for my final thoughts on Mirazur. The space. It’s not the typical 3-Michelin star experience. It’s casual, relaxing and with this view, you will not be in a hurry to leave. The food was outstanding, one of the best of the bests. The service is direct. Intelligent and humorous. I love this kind of energy. The brilliant somelier, and the
hilarious server from Argentina. They have a talent for building
a bridge between two strangers, and bringing out the best in you. Every restaurant at the Michelin star level
has a complex system to organize everything. It’s like a factory and you are a guest inside this big machine. It’s a place where the service can be mechanical. And the servers are like big robots. They act friendly, but it’s not real, it’s programmed. I’m seen enough of this programmed kindness. At Mirazur, in this big machine,
you feel like a human being. They somehow manage to add emotion and humor to make the whole thing come alive. This places Mirazur to the top. They are experts in hospitality. The best in my life. What is the difference between
service and hospitality? The best answer I’ve read is that service is black and white, and hospitality is color. If this is the case, then Mirazur has every color in the rainbow. and that does it for this episode thank you for joining me If you like this video, hit the subscribe button. see you next time
