It’s a hot August day, but despite the overwhelming heat, the streets of Menton are packed with visitors. The vibrant French Riviera town, nestled along the Mediterranean coast between Cape Martin and the Italian border, is seeing the final surge of summer visitors. Many hold ice cream cones that are rapidly melting in the heat. Others sip limoncello made with the town’s famous Menton lemons, a protected variety of citrus fruit known for its sweetness that is at the center of a yearly festival. Travelers, who come from around France and farther afield, stroll through the old town, lie along the beaches and crowd into the restaurants and cafes on the boardwalk. They snap photos on the famous yellow staircase leading up to the Basilique Saint-Michel Archange de Menton. And as the sun sets, some of them settle in for a meal at Mirazur, Mauro Colagreco’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant.
Menton has a long history as a resort town, thanks to its location in the south of France and its warm, subtropical microclimate. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, it drew visitors from all over Europe, hosting aristocrats in opulent Belle Époque hotels. Its prominence declined slightly during the wars, eventually becoming most popular with French locals as a summer holiday spot. But over the past two decades, Mirazur has transformed the coastal enclave into one of the world’s top culinary destinations.
Since Mirazur opened on April 1, 2006, Colagreco has left an indelible mark on the area, unintentionally linking his restaurant to the town of Menton. The Argentinian chef is reluctant to take credit for Menton’s fairly recent transition from a seasonal spot to a year-round tourist destination, but Mirazur’s reputation has certainly helped to draw people here.
“Of course, it’s not just us,” Colagreco tells Observer, sitting in the lounge at Hôtel Napoleon, a beachside property where many of the guests coming to visit Mirazur stay. “We have many things to do between the ocean, the mountains, the gardens, the historical villas. Monaco is nearby. We’re just a few minutes from the border with Italy. It’s a very rich place to explore. But to attract people here was a long journey.”
It was here, at Hôtel Napoleon, that Colagreco, who turns 50 in October, first met British businessman Michael Likierman, who owns the building that now houses Mirazur. It was a pivotal moment for the chef, who grew up in Buenos Aires and later moved to Paris, where he worked for Alain Ducasse and Guy Martin, and spent two and a half years cooking with Alain Passard at L’Arpège.
Menton. Dominic Whisson
“I had always wanted to open my own restaurant,” Colagreco remembers. “But I was 28, didn’t have much money, had no partners and no access to credit at the bank. It was more a dream than a real possibility.”
Likierman had originally purchased the modern, octagonal building that now houses Mirazur in 2001 and opened it as a bistro-style restaurant with French chef Jacques Chibois at the helm. A few months later, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, largely shut down international travel. “Americans were our best customers, so this was absolutely disastrous for Menton,” Likierman tells Observer, speaking from his home earlier in the day. “There was about a two-year period when almost no one traveled by air, and we were sitting here, empty. We ended up closing the doors, knowing there would be better times ahead.”
Mirazur lay fallow for more than three years. In 2005, by happenstance, someone told Colagreco about the empty restaurant. Likierman invited him to see the space that October; it was the chef’s first time visiting the French Riviera. Although Colagreco’s financial situation wasn’t stable, Likierman took a chance on the young chef and offered to lease the building to him. “It was immediate success,” Likierman says. “Mauro has never looked back, and I have been the proud landlord of Mirazur ever since.”
Mirazur won its first Michelin star nine months after opening. In 2009, Gault & Millau named Colagreco chef of the year—the first time a non-French chef had been given the accolade—and Mirazur landed at No. 34 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. It won its second Michelin star in 2012. “It was that moment [that] we started to be a real destination restaurant,” Colagreco notes. “Flying somewhere to visit a restaurant was not as common then as it is today.”
By 2019, Mirazur had earned the coveted third star and risen to No. 1 on the 50 Best list. These accolades contributed to a rise in Mirazur’s popularity and to substantial recognition from both the hospitality industry and diners. But Colagreco has also measured the restaurant’s success by its impact on sustainability. In 2020, Mirazur became the first restaurant in the world to be certified plastic-free. In 2022, Colagreco became the first chef to be named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for biodiversity thanks to his focus on regenerative gardens and sustainable practices at Mirazur.
“We saw the problems on the table, like using plastic in the kitchen, and we said, ‘We need to change that because it’s not possible to keep doing this,’” he says. “We have been part of the change. What we have wanted to do [with sustainability and biodiversity] is very ambitious, but I am very proud of it. We did all of this before it was the trend.”
In Menton, Colagreco has become synonymous with the town itself, which is rare for a chef. He lives here with his family and has opened several more businesses over the years. He owns Argentinian grill Casa Fuego, pizzeria La Pecora Negra and bakery Mitron. Adrien Gannac, president of local citrus producer Maison Gannac, describes the chef as an ambassador for Menton.
“As a citizen of Menton, I think we are really lucky to have a restaurant so famous here,” Gannac tells me during a visit to Maison Gannac’s vast citrus groves. “And it’s famous because there is one guy with lots of talent, ideas, and creativity and a good heart. There are lots of positive things he’s made in this little city. Now, Menton is not only lemons; it’s lemons and Colagreco. Mirazur helped to put Menton on the map.”
Mirazur’s 12 acres of vegetable gardens supply most of the kitchen’s herbs and vegetables. Dominic Whisson
Many of the people in Menton share Gannac’s view, even if they’ve never actually dined at Mirazur. And Colagreco is continuing to expand his reach. Next year, Mirazur will open its own hotel rooms overlooking one of the restaurant’s gardens. The hotel will feature 11 suites with sea views, so diners can extend their restaurant experience. “It’s exciting for us,” Colagreco says. “But it’s another world. To have guests for three or four hours is very different than having guests for two or three days.”
When I sit down for dinner at Mirazur, shortly after speaking with Colagreco, it’s apparent that the restaurant’s offerings don’t fit into a singular category. It’s broadly European in style, and there’s an emphasis on seasonality—something Colagreco was focused on long before it became trendy. It’s fine dining, but without pretense. It’s rooted in Menton and the surrounding region. In fact, many of the ingredients are grown in Mirazur’s gardens, which are planted to encourage biodiversity. Whatever isn’t grown by Mirazur in its gardens is bought at local markets, including those in Menton and in the nearby town of Ventimiglia, Italy.
The beet snack served during an August menu at Mirazur. Dominic Whisson
Filippo Ventura, Mirazur’s chef de cuisine, describes the restaurant as a place where cultures cross over. “You can see it in the history of chef Mauro, who has an Argentinian and Italian background,” Ventura says during a quick trip across the border the next morning to see Ventimiglia’s market. “You can see it in the restaurant, which is between Italy and France. You can see it in the team, who come from many different countries. We are a kitchen of the season, of the produce, of the market.”
Colagreco’s initial lack of connection to Menton proved beneficial to the chef in the restaurant’s early years. He didn’t have preconceived notions about the region and its products, and he came from a place of genuine curiosity. He wasn’t even familiar with the Menton lemon.
Filippo Ventura, Mirazur’s chef de cuisine, picking up produce at Ventimiglia’s market. Dominic Whisson
“It was very challenging in the beginning,” Colagreco says. “My first restaurant in a place where I knew practically nothing about the seasons, the products, the weather, the people. I didn’t know the suppliers. But at the same time, it was an opportunity because that gave me a lot of freedom. It was an opportunity to build my interpretation of this territory.”
One of those suppliers was Huilerie Saint-Michel, an olive oil producer. Both Colagreco and Huilerie Saint-Michel’s director, Karim Djekhar, were trying to find their way in the town. “We were both a little bit lost,” Djekhar says when he shows me the hillside olive groves. “We began a really strong friendship. It’s a friendship that’s lasted for 20 years. And for me, he’s the best chef in the world.”
Next year, Mirazur plans to open its own hotel rooms overlooking the gardens. Dominic Whisson
Mirazur and Huilerie Saint-Michel, Menton’s most popular olive oil brand, have worked together ever since. Colagreco pours several varieties of the olive oil during his bread course, including ones flavored with elderflower and Menton lemon, and Huilerie Saint-Michel sells them in its shop in town.
“What Mauro achieved in Menton was building a whole world,” Djekhar says. “Menton was already here, but now the town has risen to a new level, thanks to him. He has this ability to drive progress for so many people, including us.”
Karim Djekhar, the director of olive oil producer Huilerie Saint-Michel. Dominic Whisson
Since June 2020, Mirazur has served its Universe Menu, a rotating menu that shifts between four distinct themes: roots, leaves, flowers and fruits. It’s offered according to the biodynamic calendar, which is based on the belief that plants respond to the position of the moon and constellations. Whichever menu is presently available uses the part of the plant that is most energized in that cycle. The night I visit, it’s flowers, a particularly artistic menu that utilizes flowers like hibiscus, marigold and rose in unusual and creative ways. Osmanthus gives flavor to a crab dish while chamomile augments an oyster. Our bread was served with the elderflower olive oil.
“We change it all the time,” Colagreco says of the menu. “You become a chef to take risks, not to repeat the same menu every day for three months. Since we opened, we’ve changed a lot, in the details and in our maturity. But the vision hasn’t changed: To let the product be first and not mask it with too much technique.”
Mirazur’s flower menu. Emily Zemler
To be fair, there is a lot of technique involved in a meal at Mirazur. Around 90 people work in the restaurant between the kitchen and service. A separate development kitchen is headed by R&D chef Paloma Boitier. When I dined, Mirazur was serving the Universe menu alongside a seasonal tomato menu, which meant the chefs were creating dual dishes. All of this is carefully planned and executed. Boitier has binders full of research for each menu, and there is an intention behind everything.
“We don’t want to play it safe by thinking we have signature dishes,” Boitier explains. “It can be scary, but chef Mauro is open to us playing and changing. I always feel it’s better when dishes can develop themselves. But the conversation always begins with flavor.”
Although he’s proud of reaching Mirazur’s 20th anniversary, Colagreco constantly evaluates himself. “When I see the photos of my first dishes, I say, ‘Oh my God, what is this presentation?’” he says. “But the balance of flavors and the aim to always recognize what you are eating, that was there from the beginning. I had to learn to recognize my style. I had to understand the place where we are in the world. The challenge was how you connect the style, the products and the territory with the guest experience.”
Chef Mauro Colagreco at his U.K. fine-dining restaurant, Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO. Dominic Whisson
These days, Colagreco isn’t often on the line cooking. He travels frequently to visit his other restaurants around the world, including Mauro Colagreco at London’s Raffles at the OWO and Cycle by Mauro Colagreco in Tokyo. But he pushes himself to spend as much time as possible in the kitchen at Mirazur because he believes it’s important to teach the next generation of chefs. “I want to give them our knowledge,” he says. “That transmission forward is essential.”
After three days in Menton, I’ve discovered that the connection between Mirazur and the town is inescapable. Hotel employees peek into the room where Colagreco and I are speaking, whispering with excitement that the chef is there. When he walks through town to visit the bakery or the market, locals and visitors treat him like an A-list celebrity. But he’s more than just a figurehead here. Although the tourism board doesn’t keep visitor numbers, more than one person tells me that Menton has seen its popularity rise over the past 20 years. Hotels that used to be open seasonally now welcome travelers all year.
It’s only with time that Mirazur could become what it is. It’s taken years to grow the gardens and develop the menus. The team has learned and grown alongside Colagreco. And there is far more the chef hopes to do in the future. But the real allure of Mirazur is its connection to place, like a tree constantly moving in and out through the seasons, its roots always firmly planted in Menton.