Food Review: London to Monaco, Monaco to Cannes!

After a 3 week hiatus, I am back!

I can only apologise for my lack of consistency as I was away each weekend for the last two weeks and suffered a family bereavement.

Because I have been away for two weeks I really haven't cooked meals that much and have had to take a break from my strict healthy eating, so this weeks post is going to be a food review of all the different restaurants I was fortunate enough to dine at whilst on holiday.

A quick background to understand my travels, over the weekend of the 9-10th November I visited Monte Carlo, Monaco and Cannes, South of France with my siblings. This trip was honesty amazing and I was so sad to leave. The food there is incredible and of course matches the scenery and vibe most especially in Monte Carlo, where luxury is an understatement.

Without further ado, here is a bit of insight into the food in the two countries!

Monte Carlo, Monaco

McDonald's, Boulevard Louis II, 98000 Monaco

In true fashion, the first meal we ate when we got to Monte Carlo was a cheeky McDonalds. We arrived in the afternoon and couldn't be bothered to find a cafe for lunch and so settled for what we know. 

Appearance

The food in this McDonald's was similar to that that can be found worldwide. Same appearance as expected. 

Score: 3.5/5 

Taste

To be honest I went safe and just got nuggets and fries which tastes the same as in the UK however, they have this amazing "fry sauce" which almost tastes like a mild burger sauce and it went great with everything. They do however have a lot of different options, for example they sell chicken wings which I would have got but they had ran out, and other burgers which can't be found in the UK. If you are someone who prefers to play it safe but find variety, this is perfect for you. 

Score: 4/5

Ambience

This is by far the most fancy McDonald's I have ever been to! The view of the ocean from the restaurant is stunning and they have a separate McCafe selling macaroons and all sorts of other delicious treats. Beats all the UK McDonald's by a mile! 

Score: 5/5

Value for money

The price for my meal worked out to be £6.64 which was reasonably similar in pricing to that of the UK and a nice cheap lunch to start the holiday. 

Score: 4/5 

Overall Score: 16.5/20

Cantinetta Antinori, 11 Avenue Princesse Grace, 98000 Monaco

For dinner that night, we decided to have a nice sit down meal and came across Cantinetta Antinori whilst exploring that part of Monte Carlo earlier that afternoon. 

Appearance

As can be seen in the pictures above, this food looked unreal. For starters I had a Bread and Tomato Soup and as a main, Wagyu Beef with Creamy Mashed Potato and a Rocket and Parmesan salad. Everything was presented so beautifully and carefully placed which only enhanced my experience there. 

Score: 4.5/5 

Taste

Before my starter arrived, the waitress was kind enough to bring us an amuse bouche which was a truffle and beef ravioli. I was simply delicious. If it was on the menu, I could've ordered it as a main. For someone who doesn't usually like truffle, the balance of flavours was perfect enough to potentially convert me into a truffle lover. 

The starter was quite flavourful. The tomatoes were chunky and my brother and sister joked that we were eating stew, however all the flavours were fresh and vibrant to taste. The real star however was the main. The Wagyu Beef was cooked medium in the most perfect way, and the mashed potatoes were the creamiest, silkiest mashed potatoes I have ever eaten. I could honestly have a bowl of that on its own! I'm not really a fan of rocket or parmesan cheese, however that salad balanced the meal beautifully and brought a much needed sharpness to the dish as a whole. My only criticism would be that the beef needed a bit of salt and pepper to my taste but overall an outstandingly prepared meal. 

Score: 4.9/5

Ambience

This small low lit restaurant is the perfect setting for a meal with a loved one. Candles lit on the tables add a beautiful touch to this authentic Italian restaurant. There was live music consisting of a singer and pianist who graced our ears with renditions of well loved songs. From the service to the food, everything was faultless. 

Score: 5/5

Value for money

Beware, if you're looking for a low priced dinner in Monte Carlo, this is not it. For the starter, main and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc the price came up to £225, divided by the three of us £75pp. Now for the meal itself and the service, I would say it is money well spent, I definitely got what I paid for and would recommend this restaurant to all. 

Score: 4.5/5 

Overall Score: 18.9/20

Hotel Novotel, 16 Boulevard Princesse Charlotte, 98000 Monaco

The following morning we ate breakfast at our hotel for ease of convenience. 

Appearance

Everything was laid out beautifully and made it really inviting to eat. Each breakfast item was placed intelligently allowing me to navigate the room easily. The only let down were the scrambled eggs which were very runny for my taste. 

Score: 4/5 

Taste

Everything on my plate as can be seen above tasted beautiful. It was an American/European style breakfast which really gave me an opportunity to taste different things. The star of my breakfast would probably be the sausages which were really well seasoned. 

Score: 4/5

Ambience

The breakfast area is facing the pool and attracts plenty of light which gave room for a very airy and pleasant environment to start your day. There were more than enough tables for all to sit at and the waiters acted very quickly clearing tables and keeping everything well stocked.  

Score: 5/5

Value for money

The price of breakfast was £16, which for the selection and the fact that it was a buffet is very reasonable. If you're like me and can't have more than two plates then you may not get the best value for money but if you can, there was more than enough selection for the price.  

Score: 4/5 

Overall Score: 17/20

Cannes, South of France

Steak n' Shake, 3 Place du General de Gaulle, 06400 Cannes, France

On our first day in Cannes, we arrived in the afternoon and after a walk on the beach and a lot of sightseeing we stopped to grab lunch at Steak n'Shake. This was my first time trying their food so I was very excited! 

Appearance

The food here looks similar to In n' Out in America, and so is presented pretty well. I ordered a Cheeseburger with small fries and a small Oreo shake which all looked pretty good apart from the fries which looked super thin and limp. 

Score: 3/5 

Taste

The burger tasted pretty a good, they do a good standard cheeseburger here, however the real let down were the fries and shake. The fries are super thin and short which means what when they are fried they retain all of the oil and there is absolutely no fluffy inside. If you're a crisp eater, they are akin to the crisp "french fries" which with a burger is definitely not what I wanted. Because of this I did not finish the fries. 

Also, the Oreo milkshake had the potential to be great as the small is pretty huge and comes with loads of cream however, as you can see in the picture it was very pale. This was owing to the fact that it lacked Oreo pieces and looked instead like they had crumbled one Oreo into the milkshake. In my opinion a great Oreo milkshake should change colour slightly affording to the amount of Oreo in it, but as you can see this was pale as day. 

Score: 2.5/5

Ambience

The restaurant sits in the middle of a busy square in Cannes so its nice to see the hustle and bustle of the city outside, and the inside is decorated as a standard american diner. The most annoying thing about this restaurant however, is that for some reason they allow dogs inside, and with the yapping of the dogs and sub par food it didn't give rise to a very pleasant experience. 

Score: 3/5

Value for money

Total pricing came up to £14.28 which I don't think is worth it for the food I received. I wasn't annoyed as I wasn't that hungry however if you are starving and looking for a good value, filling meal I'd avoid this place like the plague. 

Score: 2/5 

Overall Score: 10.5/20

New York New York, 1 Allees de la Liberte Charles du Gaulle, 06400 Cannes, France

After we ate at Steak n'Shake, we had a glass of wine at the bar in this restaurant and decided to come back later in the evening for dinner. 

Appearance

As can be seen everything here looked really good and was inviting to the eye. Great presentation overall. 

Score: 4/5 

Taste

For my starter I had Japanese style breaded shrimps, sweet chilli sauce and spicy mayonnaise and for my main I got the lasagne. The shrimps were so huge, breaded with panko and fried perfectly. I think this is the best shrimp starter I've ever had! The spicy mayonnaise was forgettable but the sweet chilli sauce with the kick of some of the freshly chopped chilli's placed on top of the prawns gave for a delicious starter. 

The lasagne was however under seasoned and needed quite a bit of salt and pepper for me to enjoy it. Ignoring the lack of seasoning, the flavours of lasagne itself were good and the dressed salad on the side added a much needed vibrancy to this otherwise average dish.  

Score: 3/5

Ambience

The restaurant itself is honestly very beautiful. It has a Manhattan underground vibe to it, with  bar and large restaurant adjoining and plenty of TV screens to watch. The only downside to this restaurant is that we had to wait what ended up being one and a half hours for a table after the front of house, in my opinion, kind of forgot about us. They definitely need to improve their service there as we were waiting at the bar for an unacceptable amount of time, to the point where the bartender felt sorry for us and brought over a plate of fries on the house to curb our hunger. Worth it if you book a table in advance, otherwise, don't bother going for dinner. 

Score: 3.5/5

Value for money

My meal and a glass of wine came up to £31.43 so the pricing in the restaurant is pretty good. Its a good place to spend an average amount of money for dinner, and I would definitely go back, even only for the shrimps!

Score: 4/5 

Overall Score: 14.5/20

Le Palais Des Pains, 16 Rue Jean Jaures, 06400 Cannes, France

On our way back to Nice to catch our flight home, we stopped off at this little Cafe in the morning to have some quintessentially french baked goods. 

Appearance

All the food at this bakery is presented beautifully, from the baked goods and cake that I bought, to the sandwiches and bread. The petit gateau was the most pretty for me, and even though it was the morning, I had to buy this little cake as a treat for its appearance alone! 

Score: 5/5 

Taste

I bought a mini croissant, petit gateau and chocolate beignet. The chocolate beignet is essentially a mini doughnut and was guaranteed to taste delicious which it of course did. The petit gateau was filled with fresh strawberries and cream on a thin vanilla sponge base and was very delicious. In its taste you could tell it had been prepared by hand that morning and all the flavours married well together. I didn't really like the mini croissant as it had a certain baked hue to it, which is difficult to explain. The best way I can put it is that it left a taste in my mouth which was unpleasant, however this may have been down to the type of butter used to make the croissant. Overall however everything tasted good, I wish I had bought 1000 more of those beignets though! 

Score: 4/5

Ambience

This quaint little bakery was such a delight for me to come across as I think it really embodies the french culture. Small tables and wicker chairs help this bakery to feel like home however the real eye catcher is their presentation of all the baked goods and sandwiches. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it, but if you find yourself opposite Gare de Cannes train station, it is the most inviting shop on the road for sure! A small family kitchen-like vibe gives this bakery a real homely feel. Food is served to you on a tray and you have to clear your own table canteen-style. With the sun shining through the large windows and a view of the busy street, this bakery had great ambience. 

Score: 4.5/5

Value for money

To my memory the most expensive item I bought was the petit gateau which roughly came up to £2.20, with the croissant at 88p and the beignet at 70p, totalling £3.77. Supper affordable and a lovely light meal, I would 100% recommend! 

Score: 5/5 

Overall Score: 18.5/20

So that brings us to the end of this post! The food I ate whilst in Monaco/Cannes was overall really delicious and I would encourage anyone who is going there to take some risks with food as there is so much to enjoy! 

Next week we'll have another shorter food review of my trip to Amsterdam, so look out for that and until then, have a blessed week ahead! 

CCC - Releasing your inner chef.