Club 55
Club 55 opened in 1955 when Brigitte Bardot was filming And God Created Woman on the dunes nearby. The crew ate here. Bardot stayed. The club never really changed after that, which is either its problem or its entire point depending on where you sit.
The beach is long and properly maintained. The sunbeds are comfortable and arranged with enough space between them that you do not feel you are sharing a restaurant table with strangers. The rosé arrives in magnums, which is the correct vessel.
The lunch is genuinely good. The bourride — the Provençal fish stew — is the dish that justifies the price. Order it. Do not skip it for something lighter. You did not come to Club 55 to eat lightly.
The fish stew is the dish. Order it regardless of what else is on the menu. This is the reason serious people keep coming back.
Rosé arrives in magnums. This is correct.
Long, well-maintained, spaced properly. Not a parking lot of sunbeds — an actual beach.
International, warm-weather serious. Not the show-off crowd. The people who have been coming every summer for twenty years.
Reserve a table for lunch — not just a sunbed. The food is the point and walk-ins rarely get a table worth sitting at.
Go on a Tuesday or Wednesday in July. The weekend crowds are a different proposition entirely.
Expensive even by St-Tropez standards. Accept this before you arrive and it does not ruin the afternoon.
The bourride takes time. Order it when you arrive, not after you have already eaten the bread.