St Tropez - Joseph
Summer 2009
Frank's view 
Go in advance and choose your table
La Tour is local restaurateur Joseph’s attempt at fine dining in a town where fine means expensive and dining does not mean gourmet.
Tucked away at the end of the harbour, La Tour does have the best location of any restaurant in St Tropez with spectacular views on two sides. Go to the restaurant to make a reservation and be specific about which table you wish. It’s well worth the effort.
The restaurant is upstairs on the first floor and on one side looks towards the small cove where Bridget Bardot lived in the movie ‘And God Created Woman’. The other view is over the port.
Joseph’s logo is a seahorse. The chef at la Tour presumably decided it would be a fun wheeze to present all diners with a gazpacho mousse bonded with gelatin in the shape of a seahorse. In reality it was more like a spicy jelly baby.
After this palatable disaster our guard was up, but alas, what was to follow was surprisingly good.
The Camel’s companion was financially conservative in ordering Pasteque - frozen and fresh water melon with an octopus aioli (€19) followed by slow cooked lamb (€28). I was apparently extremely vulgar and splashed out on Foie Gras (€25) followed by very good but very expensive Red Mullet served with a fresh pea mash (€45).
The quality of the produce, its preparation and presentation were all uncharacteristically excellent for St Tropez.
As the sun set over the Mediterranean and we contemplated the dessert menu, two complimentary ice sticks of frozen lavender and rich berries arrived. They filled the dessert gap beautifully and our menus were subtly returned.
It is surprisingly difficult to track down any background information on the small rotund man named Joseph who has ‘modestly’ put his name to six establishments and is frequently seen around St Tropez dipping in and out of his venues each night. There is nothing on the web about Joseph Geenem, as he is apparently named. Indeed, even his Berlin based master chef partner, Tim Raue, is not linked to St Tropez on a Google search.
Joseph has succeeded in creating a fine dining venue in a town which has been tragically lacking in culinary excellence. The ambience of La Tour is exceptional and the prices were not outrageous by St Tropez standards.
Joseph La Tour
Rue du Portalet
Quai Frédéic Mistral
St Tropez
04 94 97 29 00
http://www.joseph-saint-tropez.com/
choose your table wisely
Tucked away at the end of the harbour, La Tour does have the best location of any restaurant in St Tropez with spectacular views on two sides. Go to the restaurant to make a reservation and be specific about which table you wish. It’s well worth the effort.
The restaurant is upstairs on the first floor and on one side looks towards the small cove where Bridget Bardot lived in the movie ‘And God Created Woman’. The other view is over the port.
Joseph’s logo is a seahorse. The chef at la Tour presumably decided it would be a fun wheeze to present all diners with a gazpacho mousse bonded with gelatin in the shape of a seahorse. In reality it was more like a spicy jelly baby.
After this palatable disaster our guard was up, but alas, what was to follow was surprisingly good.
The Camel’s companion was financially conservative in ordering Pasteque - frozen and fresh water melon with an octopus aioli (€19) followed by slow cooked lamb (€28). I was apparently extremely vulgar and splashed out on Foie Gras (€25) followed by very good but very expensive Red Mullet served with a fresh pea mash (€45).
The quality of the produce, its preparation and presentation were all uncharacteristically excellent for St Tropez.
As the sun set over the Mediterranean and we contemplated the dessert menu, two complimentary ice sticks of frozen lavender and rich berries arrived. They filled the dessert gap beautifully and our menus were subtly returned.
It is surprisingly difficult to track down any background information on the small rotund man named Joseph who has ‘modestly’ put his name to six establishments and is frequently seen around St Tropez dipping in and out of his venues each night. There is nothing on the web about Joseph Geenem, as he is apparently named. Indeed, even his Berlin based master chef partner, Tim Raue, is not linked to St Tropez on a Google search.
Joseph has succeeded in creating a fine dining venue in a town which has been tragically lacking in culinary excellence. The ambience of La Tour is exceptional and the prices were not outrageous by St Tropez standards.
Joseph La Tour
Rue du Portalet
Quai Frédéic Mistral
St Tropez
04 94 97 29 00
http://www.joseph-saint-tropez.com/
choose your table wisely
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
