Sainte-Maxime

Sainte-Maxime, a charming French Riviera resort, offers Provençal dishes like bouillabaisse and ratatouille, amidst stunning Mediterranean coastal views.

La Cuisine De Cesar

La Cuisine De Cesar

45 rue Paul Bert, 83120 Sainte-Maxime, France

Kebab • Cafés • Français • Asiatique


"It was the best of meals, The second, not so much. On the Wednesday evening we explained that we needed one gluten free meal. We were immediately handed over to a charming lady, who we took to be the proprietor. She assured us that she would confer with the chef. We ordered a “coquelet roti” with a cream and grape sauce and a fillet steak served without sauces. Chips were covered in gluten but the chef proposed a salad for the steak and the “coquelet” came with a Gratin Dauphinoise. All the food was delicious. The chicken was soft and sweet the sauce had a depth of flavour aided and abeted by the small bursts of sweet grape juice from the grapes within it. The steak was perfect; maximum of flavour from the seared outside, maximum of soft juiciness from the tender pink interior. Dessert was a fruit crumble that had not had the crumble added, pronounced delicious, and a crème broulee. The crème was not a traditional baked vanilla egg custard. It tasted like a flour based preparation and was devoid of vanilla. All in all, the service had been attentive and the food mostly great. We determined that we would return for a second meal and looked forward to it.Mistake! Sunday evening, the waitress remembered us, and promised to check for gluten free food. She checked the Champaign sauce that was served with the Salmon. We could not have it. She was not aware that the rice, the dauphinoise and the chips all contained gluten. She suggested salad. We said that would be fine. The Dorade Royale, one of my favourite fish was sold out but they could offer Sea Bass. O.K., that would do. The salad delivered with the dry salmon was a simple bag mix of leaves, not the fresh mixed salad it had been four days before. It had brown stalks and tasted stale. The fish was undoubtedly the worst cooked fish I have ever been served. It had clearly been laid on a metal tray and placed under an electric grill. It had not been turned or moved until it was served. Consequently, the top skin was like leather. It defied my efforts with the serrated knife provided to cut through it. I had to prize it off to get to the very dry fish beneath. A simple glaze of oil would have ensured that the skin became crispy and a delicious part of the fish. It would also have ensured that the (Chef?) remembered to turn the fish under the grill. When I turned the fish on the plate, the lower side skin was a soggy mess where all the juices had soaked it through. Scraping it off, the second fillet was edible, despite the attentions of the chef. We told the waitress what was wrong with our food. She said she would tell the chef. We don’t know if she did. We did not see him."

La Reserve

La Reserve

8 Place Victor Hugo, 83120 Sainte-Maxime, France

Steak • Français • Européen • Fruit De Mer


"Firstly I don't post to Trip Advisor often but felt I have to, to save others from having the same experience as us last night! My wife, daughter and I booked a table for dinner based upon the good Trip Advisor position in comparison with other excellent places we have eaten at in Ste Maxime, sadly we wished we hadn't having wasted good money on average food! We opted for Menu 39 Euro which has a reasonable selection of dishes. Entrees arrived quickly from ordering and my octopus salad was not too bad but lacked any real flavour, the wife was really disappointed with her avocado and shrimp salad, which consisted of a sliced avocado and a selection of the smallest shrimps you can get, a pot of Marie Rose sauce on the side and some wilted lettuce leaves to dress it up a little. In terms of main meals I ordered the grilled daurade and the wife had the lamb with thyme. We were offered the choice of chips, ratatouille or rice I think was the third option, we ordered chips and ratatouille! When the mains arrived the waitress provided a poor attempt at dressing the fish for me which ended with her using her finger to remove a piece from my plate! The fish was ok, no real flavour even with the pot of dressing it came with. The wife's lamb was a chop with a blob of buttered thyme on top. Our daughters steak hache even looked unappetising not having been flattened into a proper shaped burger and she ended up leaving most of it unfortunately. The chips were awful, not even French fries, they were dry and slightly over cooked quite clearly frozen ones! My wife felt the ratatouille was most likely from frozen too. In terms of dessert we ordered chocolate mousse for my daughter who despite being a chocoholic took one mouthful and left it as it was heavy and stodgy totally the opposite of a good mousse, the wife and I ordered creme caramel which were more like the flans you buy in the supermarkets here than what you would expect of a restaurant one. In all not a great dining experience really. The wife also said her chair was uncomfortable and constantly wobbled I was sat with my back to where menus etc were stored and had to be careful not to bang my head on it the only saving grace was the wine, both the house rose and red half bottles were very nice. Be aware though it's over 7 euros for a bottle of sparkling water, which I think is a little over the top. Total bill for three was just over 140 Euro! If it's nice food you want over the hustle of the sea front then take a few more steps to the streets behind and eat at either La bicyclette, restaurant Fred or La Derive all offer much better food! Enjoy Ste Maxime we love it there!"