Le Louis XV - Alain Ducasse à l'Hôtel de Paris

When Prince Rainier challenged a young Alain Ducasse to win three Michelin stars within four years, Ducasse did it in 33 months — he was 33 years old, and the Louis XV became the first hotel restaurant ever to reach the summit. Nearly four decades later it's still there, the glittering heart of a global empire, in a Belle Époque room dripping with chandeliers off the casino square. The cooking is what Ducasse calls naturalité: the Riviera on a plate, built from small farmers, fishermen and the produce of Provence and the Italian coast, in service of the ingredient rather than spectacle. Since 2022 his loyal lieutenant Emmanuel Pilon — a fourth-generation Lyonnais chef — has run the kitchen day to day, balancing Ducasse classics with his own touch. Jackets required, and worth dressing for. One of the grand rooms of European dining.