Hestia

On the adorable Port de La Favière in Bormes-les-Mimoas, Sakina Salhi (a former history and geography teacher who now works as a sommelier) and Cyril Aveline (the former boss of the Amour and Grand Amour hotels in Paris) opened up this bistro filled with wine posters and jute flooring, where (nearly) everything gets grilled – hence the name, Hestia being the Greek goddess of the hearth. Fresh from the flames the day we went for lunch: a massive slice of bone marrow topped with curried seaweed tartare and borage flowers; a Breton artichoke served whole with a big spoonful of intensely flavorful sauce ravigote; some damn good pâté en croûte with a black garlic condiment; grilled guinea fowl supreme with crisp haricots verts and a reduction; before a delicious fiadone (a Corsican cake made with brocciu cheese) paired with honey-roasted apricots. // Gwen Jacquère 

FEELING THIRSTY? : A very lovely compilation of hand-selected beers and natural wines (including those by Barret, Pacalet, Clos des B, Frank Cornelissen): a kriek from the Brasserie Cantillon (€36 for 750 ml), a delicate Crozes-Hermitage from David Reynaud served from a magnum bottle (€7 a glass), or À la Natural, a 2016 Auvergne red from Patrick Bouju, produced in collaboration with Action Bronson (€44 a bottle). 
PRICE: : Set menu €20-25 (lunch), à la carte €43-66.