"Pampelonne's legendary beach club — book Club 55 for grilled sea bass and the famous crudités basket, a Saint-Tropez ritual since 1955."
Club 55 began in 1955 as the canteen for the crew filming And God Created Woman on the then-empty Plage de Pampelonne, and grew into the most famous beach club on the Saint-Tropez peninsula. The de Colmont family has run it ever since, now under Patrice de Colmont, holding a deliberately low-key, sand-underfoot style even as the lunch crowd turned glamorous. It is a seafood ritual as much as a restaurant.
The cooking is simple and produce-led by design. The signature is the panier de crudités — a basket of raw garden vegetables with anchoiade — alongside the grilled sea bass (loup grillé), other wild fish off the plancha, garden salads and a strawberry tart to finish. There is no chase for stars here; the kitchen leans on freshness and restraint. Lunch on the sand with rosé is firmly in the top ($$$$) bracket — you pay for the address and the scene.
The room is the beach: wooden tables on the sand under cream parasols, a long bar, and a crowd that has run from Bardot to today's yacht set. It peaks at a long, sunlit lunch and runs on its own unhurried rhythm. Service is practised and used to a full house through July and August. Tables are hard to get in high season and the best ones face the water, so reserve well ahead and arrive by boat or beat the parking.
For a milestone birthday lunch, an anniversary on the sand or a glamorous first date by the sea, Club 55 is the Pampelonne choice: the setting, the scene and the simple seafood do the work. A natural birthday and anniversary table, and a memorable first-date lunch.
Not for anyone after a quiet, value dinner or fine-dining hush — Club 55 is a top-priced, see-and-be-seen beach lunch where the scene and the sand are the point.
Club 55 is at 43 Boulevard Patch on the Plage de Pampelonne in Ramatuelle, a few minutes south of Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera.
Club 55 dates to 1955, when it fed the crew filming And God Created Woman on Pampelonne; the de Colmont family has run it ever since.
The basket of raw garden vegetables with anchoiade and the grilled sea bass are the signatures, alongside wild fish off the plancha and a strawberry tart.
Yes. Lunch on the sand with rosé sits in the top price bracket; you are paying for the most famous address on the Pampelonne beach.
Absolutely, especially in July and August. Reserve well ahead and ask for a table facing the water, which are the first to go.
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