Le Negresco regally occupies its seafront location on Nice’s iconic Promenade des Anglais. "MOF" 2015, Virginie Basselot, is at the helm of its fine dining restaurant, Le Chantecler. In this swanky setting, the Normandy-born chef makes no secret of her ambition to craft a creative, modern score using first-class ingredients, cherry-picked from local artisans with whom she has forged strong ties. Each dish tells a story of purity and simplicity, illustrated by Mediterranean monkfish in a lemon balm and Var lemon-laced butter, or red mullet with combava-flavoured cabbage purée and a seasoning made out of the liver. Slick, swish service.