© Di Frazer
© Di Frazer
© Di Frazer
© Di Frazer
© Di Frazer
A Summer at Nartelle Beach, near Saint Maxime
Some of our nicest summer lunches, & evenings too have been spent at Nartelle Beach
There’s a string of private beaches and restaurants along this beautiful stretch of wide sandy beach, but our lunchtime favourite is Prao Plage as they have a tender so we can arrive by boat; we just moor up in the gorgeous turquoise waters opposite, and Adile nips out to collect us - it’s only a matter of a very short sail from St Tropez, Ste Maxime, Port Grimaud or Les Issambres.
Prao are usually very busy during the peak summer weeks so it’s best to book ahead, but in June and September we have always just called late morning when we arrive and they have found us a table overlooking the sea with your toes in the sand! We’ve enjoyed brilliant tuna dishes, some great pasta and imaginative huge salads. They have a great selection of wines, including excellent rose from the Clos des Roses vineyard at Frejus.
Nearby and worth a mention there's also Mario Plage - it’s not quite as glitzy here perhaps as Pampelonne, but David Ginola was there for lunch this summer, and others gathered round a table near us asking to have their selfie taken with someone French, glamorous-looking and probably fabulously famous but we didn’t recognise her! Then there is Barco Beach - our favourite for evenings as they have a top deck to watch the amazing sunsets, a lovely welcoming host in Ricardo, rose wines from the Domain Siouvette at La Mole, and plancha/hot rock bbq tables so you can cook your own delicious surf and turf.
Things are winding down now, but Barco, Prao and Mahi Plage restaurants were still open for lunches and evening meals this week with their A boards outside, and it was still warm enough to enjoy a swim in the sea followed by lunch outside. Pity the summer is nearly over… :( Ah well, there’s always next year!
