Restaurant in Cassis, France
Three Michelin stars. Book months out.
La Villa Madie holds three Michelin stars and 95 La Liste points — placing it among France's most decorated regional tables. Chef Dimitri Droisneau runs a lunch-only service from Cassis's Calanques coast, with sourcing anchored to the Mediterranean. Booking is near-impossible and planning ahead is essential; the experience justifies the effort for anyone serious about place-driven French cooking at the highest level.
If you've already sat at Dimitri Droisneau's table once, you already know the answer is yes. The question is whether a second visit rewards you differently — and at a three-Michelin-star table on the Calanques coast, it does, provided you time it right. La Villa Madie holds 95 points on La Liste 2025 and sits at #32 in Opinionated About Dining's Classical Europe ranking for 2025, which places it firmly in the tier of France's most decorated regional restaurants — not merely Provence's. For a returning visitor, that consistency of recognition is worth something: this is not a restaurant riding early momentum. It has held three Michelin stars across at least three consecutive years of data, which means the kitchen is not coasting.
Come back now, in the current season, and what you'll see first is the setting. The anse de Corton outlook , the Mediterranean visible from the dining room, the limestone calanques framing the scene , reads differently depending on the light. In the warmer months, the coastal glare softens by early afternoon into something cooler; in the shoulder season, the room sits quieter and the view holds more weight. The service window runs 12:00 to 19:30 every day of the week, which is notable: no dinner service. La Villa Madie is a lunch-anchored destination, and returning guests who understood that on the first visit will plan the second visit around it more deliberately. Book the earliest slot if you want unhurried time at the table; book later if you want the full afternoon light over the water.
Droisneau's kitchen operates in the tradition of place-driven French cooking, which at this address means the Mediterranean coast is not just backdrop , it's sourcing logic. The Calanques and the markets and fishing ports of the Marseille-Cassis corridor shape what arrives at the table. For a regular who has eaten here before, the most useful way to think about a return visit is through what the season makes available: the kitchen's sourcing orientation means menus shift materially with what's in the water and on the land nearby. This is not a kitchen built around a fixed signature repertoire that repeats verbatim year after year. The three-star standing over multiple years confirms execution quality; the OAD classical ranking confirms the cooking style stays grounded in French technique rather than drifting into abstraction.
That sourcing commitment is also part of what justifies the €€€€ price point. At this level in France , compare [Arpège in Paris](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/arpge-paris-restaurant), [Flocons de Sel in Megève](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/flocons-de-sel-megve-restaurant), or [Troisgros - Le Bois sans Feuilles in Ouches](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/troisgros-le-bois-sans-feuilles-ouches-restaurant) , the price is not only paying for technique; it is paying for ingredient selection and regional specificity. La Villa Madie's coastal position gives it access to produce that urban three-star kitchens have to truck in. Whether the premium over a comparable Paris address is worth it depends on how much you value eating a menu that could only exist in this particular place.
Getting a table here is classified as near-impossible. This is not an exaggeration for a provincial restaurant: La Villa Madie draws destination diners from across Europe, its awards profile is well-publicised, and the no-dinner-service format compresses demand into a single daily seating window. If you've been once, you already understand the booking dynamic. For a second visit, plan further out than you did the first time , awareness of the restaurant compounds demand. There is no walk-in path that makes sense at this level. Reservations should be pursued well in advance, particularly for weekend slots or peak summer weeks when Cassis itself is at capacity with visitors.
| Venue | Location | Price Tier | Booking Difficulty | Stars | Lunch Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Villa Madie | Cassis | €€€€ | Near Impossible | Michelin 3★ | Yes (lunch only) |
| Mirazur | Menton | €€€€ | Near Impossible | Michelin 3★ | Yes |
| La Table du Castellet | Le Castellet | €€€ | Moderate | Michelin 2★ | Yes |
| La Brasserie du Corton | Cassis | €€ | Low | , | Yes |
If La Villa Madie is unavailable or the price is a stretch, [La Table du Castellet in Le Castellet](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/la-table-du-castellet-le-castellet-restaurant) is the most practical regional alternative at a lower price point. Within Cassis itself, [La Brasserie du Corton](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/la-brasserie-du-corton-cassis-restaurant) and [Les Belles Canailles](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/les-belles-canailles-cassis-restaurant) serve the town well but operate in a completely different register , useful for other meals on the same trip, not substitutes for the Droisneau experience.
Yes, with one condition: La Villa Madie is not a restaurant you drop into between other stops. It is a destination that requires building the day , or the trip , around it. The lunch-only format means you arrive in Cassis with time before and after, and the town is worth that. Check our [full Cassis restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/cassis), [hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/cassis), [bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/cassis), [wineries guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/cassis), and [experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/cassis) to build the surrounding day properly. The wine region alone , Cassis AOC produces some of the most food-compatible whites on the French Mediterranean coast , gives the meal another dimension if you engage with it.
For context on where La Villa Madie sits in France's three-star tier, it is useful to position it against other long-running houses: [Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/paul-bocuse-lauberge-du-pont-de-collonges-collonges-au-mont-dor-restaurant), [Bras in Laguiole](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/bras-laguiole-restaurant), [Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/auberge-de-lill-illhaeusern-restaurant), and [Les Prés d'Eugénie in Eugénie-les-Bains](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/les-prs-deugnie-michel-gurard-eugnie-les-bains-restaurant) all share the same defining characteristic: they are rooted in a specific French terroir that the cooking makes legible. La Villa Madie belongs in that conversation. Its OAD score and La Liste points are not outliers; they reflect a kitchen operating at genuine three-star depth, not at the bottom of the tier.
If you are deciding between returning here and trying somewhere new at the same level , say, [La Grenouillère](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/la-grenouillre-paris-restaurant) or [William Frachot in Dijon](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/william-frachot-dijon-restaurant) , the case for La Villa Madie is specificity. Very few three-star kitchens have this relationship with a coastline. If Mediterranean sourcing and setting matter to your experience, go back. If you want to expand your France three-star map into new regions, those alternatives earn their consideration.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Villa Madie | Modern French, Creative | La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 94pts; Opinionated About Dining Classical in Europe Ranked #32 (2025); Category: Prestige; La Liste Top Restaurants (2025): 95pts; Michelin 3 Stars (2025); Opinionated About Dining Classical in Europe Ranked #33 (2024); Michelin 3 Stars (2024); Opinionated About Dining Classical in Europe Ranked #38 (2023) | Near Impossible | — |
| Plénitude | Contemporary French | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | French, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Kei | Contemporary French, Modern Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | French, Modern Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
This is a destination restaurant, not a drop-in. Chef Dimitri Droisneau holds 3 Michelin stars (2024 and 2025) and a 94-point La Liste score for 2026, which means the kitchen is performing at the top of French fine dining. Plan to spend a full afternoon or evening — the service pace is deliberate. Cassis itself is a small coastal town, so building a visit around La Villa Madie, rather than treating it as a stop between sights, is the practical approach.
At €€€€ pricing with three Michelin stars and a #32 OAD Classical Europe ranking (2025), the cost is consistent with what comparable French fine dining commands in Paris or Lyon — but here you get the Mediterranean coastal setting included. If the format of place-driven, multi-course French cooking is what you want, the value holds. If you're on the fence about tasting-menu dining, this is not the restaurant to test that uncertainty.
Cassis is a small town and La Villa Madie is its only restaurant operating at this tier. For comparable three-star French cooking without the coastal Provence trip, Paris options like Plénitude or Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen cover similar ground. If La Villa Madie is fully booked, consider one- or two-star options in the broader Marseille or Bouches-du-Rhône area rather than a same-city alternative.
Yes, provided the occasion fits a long, formal meal. Three Michelin stars and a 95-point La Liste score (2025) signal a kitchen that consistently executes at the highest level, and the Cassis coastal address adds context that a city restaurant cannot replicate. Book early — tables are in high demand and this is not a venue where last-minute availability is realistic for milestone events.
Bar dining is not documented in the available venue data for La Villa Madie. Given the restaurant's three-star format and the structured nature of the meal, the experience is built around the dining room. check the venue's official channels at their Cassis address (anse de Corton, 30 Av. du Revestel) to confirm seating options before planning around an informal format.
A three-Michelin-star restaurant in France at this price tier warrants formal or business-formal dress. There is no documented dress code in the venue data, but the combination of €€€€ pricing and the restaurant's standing on La Liste and OAD rankings places it firmly in the category where turning up in casual clothes would feel out of step with the room. Err toward a jacket for men; elegant for women.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
