Restaurant in Toulon, France
Michelin-recognised cooking at mid-range prices.
Racines holds a 2025 Michelin Plate and a 4.8 Google rating across 275 reviews — strong credentials for a €€ restaurant in Toulon. The kitchen draws on small-scale Breton producers and runs a short, technique-led menu in a bright modern room. Book for weekday lunch if you can; Saturday dinner is the only weekend option.
If you are weighing Racines against Le Saint Gabriel for a traditional-cuisine dinner in Toulon, Racines wins on credential depth. A 2025 Michelin Plate and a lineage that includes kitchens with Guy Martin and Thierry Marx puts Racines in a different technical tier, while the €€ price range keeps it accessible. This is the booking to make when you want cooking that has been recognised at a national level without committing to a tasting-menu-only format or a €€€ spend.
Racines sits on Rue Corneille in central Toulon, operating on a tight Tuesday-to-Saturday schedule that reflects the kitchen's focus rather than commercial ambition. Lunches run Tuesday through Friday, 12 PM to 3:30 PM; evening service opens at 7:45 PM Tuesday through Friday and runs until 9 PM, with Saturday evening service extending to 10 PM. The restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday. That compressed window is your first logistical note: if you are visiting Toulon over a weekend, Saturday dinner is your primary option.
The Michelin Plate awarded in 2025 is a meaningful signal here. The Plate is not a star, but it is Michelin's active endorsement that a restaurant is worth seeking out — it sits above the Guide's basic listing and below Bib Gourmand on the recognition ladder. For a €€ venue in a city that does not compete with Lyon or Paris for fine-dining density, a 2025 Plate alongside a Google rating of 4.8 across 275 reviews is a strong combined signal. High ratings on high review counts are statistically harder to sustain than on thin samples; 275 reviews at 4.8 puts Racines in a genuinely narrow bracket.
The Michelin description is specific enough to be useful for planning. The menu is short, which in practice means the kitchen is not scattering its focus across 25 dishes , what is on the menu has been deliberately chosen. Michelin highlights texture interplay and flavour pairing as the technical signatures, alongside ingredients sourced predominantly from small-scale Breton producers. That Breton sourcing note is worth holding onto when thinking about seasonal timing: Brittany's coastal and agricultural produce follows distinct seasonal rhythms, and a kitchen built around small-producer supply will reflect those rhythms in what appears on the menu.
Because Racines draws on Breton producers rather than purely Provençal supply, the seasonal logic here differs from most restaurants in this part of France. Breton seafood , particularly shellfish , is at its leading from autumn through early spring, when colder Atlantic waters drive quality up. If shellfish or coastal fish features on the menu during a late-autumn or winter visit, that is when the sourcing story is likely to show most clearly on the plate. Spring brings different produce rhythms: younger vegetables, different fish species, and the transition between the two sourcing periods.
Summer visits to Toulon are entirely viable , the city draws significant visitor traffic from June through August and Saturday dinner availability can tighten accordingly. Booking a few days in advance for a summer Saturday evening is sensible. By contrast, midweek lunch in autumn or winter is likely the path of least resistance: easier to book, and aligned with when the kitchen's Breton sourcing is typically at its seasonal peak. For food-focused travellers who can control their timing, that combination is worth planning around.
The setting is described as bright and modern, which in practical terms means this is not a heavy, formal room. The €€ price point and contemporary tone make it appropriate for a long lunch as much as a celebratory dinner. The short menu format suits solo diners and couples more than large groups; the kitchen's focus on precise, composed dishes implies a dining rhythm that rewards attention rather than a communal, sharing-plate format.
See the comparison section below for how Racines positions against Beam!, Au Sourd, Le Pastel, and Shanael.
Racines occupies a specific position in the French traditional cuisine conversation: it is a chef-driven restaurant with verifiable high-end training, operating at a price point well below what equivalent credentials command in Paris or Lyon. For comparison, kitchens that cite Thierry Marx's training lineage in Paris operate in significantly higher price brackets , see venues like Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen for what that tier looks like at full Paris pricing. Similarly, the producer-focused, terroir-driven approach that defines Racines connects it philosophically to places like Bras in Laguiole or Mirazur in Menton, where small-producer sourcing is a central part of the kitchen's identity , though both operate at considerably higher price and prestige levels.
For Brittany-rooted traditional cuisine at a comparable price tier, Auberge Grand'Maison in Mûr-de-Bretagne offers an interesting reference point from the region the sourcing draws on. And if you are building a south-of-France itinerary around recognised traditional cooking, Cave à Vin & à Manger - Maison Saint-Crescent in Narbonne is worth comparing for a different regional style at a similar price tier.
For a fuller picture of where to eat, drink, and stay in Toulon, see our full Toulon restaurants guide, our Toulon hotels guide, our Toulon bars guide, our Toulon wineries guide, and our Toulon experiences guide.
Quick reference: Racines, 9 Rue Corneille, 83000 Toulon , €€ , Michelin Plate 2025 , Tue–Fri lunch and dinner, Sat dinner only , closed Sun & Mon , easy to book.
Racines operates a short, focused menu of composed dishes , this is not a venue for browsing a long à la carte. The €€ price range makes it one of the more accessible Michelin-recognised options in Toulon. Come with an appetite for precise, technique-led cooking informed by Breton producers, in a bright, modern room. Book a few days ahead for weekday lunch; further in advance for Saturday dinner.
Weekday lunch is the easier booking and often the better-value entry point at €€ restaurants in France, where lunch menus tend to offer the same kitchen at a slightly lower price. Dinner on Saturday evening is the only option if you are visiting over a weekend, and service runs until 10 PM, making it a relaxed choice. For food-focused visitors with flexibility, a midweek lunch in autumn or winter aligns timing with the kitchen's Breton sourcing at its seasonal peak.
The menu is short by design, so the choice is deliberately limited. Michelin specifically notes texture interplay and flavour pairing as the kitchen's signatures, alongside ingredients from small-scale Breton producers. In practical terms: follow the menu's logic rather than seeking out a single signature dish. If Breton seafood or coastal fish appears on the menu during a cooler-season visit, that is where the sourcing story will show most clearly.
No dress code is listed, but the combination of Michelin recognition, a bright modern setting, and a €€ price point points toward smart casual as the appropriate register. You will not be underdressed in a neat shirt or blouse; a suit is not required. Toulon is a relaxed southern French city, and Racines' contemporary setting reflects that. Err toward tidy rather than formal.
No seat count is published, and the short-menu format suggests a kitchen calibrated for precision rather than volume. Large groups (six or more) should contact the restaurant directly before booking to confirm capacity and whether the menu format works for the table size. Pairs and small groups of three or four are the format the room and menu style appear leading suited to.
Racines runs a short, focused menu in what Michelin describes as a bright, modern setting — a format that typically suits small parties better than large groups. Given the tight Tuesday-to-Saturday schedule and limited evening sittings (7:45 PM start), tables for six or more may be difficult to secure without advance planning. check the venue's official channels before bringing a group of four or more; walk-in capacity at this level of Michelin-recognised cooking is rarely generous.
The Michelin record points to a short menu built around precise, well-defined dishes using ingredients from small-scale Breton producers — so work through the full menu rather than picking selectively. The format is designed as a cohesive set of choices, not an à la carte free-for-all. Given the €€ price point and the calibre of sourcing, ordering the fullest available option is likely the strongest use of your visit.
The venue is described by Michelin as bright and modern, which suggests a relaxed but considered setting rather than a formal dining room. There is no dress code in the venue record, but at a Michelin Plate restaurant in France, neat casual — clean trousers, a collared shirt or equivalent — is a safe baseline. Overly casual beachwear-style clothing would feel out of place given the cooking calibre.
Lunch runs Tuesday to Friday (12 PM to 3:30 PM), giving a longer window and daylight in what Michelin calls a bright setting — practically the better slot if you want to linger. Saturday evening is dinner-only (7:45 PM to 10 PM), so it is the sole option at the weekend. For a first visit on a budget, weekday lunch at €€ pricing is the most accessible entry point; Saturday dinner works better if you want the full evening format without competing priorities.
Racines is closed Monday and Sunday, so plan around a Tuesday-to-Saturday visit; missing that detail means a wasted trip. The kitchen is led by a chef with documented training under Guy Martin and Thierry Marx, which explains why the Michelin Plate recognition holds at a €€ price point — this is not a casual neighbourhood bistro. First-timers should book ahead rather than walk in, arrive without expecting an extensive à la carte list, and treat the short menu as the intended experience rather than a limitation.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
