Couleurs de Shimatani

As they say, people make places, and this couldn’t be more true in the case of Couleurs de Shimatani, a hidden gem in the Mediterranean town of La Ciotat and one of the best discoveries this year for me. This pocket-sized restaurant, with only a few seats, is run by the husband-and-wife team, Yuichiro and Mika Shimatani, who both previously worked at the three-starred AM by Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille—Yuichiro as a sous-chef and Mika as a pastry chef. Since opening three years ago, Couleurs de Shimatani quickly earned a Michelin star. The couple are the only people working at the restaurant, open for lunch only and is probably one of the most difficult to book restaurants in Europe at the moment.

The cooking style at Couleurs de Shimatani masterfully blends Mediterranean and Japanese influences, executed with a high precision from the best and freshest ingredients one might find in sun-kissed Provence. It was a true culinary journey that made me travel without leaving the table, and it undoubtedly has a bright future ahead.