Almost 25 years ago, Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel de Paris became the first hotel restaurant to receive the coveted status of three Michelin stars. Monaco may be the second smallest country after Vatican City, but it has the highest concentration of Michelin stars in the world, with eleven of them in seven restaurants. With the support of renowned chefs such as Ducasse and the late Joël Robuchon, the small principality has built a reputation as a glamorous destination for foodies.

But in recent years, chefs who cut their teeth in the shadows of these superstars—or worked alongside them—have applied their savoir-faire to a new generation of concepts, softening the formality of fine dining so that it is less buttoned-up and more accessible. “I want to create cuisine that is simple but not light, so that guests remember the dishes they have eaten,” says chef Christophe Cussac of Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac, the Jacques Garcia-designed revival of the original 1920s restaurant at the Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo, which earned two Michelin stars within nine months of opening. “The service here is withdrawn (relaxed), but it is still elegant and there is a certain atmosphere in the room. When I greet the tables at the end of a meal, I ask if they enjoyed it, not if the food was good.”

Cussac is jokingly referred to as a two-star chef because he has consistently held (or won) two Michelin stars in four restaurants over nearly four decades. (“It’s hard to earn them, and even harder to get them back once they’ve been taken away,” he laughs.) Cussac cooked with Robuchon when the inimitable Apple puree (mashed potatoes) was first served and spent nearly two decades in the chef’s kitchen at the Hôtel Métropole before taking the helm at Les Ambassadeurs last summer.

This season, he has teamed up with two young chefs to open pizza pop-up Zia at the hotel’s Karl Largerfeld-designed pool and restaurant, Odyssey. “It’s a challenge to work here and develop a pizza concept because it has to be the best pizza and at the same level as the two-Michelin-starred restaurant,” says Marseille-born Manon Santini, head pastry chef at Bagatelle and former head chef under Alain Ducasse at Cucina Byblos in Saint-Tropez.

Rocco Seminara, the other half behind Zia, adds that opening their restaurant in Monaco is a homecoming for the chefs, who first worked together under Alain Ducasse and Franck Cerutti at the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo. “It’s important for us to have our restaurant here – we have a history with Monaco, the region’s products and the guests,” he says.

L’Abysse Monte-Carlo at the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo marks a new chapter for another duo introducing their concept in Monaco: sushi master Yasunari Okazaki and the acclaimed Yannick Alléno, who opened their two-Michelin-starred sushi counter six years ago in the Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris. “Monaco has an incredible terroir – between sea and mountains, it is a breeding ground for exquisite Mediterranean products that we are very happy to present in our restaurants,” says Alléno, adding that L’Abysse’s menu in Monaco is completely different from that in Paris, as it revolves around the Riviera’s regional, seasonal ingredients and the catch of the day. “Local fishermen and markets supply us with products of exceptional quality that are not available elsewhere.”

When Elsa debuted at the Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel ten years ago, the seaside restaurant was the first all-organic restaurant to receive a Michelin star, with produce sourced near its own farm on a hill above Monaco in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. After the restaurant changed hands and lost a star, Marcel Ravin, the mastermind behind the two-star Blue Bay, has stepped in this season with a mix of Riviera- and Asian-inspired touches (think panko sardines with white miso mayonnaise and shrimp millefeuille with tobiko, the flying fish roe typically served on sushi).

For Elsa’s latest version, Ravin, who was born in Martinique, has created a seafood-heavy menu enriched with fresh Mediterranean ingredients, such as vegetables foraged from the coast, pink onions from the neighboring French town of Menton and langoustine steamed in seawater, served on a porcini mushroom risotto with lovage, a local herb in the parsley family.

“There are so many more restaurant styles than when I arrived in 2004 – guests now have a huge choice,” says Cussac, adding that in addition to the gastronomic offerings, there are also more festive Saint-Tropez-style establishments with a party atmosphere (apart from the long-popular Buddha Bar), such as GAIA, COYA and Amazónico. “Monte-Carlo has become a destination that researched (desired) – and we are right in the middle of it.”