Menton: Gourmet Food Tour with Market Tastings & Seaside Lunch

4.93

(132 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing that hit me was the smell—citrus and sea air mixing as we stood near the old market in Menton. Our guide, Camille, waved us over to a tiny table where glasses of pale rosé waited. “This one’s got Menton lemon in it,” she said, and honestly I’d never tasted wine like that before—bright but soft at the edges. It was barely 11am and already I felt like I’d stumbled into someone else’s summer dream.

We wandered through narrow lanes, past stalls stacked with tomatoes and basil. At Giuseppe’s shop, he handed me a slice of bread smeared with tapenade—green olive this time. He grinned when I tried to say “barbajuan” (I definitely mangled it), but he just laughed and showed me how to eat it in two bites. The socca came next: hot from the pan, chickpea flour crisp on my fingers, black pepper catching at the back of my throat. There was something about eating it standing up outside that made it taste even better—maybe just being there with everyone else.

Later we sat under striped awnings at Plage des Sablettes, plates of Italian cheese and charcuterie between us. Someone asked about Mauro Colagreco’s restaurant and Camille told stories about chefs who cross borders for lemons here. I kept glancing at the sea—so blue you almost forget to eat (almost). The white truffle cream was earthy and sharp; I tried not to look greedy but failed completely. By dessert—a tarte au citron so bright it nearly glowed—I realized I’d stopped thinking about time or plans or anything except maybe how I could get another slice.

We finished with tiny cups of espresso and a glass of limoncello that tasted like sunlight after rain. Walking back through Menton’s streets, everything felt softer around the edges—maybe just full or maybe something else. Still thinking about that lemon tart now, actually.