Plage Keller

Service!

Possibly the most well known Cap d’Antibes beach restaurant is Plage Keller on Plage de la Garoupe. This is one of my favourites for a special treat.

Plage Keller not only serves amazing food but also boasts one of the most breathtaking views across the bay towards Nice. A local institution, this Cap d’Antibes beach restaurant has existed for decades and has been in the hands of it’s current owners, the family Bensimon for thirty years. It’s a genuine family affair run by Viktor, Dany and their two children Philippe and Laura.  Philippe and Laura both studied at major catering schools in Switzerland before joining the family business. Philippe came to Keller in 2009 and Laura in 2014 when the family opened Plage Joseph.

The Bensimons really are part of the furniture here from April until September welcoming visitors from all over the world.

In the high season the staff here literally never stop. The place is always buzzing with diners and beach goers interspersed with many fabulous private events and weddings. Known for it’s lovely private sandy beach and the gorgeous pontoon which stretches out over the crystal blue water, it’s the perfect place to relax and soak up the Riviera sun.

The entire team at Plage Keller are always welcoming and make everyone feel like a regular. I love the fact that the family are always on site and happy to chat. Definitely the boss is mum Dany who can always be found manning the till at the back of the restaurant. From there she has the perfect view over the entire premises and is able to keep her eye on everything going on around her.

How it all began

Keller Beach was created in 1931 by Joseph Keller, a great cook but also a musician in his time. He was the person who transformed this idyllic beach into a place for parties and socialising. Among the first guests who helped make Plage Keller legendary were, Charlie Chaplin, Maurice Chevalier, Raimu, Pierre Dac and tennis champion Suzanne Lenglen. Other famous guests included Churchill and Picasso. After Joseph Keller the beach was owned by two further families before being bought by the Bensimons in 1988.

When the Bensimons bought the beach restaurant it was nothing like what you see today. Basically they bought a shed but a shed in one of the most exceptional locations in Cap d’Antibes.

There was no electricity and in the evenings the beach was dead. In those days people didn’t venture this far out of town in the evenings.  Through hard work and determination todays’ Plage Keller is a famous Antibes institution  and it is always busy day and night. People come from all over the world to dine and relax here. Of course it is also a favourite of the locals some of whom have been coming here for decades.

The restaurant “Le César” is now quoted in Gault Millau and Michelin for the excellence of its wild fish specialties.  There are 80 regular employees, including 23 cooks and more staff when there is a private event going on.

Asides from the excellent service and quality of food it is the beauty of the location and the crystal blue sea which attracts people to this wonderful place.

Philippe Bensimon very kindly invited me for a complimentary lunch recently with Champagne of course! It was delicious!! After feeling suitably spoiled he joined me for coffee and we chatted about his life and how his family came to own Plage Keller.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Nice. My grand-father had a wonderful restaurant there called l’univers. It was a very busy and very well known restaurant back then. They were open very late at night so many of the local theatre staff and artists would come to eat there after their shows.

There was always a great buzz there as you can imagine with all the artists and actors.

My grandfather worked there with his three daughters so it was a typical Nicoise family business. They were open all the time, every day and very late into the evening. My grandfather loved people and socialising was his life It was this and his big character which made the restaurant such a success.

The family eventually sold the restaurant 30 years ago to open Plage Keller.

What made your family choose to come to Cap d’Antibes specifically.

It was the location! The family were quite visionary by coming here, they knew that they could make something amazing here even though it would need a lot of work to make it into what it is today. However  the beach came with a lease which comes to an end in 2020. We are hoping that we will be able to extend the lease but at the moment we honestly don’t know what’s going to happen.

The fact that we were leasing the space for a limited amount of time was of course a risk but my parents really wanted a business where they could work hard during the summer and then enjoy their family and have free time in the winter. Plage Keller offered them this opportunity. So, when I was 18 years old my family moved here from Nice.

What was it like being an 18 year old on the Cap?

It was great! I was playing tennis a lot back then and went to a local college in Antibes which had an emphasis on sport.  I had many good friends so of course being a teenager life was fabulous here, I have many fond memories of those times.

What happened to the Tennis?

I discovered other things which kind of interfered with the tennis. Things such as bars and girls, typical teenage things.

I was good at tennis but I wasn’t the best. If you want to pursue tennis professionally then you need to be on the top of your game. You need to commit to it 100% which can be difficult when you are an adolescent. Basically I wasn’t good enough or focused enough to pursue it professionally.

What made you decide to enter the restaurant business?

It was kind of a trap I fell into really. I was 18 or 19 and a member of staff didn’t turn up for work. My parents asked me to help out. After a few times covering for people I discovered that I quite liked it. I liked the relationship with the guests and also enjoyed working in a team. I realised that it was a good place to work.

After a few years I decided I wanted to go into this business seriously so I went to study at Lausanne catering school in Switzerland. I stayed there for 4 years spending 6 months training and then 6 months working. During that time I travelled a lot and trained in various establishments. My first job after completing my studies was at the intercontinental in Paris where I remained for four years.

After that I went to George IV Paris for two years where I learnt five star service. Everything I learned during that time I brought back with me and put into practice when I opened the Vieux Murs in Antibes. Owning that restaurant was a very wonderful experience but finally I decided to come to Plage Keller and work with the family. Keller was getting bigger and busier and it was becoming a lot for my parents to run by themselves. So I sold the Veiux Murs and came to work here.

How has the Cap changed since you were 18?

It has become much more prestigious than it was. Many new residents have bought here and restored many of the old buildings which were run down before. When I arrived in 2006 we saw many Russians buying up the properties here and we thought they were crazy paying the prices they were paying. However it seems they bought well as the area has since become much more exclusive and properties sell for millions. Basically the Cap has become a very luxurious and desirable place to be.

The main problem we have now is security on the Cap. Because of the levels of tourists and new home owners the Cap is less safe than it was before. There is quite a lot of crime, by that I mean burglaries so we are working hard with the Mairie, local businesses and home owners on making Cap d’Antibes safer.

What do you love about job.

The people first and foremost! We have a tiny percentage of difficult guests but the majority are really nice. Not everyone is a perfect customer but no matter what we treat everybody the same and remain professional at all times.

What’s your main role in the business?

My main responsibility is the running of the kitchen and management of the staff. I am also in charge of Communication,  PR and Marketing. It’s very important for us to develop the image of the beach so we are working a lot on the website and social media at the moment. I also take care of investment and future plans in order to make the restaurant more productive. We are constantly evolving and improving as much as we can but without changing the essence of the business.

What have you modernised in recent years?

As I mentioned before we are working on developing our online presence at the moment among other things. When changing or developing any element of a business the main thing is to make the guests think that nothing has changed while modernising at the same time. It is very important to me that Keller remains consistent and familiar to our guests. Many of our clients come back every year so it is important that they see the same faces and have the same experience they have enjoyed over the years when they visit us.

There are many other things which I would like to work on and improve on but sometimes it can be difficult. We are so busy when we are open that it’s impossible for me to focus on anything other than the day to day running of Keller.

My main aim is to make people happy over and above everything else. It’s a lot of work and a lot of investment and commitment but it is definately worth it.

What’s your favourite dish on the menu?

The most popular dish are the artichokes, with light anchovi dressing, and the deep fried calamari. Both dishes are simple but fresh. My personal favourite is White Seabass baked in a salt crust. This is probably pour most popular dish.

Your most memorable event at Keller?

I have two actually. Our biggest challenge was welcoming 700 people on the two beaches for a cocktail evening. It was a commercial launch held by Orpi for all of their estate agency owners. There were cocktails, music and dancing. It was an amazing evening. To organise the team and the production of such a large event was very challenging and exciting for me.

My other favourite event was for just two guests. We were booked by a lady who wanted to surprise her husband with a special date night and she asked if we could privatise the beach for them. Of course we said yes. The beach and the pontoon were set up and decorated  just for the two of them. It was very beautiful and very romantic.

Where is your favourite place on the Cap?

Eden Roc. I love it there! Their main bar or the rooftop bar are my favourite locations on the Cap.

What do you do when not working?

I spend time with my family, I have a beautiful wife and three children. I also still like to play tennis and I enjoy spending time with friends too.

At the moment I am also renovating a new house in Villeneuve Loubet so this takes up a lot of my time.

Favourite month on the Cap?

September because there is less pressure, there are less children, so less noise. The people who come in September are calmer and less demanding too, it’s much more relaxed for us.

If you could pick up Plage Keller and drop it onto any beach in the world where would it be?

I have had a lot of proposals to open a Plage Keller in different countries but I think Miami maybe. Many customers from there have told me that they don’t have our kind of service there so maybe somewhere in Miami.

What do you do in the winter?

I am actually always working, even in winter when the restaurant is closed. I do take a family vacation at some point during which I do try to switch off.

In the winter there is still lots to do. We have the upcoming events to organise, meetings with clients, suppliers and future guests. Winter is also when I can implement some of the ideas I have had throughout the summer. Then  of course there is the financing and marketing which I do from our office in Juan Les Pins. However, unlike in the summer, in winter I generally work regular office hours and get to lead a relatively normal family life.

Describe your typical summer day.

I get up between 7.30 and 9am. I have children so it’s impossible to sleep longer than that. It’s sometimes the only time in the day I get to see them because I often work late.

Then I drive to Keller for around lunchtime and that’s where I stay for the rest of the day. We have a lot of events in the summer which end at maybe 2am and then we have to clean up, pay people etc so I am usually never home before 3am or 4am.

Who is your oldest customer?

We have a few actually. There are a lot of families who have been coming here since my parents started. We have known some of our guests since they were children and now they come back with their own families. It’s nice because they have watched us evolve and congratulate us on how we have developed the business. They are still coming back every year so I know we are doing something right.

Who is your most famous diner?

George Clooney. He came last year with Julia Roberts. We also welcomed Gweneth Paltrow once, who I love. There are also many French stars who come to eat here, mainly during the festival but also during the rest of the summer.

What is the average price to come here per person?

For Lunch including beach: 80.00 Euros

For Dinner with drinks: 90.00 Euros

Open April-September

Bookings: 04 93 61 28 23

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