Club 55 St Tropez: Why This Simple Beach Hut Still Rules the French Riviera

You’ve probably heard the rumors about the bill. People love to gossip about the €50 crudité platter—a literal wooden crate of raw vegetables—and the eye-watering price of a bottle of chilled Rosé. But if you think Club 55 St Tropez is just about burning money to look important, you're missing the point. It’s actually kinda the opposite.

In a world where beach clubs now feel like noisy outdoor nightclubs with thumping bass and "champagne showers," Le Club 55 is an anomaly. It’s quiet. It’s rustic. It’s basically a high-end canteen where the chairs are mismatched and the floor is just sand.

That’s the secret.

The philosophy here isn't "the customer is king." It’s "the customer is a friend." This approach has kept it at the top of the Pampelonne food chain since 1955, and honestly, nobody else has been able to replicate the vibe.

The Brigitte Bardot Incident and the Birth of a Legend

Most famous spots have some corporate origin story involving a massive investment group. Not this place. In 1953, Bernard de Colmont and his wife Geneviève bought a small plot of land on the beach at Ramatuelle. They lived in a van, built a tiny wooden shack, and had no electricity or running water. It was just a family retreat.

Then came the film crew.

In 1955, Roger Vadim arrived to film And God Created Woman starring a young, relatively unknown Brigitte Bardot. The crew saw the de Colmonts' little hut and asked if they could cook for the team. Geneviève said yes. When the movie turned Bardot into a global sex symbol and St Tropez into the epicenter of cool, the "club" was born. They didn't even have a license at first. They just kept cooking for the people who showed up.

It’s wild to think that the most exclusive destination in the Mediterranean started because a family was willing to share their lunch with a movie crew. Today, Bernard’s son, Patrice de Colmont, still runs the place with the same relaxed, almost stubborn adherence to simplicity. He’s often seen walking around in a simple linen shirt, greeting regulars like they’re cousins.

What Actually Happens Behind Those Blue Gates

If you’re planning to go, don’t expect a red carpet.

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You arrive either by car—navigating the dusty, narrow Route de l'Epi—or, more likely if you're a regular, by tender. The sight of the Club 55 jetty is iconic. Sleek wooden Riva boats and rubber zodiacs shuttle guests from massive yachts anchored in the bay. You step off the boat, walk down the wooden planks, and enter a canopy of tamarisk trees and bamboo.

The layout is a bit of a maze.

There’s a small boutique at the front selling €300 tunics and straw hats that look like they cost €10. Then you hit the bar area, which is always packed. The main dining area is shaded by canvas sails. It’s breezy. It’s loud in a "happy dinner party" sort of way. You’ll see a billionaire in a wrinkled t-shirt sitting next to a family with three kids, and maybe a Hollywood A-lister trying to blend in behind oversized sunglasses.

The Food: Luxury in its Rawest Form

Let’s talk about that crudité. It’s the most famous dish on the menu.

It’s literally a basket. You get whole peppers, stalks of celery, radishes, hard-boiled eggs, and a big bowl of anchovy-based dip (anchoïade). It sounds like a joke until you eat it. The produce is sourced from the family's own farm, Domaine de la Bouillabaisse. Everything is organic. Everything tastes like it was pulled from the dirt an hour ago.

Other staples include:

• The "Tarte Tropézienne"—the creamy, brioche-based dessert that Bardot herself supposedly named.
• Grilled sea bass (Loup de Mer) seasoned with just salt, lemon, and olive oil.
• Calamari that isn't rubbery or over-breaded.
• Bottles of Château d'Esclans or Ott Rosé that seem to disappear faster than water.

The service is fast. It has to be. They do hundreds of covers a day. The waiters wear white, they’re efficient, and they don’t tolerate nonsense. If you’re rude, don't expect a good table next time.

The Unspoken Rules of Club 55 St Tropez

You can't just "book" a table online two days before and expect the front row. The reservation system is legendary and, frankly, a bit opaque.

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1. The Telephone Game: Regulars have the direct number to the booking desk. If you’re a first-timer, call weeks in advance. If they say they’re full, they probably are. But sometimes showing up at 11:30 AM and being incredibly polite to the staff works wonders.
2. Dress Code: Don't overdress. If you turn up in a suit or a tight "clubbing" dress and heavy makeup, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Think "expensive beach bum." Linen, cotton, bare feet or flip-flops. The goal is to look like you’ve been on a boat for a week and just happened to wander in.
3. The Bill: Yes, it’s expensive. A lunch for two can easily hit €400 without even trying. You aren't paying for the ingredients; you're paying for the 70 years of history and the fact that you’re sitting in the most coveted real estate in France.
4. Timing: There are usually two seatings. The 1:30 PM slot is the classic, but the later seating (around 3:30 PM or 4:00 PM) is often more relaxed as the sun starts to dip.

Why the "Simplicity" is a Luxury Flex

There’s a specific type of wealth that hates showing off.

That’s the demographic Club 55 St Tropez caters to. In a world of digital noise, this place feels analog. There’s no loud DJ. There are no dancers on tables. It’s about conversation. It’s about the "Art de Vivre."

Patrice de Colmont once famously said that the club is about "human ecology." He wants to preserve the soul of the beach. While other clubs are expanding and adding swimming pools and retail malls, 55 stays almost exactly the same. They still use the same blue and white color palette. They still serve the same bread.

This consistency is why it survives. People who visited in the 70s can come back today and find the same spot under the same tree. That kind of nostalgia is priceless for the jet-set crowd.

Debunking the Myths

Is it a tourist trap?

Sorta, if you go in with the wrong expectations. If you go expecting a five-star Michelin experience with white tablecloths and hushed tones, you’ll be disappointed. It’s a beach shack that got famous. If you go expecting a wild party with bottles of Dom Perignon being sprayed, you’re at the wrong beach. You want Nikki Beach or Bagatelle for that.

Is it "over"?

Every year, some travel writer says St Tropez is dead and that Ibiza or Mykonos or Montenegro is the "new" spot. And every year, the harbor at St Tropez is jam-packed with the largest yachts in the world, and the reservation book at Club 55 is full. It’s not over. It’s an institution.

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Realities of the Pampelonne Strip

Pampelonne beach isn't actually in St Tropez; it’s in Ramatuelle. It’s a long, crescent-shaped stretch of sand that has undergone massive environmental changes recently. A few years ago, the local government forced many clubs to tear down permanent structures to protect the dunes.

Club 55 survived because it was already mostly "temporary" in its construction. It fits the environmental mandate. This move actually cleared out a lot of the lower-quality spots, making the remaining clubs even more exclusive.

If you're visiting, keep in mind that the beach itself is public. You can walk right past the Club 55 sun loungers without paying a dime. But you won't get that specific patch of sand or the blue mattress unless you’ve secured a spot. The beach beds are a separate cost from the restaurant, usually around €50-€100 depending on the season.

Practical Steps for Your Visit

If you're actually going to do this, don't wing it. Here is the move-by-move playbook:

• Secure the Table First: Call +33 4 94 55 55 55. Do not email. Do not DM. They don't care about your Instagram following. Call them. If you’re staying at a high-end hotel like Byblos or La Réserve, have their concierge do it. They have the "in."
• Parking Strategy: If you're driving, get there early. The parking lot fills up and the traffic on the way out at 5:00 PM is a nightmare. There is one road in and one road out.
• The Beach Bed Tipping Point: If you want a bed, book it when you book the table. They are often reserved for restaurant guests first.
• The "Order": Start with the Crudités. It’s the ritual. Then move to the grilled fish. Drink the house Rosé—it’s usually excellent and slightly cheaper than the big-name labels.
• Payment: They take cards, but keep some cash for tipping the boat drivers or the valets.

The Final Word on the 55 Experience

Ultimately, Club 55 St Tropez is a feeling. It’s the smell of pine trees mixed with sea salt. It’s the sound of ice clinking in a bucket of Rosé while the Mistral wind blows through the bamboo roof.

It’s not "perfect." It’s crowded, it’s expensive, and the staff might ignore you if they don’t know you. But it is authentic. In a travel landscape that is becoming increasingly sanitized and "Instagram-ready," 55 remains stubbornly itself. It’s a piece of history that you can still touch, eat, and drink.

If you want to understand the French Riviera, you have to spend an afternoon here. Just don't forget to eat your radishes.

Actionable Insights for Travelers

1. Book 3-4 weeks in advance for July and August. For June or September, 10 days out is usually sufficient.
2. Request a table in the "first zone" if you want to be in the heart of the action, but the "garden" area is actually quieter and better for actual conversation.
3. Budget at least €200 per person to fully enjoy the experience without constantly looking at the right side of the menu.
4. Use the "Navette" (shuttle) if you are coming from the St Tropez port; it’s much faster and more scenic than sitting in the gridlocked traffic of the Route des Plages.