"Panorama du Pyla is a superb camp site, it's on the south side of the dune, and seemingly half way up, and what's good about it is that there are great sea views from the site. The restaurant is situated in a prime spot in the site and has a large terrace with sea views, Cap Ferrat and the sand bars in between adding interest.This year we stayed for two nights and ate here three times. The meal that stood out was the lunch we ate prior to leaving. The meal was perfect for the very hot day it was. Lunch is no choice with 3 courses with wine and coffee at just under 20 euros. Starting with Carpaccio of St Jacques with agrumées; thinly sliced raw marinated scallops on thinly sliced pieces of orange, with pink grapefruit segments around the outside of the plate. It looked as if it wouldn't work but the marinated scallops combined wonderfully with the orange, totally refreshing and just the thing for a hot day. The main course was linguini with veal in white- wine sauce, sun dried tomatoes, excellent pesto and baked parmesan. Again, this was excellent, light but full of flavour. Pudding was red fruit gratin with vanilla ice cream, generous in quantity and served with good quality ice cream.The lunch we had last September was equally good, but what I can't understand is why lunch seems so much better than dinner. Of course, at dinner time the restaurant comes into its own. There's a wonderful view, and the sun sets into the sea, but this comes at a price that I don't think the food alone justifies. Apart from specials and pizzas, there are no main course dishes under 20 Euros. Amongst the dishes we ate at dinner were: six oysters, very good and reasonably priced, a starter of foie gras and caramelised apple, possibly trying too hard, a goat's cheese parcel with crispy cooked ham, and pizza and andouillette (not together) as main courses. Everything was perfectly acceptable, but nothing really set the tower alight. Service was very friendly, almost perfect and what was impressive was how things were put right when a couple of mistakes were made. My partner booked a table for both evenings, but on the second evening our booking had been put into a page in the diary for the following evening. The restaurant was full but we were given a good table quickly with a minimum of fuss. I also ended up with the wrong starter – it could have well been my pronunciation – but this was changed without a moment’s hesitation.The only sour note was sounded on the first note at the start of our first meal by a waiter who was insistent I should order a bottle of wine not a carafe. Unfortunately he was like a terrier and wouldn’t let go. It put me in a bad mood for much of my meal – I was still grumpy as I ate my andouillette and chips, thinking that this was a more appropriate dish for a lunch time menu than an evening meal with a spectacular view. I was thinking of the 130 euro bill we came away with in September for a meal that didn't justify the cost and was trying to be careful as we had nearly two weeks left in France and had other places to eat at. I’d like to say this place is over-priced at dinner time, but that argument doesn’t hold up because the restaurant was full or virtually full both evenings we were there. Lunch on the other hand is an absolute bargain.Why did you return? I hear the question. You can't beat the campsite for location, and my partner loves the place."
