The Experience

Beneath the iconic dome of the Palm Beach on Place Franklin Roosevelt, Il Grande is an ode to the elegant and decadent Italy of the 1960s, where glamour meets la dolce vita, and the room delivers that promise visually before you have even looked at the menu. The décor was designed by Franco-Mexican architect Hugo Toro, who gave the historic dome the starring role in the space: red marble floors, Murano glass chandeliers, and a mood that lands somewhere between a film set and a very good dream. The crowd tends toward Cannes at its most turned-out, visitors to the Film Festival, locals celebrating something, couples who made the effort, and groups confident enough to fill a table in a room like this. A review from a French couple visiting in December described the setting as unique and surreal, restored with taste and considerable charm, with a beautiful view that alone justified the reservation.

Entertainment & Atmosphere

The music at Il Grande is a deliberate provocation: R’n’B and hip-hop beats run throughout the evening, creating a contrast between the 1960s Italian glamour of the interior and the sound system that is as bold as it is intentional. This is not a room that apologises for its musical choices, and that contrast is part of what makes it genuinely interesting rather than simply pretty. One guest noted that the playlist was exactly to their liking but the volume through mid-summer was at a level that complicated conversation, and advised visiting in June or September when the seasonal crowd thins and the room breathes more easily. The bar runs through to 2am every night, and the transition from dinner to late drinks happens organically as the kitchen winds down and the music takes over the space in its second act.

Culinary Journey

The kitchen is led by Chef Yiannis Kioroglou, who builds his menu around the culinary treasures of the Italian peninsula, with three dishes singled out as the essentials: the truffle arancini, the paccheri in the chef’s secret tomato sauce, and the scaloppine al limone. The menu is broad and gives the table real options across every register: from Gillardeau oysters and red prawn carpaccio with stracciatella and mandarine sauce at the lighter end, through to a Bistecca alla Fiorentina T-bone at 245 euros or the Wagyu beef tenderloin with foie gras and truffle at 120 euros for those who came to eat seriously. The pasta section is where most tables spend the most time deliberating, and rightly so: the tonnarelli cacio e pepe, the gnocchi with creamy langoustine bisque, and the paccheri Il Grande with its house tomato sauce are the three that appear most often in what guests describe ordering again on a second visit. One reviewer praised the Christmas Eve menu specifically for its balance across land and sea, noting the food was excellent and the service pleasant, which gives a useful picture of the kitchen at its most considered.

Evening Evolution

Il Grande opens every night at 7:30pm and the early hour suits an arrival that takes its time, with cocktails at the bar before the table is properly settled into. The first act is dinner at the full pace the room invites, working through antipasti and pasta before the main courses arrive, with the dome above and the Mediterranean light fading outside the terrace if you are seated in the open-air section. One guest noted that the terrace experience, with its beautiful sea view, was the strongest argument for choosing Il Grande specifically among the options at Palm Beach, and that the setting on a clear summer night was hard to match anywhere else in Cannes. As the kitchen closes and midnight approaches, the bar takes over and the music that has been running through dinner simply gets louder and less apologetic, which, if you came prepared for it, is exactly the right ending to the evening.