Nammos brings the thrum of Psarou to the French Riviera
Picture a Riviera vacation: yachts dotting lagoon blue waters, the rhythm of French jazz playing somewhere or the clink of champagne flutes on some shaded terrace. Cannes offers relief in every sense. Its supple, balmy sunshine once lured in the 19th-century aristocrats. Later, the writers, artists and exiles found respite in its quiet. Fitzgerald found his hot, sweet south here, and with it, seeped in the shadow and shimmer that would haunt Tender is the Night.
Palm Beach
Somewhere at the far end of Cannes’ legendary Croisette, where the promenade begins to thin, lies Palm Beach. Once the epicentre of Riviera decadence in the 1960s—a playground for New Wave directors, starlets, and backgammon-playing royals—this headland emerged from a four-year renovation last year. Palm Beach hosts an array of establishments, from gastronomic experiences to luxury boutiques. Its glitziest crown jewel? Nammos.
Nammos World
Born in Mykonos in 2003, Nammos quickly outgrew its taverna roots, morphing into a lifestyle brand synonymous with a very specific kind of Mediterranean glamour: turquoise waters, bronzed limbs, crustaceans on ice, and house music that starts soft at lunch and gets significantly louder by sunset. With satellite clubs in Dubai, Limassol and London, Nammos has become less of a name and more of a scene.
Nammos Cannes
The Nammos club in Cannes stretches across golden sand, with uninterrupted views of the Bay and the Esterel hills beyond. The design, led by Dimitri Tsigos and Ioanna Iliadi, leans into mid-century French geometry and yacht-club nostalgia, with curving facades and sun-washed textures echoing both modernist architecture and Côte d’Azur glamour. Inside, you’ll spot rattan-backed bar chairs, terrazzo tabletops, and the linens that shift from white to cream as the sun moves.
The food
The menu straddles the Med and Asia, leaning heavily on freshness, finesse, and presentation. There’s a cold bar stacked with glistening langoustines, razor clams, and oysters shucked to order. Main courses riff on Riviera classics: lobster pasta, grilled fish, salt-baked seabream. But don’t skip the simpler fare—a tomato and feta salad lands on the table looking like it belongs in a still life, and the fries (triple-cooked, herbed, and served in silver) vanish quickly. Days here stretch long—aperitifs at lunch, a DJ set by sunset.
The scene
There are two types of Nammos patrons: the ones who book a table for lunch and leave three hours later, and the ones who claim a turquoise dappled lounger by 11 a.m. and don’t move till dusk. Both are right. The beachside loungers are plush and perfectly spaced, serviced by staff who remember your drink order like the back of their hand. There are cocktails with watermelon and bergamot, chilled Provençal rosés, and crisp whites from Santorini. Everything feels calibrated to lull you into one more hour, one more order, one more moment of sun. Evenings shift gear. By dusk, the music amps up, the tables fill out, and the sun dips into the sea behind bobbing yachts.
If you’re arriving by tender, there’s a jetty waiting. If you’re walking in from the Croisette, the path is paved in pink light and pine. But no matter how you arrive, you’ll likely stay longer than planned.
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