Restaurants in Côte D’Azur
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Nissa Socca
This inexpensive joint in Nice's ambient old town is a good bet for authentic niçoise cuisine, from the eponymous socca to a slice of pissaladière (a thick crust covered with puréed onions and garlic, topped with anchovies and olives) or its Italian ancestor, the pizza.
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La Taca d'Oli
No wonder the bagna cauda (raw mixed veg dipped into a pot of warm tangy anchovy paste known as anchoïade)at this tiny old-town bistro dating to 1947 is so legendary: the same chef has been making it here for the past 17 years! A shared portion of bagna pan (raw red mullet and sea bream fillets dipped in hot fish soup) ordered alongside it makes a perfect supper for two.
You might almost believe you're in Italy when you sit on the terrace of this restaurant in Vieux Nice, which is located in one of the quarter's tiny streets. Here, you can enjoy delicious Niçois specialties like raviolis or petits farcies (stuffed vegetables).
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Z Plage
Lunch at the beach restaurant-bar of Hôtel Martinez is an unforgettable experience. Languish on white-cushioned teak seating beneath white colonial-style umbrellas and sip unusual freshly squeezed juices (fancy a pineapple, litchi and raspberry juice? or how about strawberry, lemon, basil and pineapple, Madame?) and fusion frappées (smoothies). The Zen orange and peach purée with Chaï spices is Zen indeed.
Swedish massages and reflexology sessions (cost involved) can be indulged in before or after lunch. In July and August, tapas is served in the company of cocktails and electro lounge jazz with DJ Max Léonidas & Sax from 18:00.
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Le Club 55
What started out as a simple canteen for the crew of And God Created Woman in the 1950s is now the hippest joint on the beach. Dine at tightly packed tables beneath sails strung from trees, drink from plump white sofas on the sand, and pay to be a beach bum on a white cushioned mattress beneath umbrella or hip paillote (a smart straw shack) on the designer beach. Rumbling tummies with no reservation can opt for a salad or sandwich at the twig-topped beach bar nearer the water.
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Le Sporting
There’s a bit of everything on the menu at always-packed Le Sporting, but the speciality is hamburger topped with foie gras and morel cream sauce (surprisingly great, if gut-busting). The Brittany-born owner also serves perfect buckwheat crêpes, honest lunch deals, and a simple salad and croque monsieur (open-faced grilled cheese with béchamel sauce). Drawback: cigarette smoke, especially near the open storefront. Reservations essential.
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Les Épicureans
If you don't have time to visit the glamorous, pint-sized principality of Monaco, 18km east of Nice, this wood-and-white-tableclothed place overlooking a pretty fountained square brings Monégasque cuisine to you. What's more, it's so expertly prepared that Monaco's monarch, Prince Albert, comes to dine here. House specialties include barbajuans (tiny fried ravioli with gaspacho sauce) and cocottes (cast-iron casserole dishes).
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Le Poivrier
Tucked away on one of Fréjus’ pretty market squares, you’d never guess from the cute alfresco set-up that downstairs is a grandiose vaulted dining room with a monumental fireplace. A Templar’s cross on the wall suggests this was a garrison room many centuries ago. Nowadays, Le Poivrier is a wonderful address serving exquisitely fresh dishes inspired by local traditions and faraway climes (the owner is an avid traveller).
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Chez Fuchs
This casual, unpretentious bar-restaurant is a truly authentic family-run affair where noisy, happy Tropeziens hang out. It's notable for the massive range of cigars it sells, and for its carefully prepared traditional dishes: stuffed courgettes, artichokes à la barigoule (traditional Provençal dish of artichokes braised in a tangy white wine broth) and seafood. It positively heaves - book ahead.
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La Petite Maison
Nice’s hottest table draws celebs and politicians for its happening scene and elegantly executed Niçois specialities. We love the drama of the noisy, high-ceilinged room, aglow with flickering candlelight, and the contemporary spins of local classics, but waiters putter (unless you’re famous), portions run small and tables are packed together. Still, it’s tops for a splashy night out. Reservations essential.
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Restaurant du Gésu
Locals rave about this no-frills eating house, run with dynamism and a huge dose of wit by the most gravelly-voiced patron on the Riviera. The menu is simple - Niçois beignets (fritters) followed by pizza, escalope or homemade pasta with a choice of sauce, house speciality sauce daube (a meaty broth sauce) included. Find Gésu tucked on an old-town square in the shade of a church.
reviewed
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Kei's Passion
He might only be 26 years old but Japanese hot shot Keisuke Matsushima, alias Kei, makes heads turn at Kei's Passion, a minimalist space dedicated to gastronomy and crowned with a shiny Michelin star within a year of its opening. Cuisine is overwhelmingly Mediterranean (lots of Italian influence in there) with a subtle dash of the Orient, while the wine cellar, notably, is predominantly organic.
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Luc Salsedo
The cuisine of Salsedo, a young chef who’s built a fine reputation, is local and seasonal. His menu (which, unusually, caters well for vegetarians) changes every 10 days to reflect the mood of the market stalls. The food is delightful and served without pomp on plates, rustic boards or authentic cast-iron pots. The wine list is another hit, with an all-French cast from white to red and rosé.
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Luna Rossa
Luna Rossa is like your dream Mediterranean dinner come true: fresh pasta, exquisitely cooked seafood (pan-fried John Dory, grilled sea bass, sautéed king prawns), sun-kissed vegetables (artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus tips) and divine meats (beef carpaccio with truffle and parmesan shavings). Wash it down with one of the excellent bottles of red or rosé from the cellar.
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La Merenda
Closed at weekends, with no phone number or credit card machine, La Merenda is one of a kind. This tiny restaurant serves some of the most unusual fare in town: stockfish (dried cod soaked in running water for a few days and then simmered with onions, tomatoes, garlic, olives and potatoes) is the house speciality, as is tripe. La Merenda also serves Bellet wines, a rare local vintage.
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Atelier du Goût
His full name is Jouni Tormanen but everyone knows this overtly modern, 30-something Finnish chef, under the wing of Ducasse until branching out on his own, as Jouni. In southern France since 1993, the gastronomic dynamo impresses at his 'taste workshop', Atelier du Goût, with a simple choice (but still dead tricky to choose) of three starters, three mains and three desserts.
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Le Padouk
A big address houses culinary giant, chef Bruno Sohn, who stuns palates with a cuisine oozing originality at Le Padouk, on the third floor of Palais de la Méditerranée. Be it octopus and red mullet prepared like stockfish or a sweet feast of almond jelly, roasted apricots, exotic sorbet and basil syrup, Sohn insists on throwing an imaginative twist into his cooking pot.
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Chantecler
In a sumptuous Regency dining room, the Negresco's Michelin-starred restaurant, run by locally trained Jean-Denis Rieubland, is no ordinary restaurant. Make sure you're in a grand mood if you're going to splash out: the menu features treats such as sea bass in an almond crust with artichoke mousse or double-roasted veal cutlets served with a potato and black-pudding millefeuille.
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Le Riad
At the end of an alley in the Carré d’Or nightlife district, Le Riad imports Moroccan hospitality and authentic cooking, with classics such as tagine (stews cooked in conical-covered earthenware), méchoui (spit-roasted lamb) and a real pastilla (pigeon pie) – rare even in Morocco. On weekend nights a belly dancer sets a party mood. Excellent service.
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A Braïjade Méridiounale
In a beautiful stone-walled dining room framed by heavy wooden beams, A Braïjade’s speciality is flambé skewers (think orange-marinated chicken and pesto-marinated prawns flambéed with Cognac). Not only does it taste good, it also looks fabulous (the kebab is flambéed at your table). The menu, which includes an aperitif, glass of local wine and digestive, is excellent value.
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Auberge de l’Oumède
Epicureans come from far and wide to savour Jean-Pierre Frezia’s divine Provençal cuisine in the idyllic setting of his hilltop mas (traditional Provençal stone building). With red mullet and spinach cannelloni, grilled catch of the day and sensational desserts, all accompanied by some very fine wines, dining at l’Oumède is a once-in-a-lifetime treat.
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La Table Alziari
Run by the grandson of the famous Alziari olive oil family, this citrus-coloured restaurant off the busy rue Pairolière is not here to brag about anything. The day’s menu is chalked on a blackboard, with local specialities such as morue à la niçoise (cod served with potatoes, olives and a tomato sauce) or grilled goat’s cheese washed down with regional wines.
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Le Bouquet Garni
What you see is what you get at bouquet garni (think a bunch of Provençal herbs), a dead-simple bistro and bar à vins (wine bar) down an alley off the main pedestrian street. Locals form the bulk of the no-frills-seeking clientele and the brochette de volaille à l'estragon (poultry skewer with tarragon)hits the spot just fine.
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Thérèsa
Essential tasting for every visiting palate is socca, a savoury, griddle-fried pancake made from chickpea flour and olive oil. The socca cooked up by the flamboyant Thérèsa (; Cours Saleya market ;08:00-13:00 Tue-Sun) at her cours Saleya market stall with plastic tables beneath the awning is legendary. Order a glass of rosé with it.
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La Table du Marché
With sister 'market tables' in Alpine ski resort Avoriaz and Marrakech, this simple (for St-Trop) yet stylish bistro is something of a success story. Should you want to learn the secrets behind Christophe Leroy's market-driven cuisine, sign up for a session in his atelier de cuisine. Die-hard enthusiasts can also dine at Leroy's Les Moulins de Ramatuelle.
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Texas City
You'll find excellent enchiladas and gourmet guacamole at this adobe-walled place adorned with authentic Americana including quirky curios like an 1844 framed certificate for the Ladies Fort Hill Total Abstinence Society (from alcohol that is; but don't let it put you off your margarita). It mainly caters to a local clientele, hence portions aren't Texan-sized.
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