Restaurants in Nice
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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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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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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.
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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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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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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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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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Terres de Truffes
At this small, exquisite place, head chef Arnaud Leclercq uses Provençal truffles to create seasonal sensations ranging from pastry-wrapped pigeon stuffed with foie gras and truffles to brie layered with truffles, to caramel of truffles. Obviously not the place to go if you're not a fan of the Tuber melanosporum…
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Aphrodite
The uninspired interior might be nothing to write home about (although the tomato plants growing in pots around the glassed-in terrace are a nice touch) but David Faure's food is. Dish names take up at least three lines on the menu, sauces are delicate, there's shoals of fish and hats off to the chef for his wholly vegetarian menu
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Blue Beach
Much of the seashore is backed by beach restaurants offering predictable Mediterranean cuisine and the chance to dip between courses. Food at Blue Beach is a cut above the rest, plus it hosts free jamming sessions with musicians performing at the Nice Jazz Festival and interesting dinner conferences on Niçois history and culture in July.
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Le Safari
The only restaurant on touristy Cours Saleya that merits your attention, Le Safari serves Niçois specialities – daube de boeuf (beef stew), petite friture (fried small fish) and petits farcis – on a bustling heated terrace and a more romantic (smoke-free) wood-beamed dining room lined with jars of olives.
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L'Escalinada
Lunch under a stripy awning or dine on the candle-lit terrace with a decent bottle of wine and good, unpretentious local fare such as daube, delicious homemade gnocchi, or, if you’re game, the house speciality – testicules de mouton panés (sheep’s testicles in batter).
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Karr
Hugely popular for lunch with working 30-somethings, this spacious contemporary eating space with crowded street terrace is just the ticket for dining with a difference: think mussel soup, warm oven-baked goat's cheese with honey and almonds, lobster risotto or veal escalope with a stuffed artichoke (in season).
reviewed
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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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Fenocchio
The best place to beat Nice’s heat is this glacier, serving 50 flavours of ice cream – eschew predictable favourites and indulge in a new taste sensation: black olive, tomato-basil, rhubarb, avocado, rosemary, calisson (almond biscuit frosted with icing sugar), lavender, ginger or liquorice.
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La Cantine de Lulu
Lulu - Lucien Brych - is the name behind this illustrious bistro where local specialities and all the great French classics are eaten with vigour by an appreciative, regular crowd. Friday is aïoli, stockfish and bouillabaisse (order in advance)day. Lulu's Canteen is small; arrive on the dot.
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Voyageur Nissart
No frills, just good solid portions of traditional Niçois fare, served speedily and with a smile ensure this small three generation-run family bistro near the train station makes it in practically every travel guide. Going strong since 1908, its clientele nonetheless remain fairly local.
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Chez René Socca
Forget about presentation and manners; here, it’s all about taste. Grab a portion of socca (chickpea-flour pancake) or a plate of petits farcis (stuffed vegetables) and head across the street to the bar for a grand pointu (glass) of red, white or rosé.
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