Place Rossetti, Vieux Nice... any secret gems just steps away?

Hello, I’ve combed the posts of recommended restaurants and one or two fromageries. I’ve cross-referenced, made some reservations based on what I’ve found. I thank everyone who shares so openly! It’s so helpful.

We’re staying in an apartment in the Place Rossetti and I’m wondering if there is a recommended traiteur nearby, one that’s tucked up the street somewhere that might be considered more “local” rather than tourist-ready. The same for a boulangerie & café. Our experience is that usually a few steps away from a “place” one can usually find a better quality at a better price.

Thanks in advance!

I’m afraid there are no secret gems left, le Vieux Nice is 100% tourist-ready, and has been for quite some time. It won’t come back. Some glimpses of its former splendor may be had at Restaurant du Gesù, in front of the beautiful Baroque church of the same name. The traditional-style niçois food is acceptable though not spectacular. Best option if you want the real “taste” of Nice is to go to La Merenda, on the edge of the old town, that is where it is preserved.
Other options: Le Safari (the grand aïoli is good), Acchiardo, Le Bistrot d’Antoine, Chez Palmyre, La Buteghina, le Bar des OIseaux, le Comptoir du Marché.
Nice is very walkable so get out of the Vieille Ville and try Lou Balico, Chez Davia, Lou Tchitchou (if you can get in — FOH incredibly rude), and I think the area of the harbor (past the Château, easily reachable from place Garibaldi) and the Marché de la Libération are better options for nice, simple, local food than the Vieux Nice is.
I love Le Vieux Nice, the place is still magical, but tourism has almost entirely destroyed its appeal and atmosphere.

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Thank you so much, Carmenere. I have reservations for Acchiardo and La Merenda because I think you had that conversation in a separate thread with others and I have been doing a lot of cross-referencing.

I will look into your other options today and we’ll be sure to make it to the Marché de la Libération because we are staying in an apartment with a kitchen. Merci mille fois!

I’m more familiar with the restaurants as this isn’t my neighborhood:
Boulangeries: Zielinska is known for their natural loaves. In the marche, Mitron usually has a stand. Le Capeline is not far away, and there are also many others (often branches of the same centralized bakery).
Cafe/Coffee Shops: In the new style, La Claque and Blend are nearby. A long standing shop, Cafes Indien, is close by. If you are looking for cafes more for a bite to eat then I can add others (like Marinette). I too encourage you get out of the neighborhood, and the plan to avoid major pedestrian streets and squares is generally a good idea.
Traiteur: I am not familiar with many suggestions in that part of Vieux Nice (just because it is not my quartier). For fresh pasta like traditional ravioli nicoise, Maison Barale is close by, and is a top choice.
In general, what I like is the absence of major chains in the heart of the quartier.

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Gooster, this list is going in my pocket! You’ve got us covered and using this information along with your other restaurant posts I feel like I’m not entering blindly. I really appreciate the time you (and other frequent posters) put into your responses to help others. Thank you!

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if you are into coffee - La Claque is a gem.
Love Zielinska bread as well!

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Just back from Nice - first time there - so limited experience (just for frame of reference).

I agree that everything in the old city is “touristy” in that the entire economy of that area is driven by tourists . . . but we were very happy with most of our meals. The super Tourist (capital T) places are pretty easy to identify just walking around.

We aren’t very good at making reservations, so that means we often can’t get into our “first choice”. You’d think we’d learn but it’s too hard for us to know where we will be at lunch time. And Nice (and France) has a definite “lunch time” (approximately 12-2). If you want to eat at the back end of that time window be prepared to be turned away - if you want to eat after 2pm . . . well be ready to struggle. Totally get that this is how it is, not upset about it - but with adjusting to time changes/etc we often miss the window.

As you’ve been looking through other threads, I’m not sure I have any new/different insights. From the recommendations from other Nice threads (read them all too), we enjoyed:

  • Le Comptoir du Marche
  • Le Lavomatique
  • Bar des Oiseaux
  • Cantine de Meme (not in the old town but not far away either)

One place that was recommended to us by a Brit that has been going to Nice for decades on business was Chez Acchiardo. It’s his favorite place in Old Town and he goes “every time” he is in town.

I wanted to try La Table Alziari only because it’s on a street that is easily missed (intersects a busy street at a pretty tight angle) - and it had been recommended. I was curious if being just a little easy to miss might make it feel a little less “touristy”. But we never made it.

I was SHOCKED how much pizza and frankly mid to southern Italian food there was in Nice. Yes, I know it was once part of Italy, etc, etc - but very few dishes reflected what would have been “traditional” dishes from that region.

My only recommendation would be . . . focus on the smaller restaurants that have visible to open kitchens with small menus. We felt like we had lots of luck when we had to adjust and just find a place to eat. (But I’d need to go somewhere more than once to stick my neck out on here :smiley: ) We also ended up in places where much less English was spoken (if that impacts your experience at all).

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Thimes, thank you! We are familiar with the lunch hours, because, well, we also were turned away. I get a little hangry when I have to wait until dinner at 8pm, so we didn’t make that mistake more than once (or twice!).

Good advice all around, and I’m going to check out Le Comptoir and Cantine de Meme again. There has been so much to peruse that I lose track!

Thank you for sharing your experiences, I appreciate your time and insights.

There is a lot of Italian cuisine (even regional) in increasing quantities in the Old Town and on Rue Massena (pedestrian zone): it reflects the tourist tastes, the number of Italians and the immigrant restauranteurs that come main from central/southern Italy. But there is plenty of Regional (and other International cuisines) represented, especially outside of the tourist zones. I feel like however finally, the “survival of the fittest” is weeding out the weaker restaurants, although those on heavily trafficked areas (Cours Saleya, major places, Rue Massena, etc) can still hang on through the winter. There is finally some turnover on the Cours Saleya but unfortunately I feel like competition can take out some smaller, less financed gems (throughout the city), and that concerns me.

Laurainseattle – you are welcome. Lavomatique and Spark are close to Place Rosetti. Cantine de Meme is in the Carre d’Or, not far from Alchimie and Chez Davia (and the very good le Sejour), I think that Le Carre d’Or and the area across Medecin (centre, Wilson, Carabacel) plus Musiciens (into Liberation) have a wide variety of restaurants, boulangeries, cafes and traiteurs (and in the opposite direction, Le Port and Bonaparte)

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I do agree with the other posters’ replies and you’ve got a good estimation of the Nice offerings there.
It seems to me, also, that the international appeal of Nice had in some way harmed the place, and the best niçoise food I’ve had recently was actually at a relative distance from Nice. The hinterland is worth exploring, not only for its sheer beauty, but that’s also where the traditional auberges and village-square café-restaurants are still standing, untouched. Hôtel Beauséjour in Berre-les-Alpes has new ownership and I’ve heard good things about it (Berre, by the way, is a gorgeous village, as are Peillon, Coaraze, L’Escarène or Lucéram).

At the end of my Substack article about stockfish, probably the most iconic traditional Niçois dish, there is a list of restaurants that do serve it, or may serve it upon request. Chances are that if they carry this extremely distinctive and hard-to-find specialty (which takes days to prepare), whatever else is on the menu should be at least satisfactory.

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Because we have a young one, we primarily eat in, remeber Nice is actually small, so walking to another hood is easy
Poivre Traiteur - Cuisine du Liban @ 13 rue rivoli, great Lebanese food, amazing baba ganoush, we went back 2-3 times. They do have a couple of small
tables.
NERY’S Fromagerie du Carré d’Or great cheese shop
Next door to Nery is a good butcher /traiteur
Down the block is L’Italien for very good Italian products
We normally stay in Musiciens so these are all very close but in the old city there are 2-3 fresh pasta shops… and a bunch of traiteurs.
The area from musiciens towards the train stations hold some surprises…Romanian, Georgian etc and there’s a decent Arab butcher across from the train station that has nice stuff including some kosher products, quite a mix.

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Thank you, Carmenere.
We typically spend 3-7 weeks in un-touristy (does that even exist anymore?) areas of France and we love those auberges and village-square experiences. Unfortunately, this year we’re confined to a two week trip; one of which must be in Paris for family reasons. I’m going to keep your suggestions for our next “free will” trip, though! I’m also going to check out your Substack. Thank you so much.

Morekasha, this list is great and helpful! And we’ve never been to Nice so it’s nice to know that it’s easy walking from one are to the other. Honestly, some of the best international food experiences we’ve had have been in unexpected places. I really appreciate the info about the area Musiciens → train station.

Happy to help. Also, Marches forville in Cannes used to be great, even though it was in Cannes. But these days w/EU regulations, who knows. If you’re going this time of year, it’s a special time, still warm,not hot, less crowds, not uncrowded just not times square and the peak time for fruits & veggies…jealous.

just a note, some consider the few blocks on rue d’angleterre and rue de belgique/rue d’italie a bit rough due to drug activity. It is one of the few areas remaining in the central city that some may warn about, and the city has been working on this. These are in Musiciens, close to the Notre Dame church. The rest of the quarter is fine, especially as you get close to Blvd Victor Hugo, the start of the Carre d’Or.

ah, but that’s a bit away from the heart of musiciens. That’s closer to the train station and just off jean medecin. We stumbled upon that stretch but being new yorkers said, ah fuck, lets hang a left here. The places i suggested are nowhere near this.