My Mother, daughter and I are going to the South of France at the end of May beginning of June. We will be in Saint Paul de Vence, Vence, Nice, Antibes and St. Tropez. We are looking for great local fare and would love any suggestions. Also if you have any must do or must see, please feel free to recommend.
Truly appreciate any suggestions
Nice has it’s own micro-cuisine called cuisine nissarde. As with many regional specialties and food products in France, a lot of effort is put into identifying and preserving these traditions. To that end, there is a list of restaurants that have earned this label. They are worth seeking out. There is nowhere else you can find this cuisine except in Nice.
As one example, although Salade Nicoise is a well-known dish internationally, salade nissarde does not contain any cooked vegetables. So… no cooked potato or green beans as is commonly found.
Here is the list:
In general, this area is a mecca for Modern Art. The Fondation Maeght in St Paul is a landmark for Contemporary Art, and Biot is not only beautiful but is the home of a national museum dedicated to Fernand Leger. Gorgeous Tourettes-sur-loup should not be missed. Hauts Cagnes-sur-mer contains the Chateau Musee Grimaldi, and also hosts important modern art exhibits.
Thank you for your reply Steve. We are so excited about so many of the art attractions as well as eating our way through these charming villages.
For Nicoise cuisine, you may try La Merenda in the old town of Nice or Chez Davia in the Carre d’Or. You will find Nicoise specialties throughout the region, but those are two of the best known (and are not in the link previously – interestingly). Archiaddo is on that link above, and is OK, though it is more Italian leaning. Le Safari is probably the best of the cafes that line the Cours Saleya market (better for people watching than food). Some Nicois specialties include Boeuf en Daube (beef braised/stewed in red wine), ravioli nicois (stuffed with the daube and sauced with the liquid), petits farcies (stuffed vegetables), socca (chickpea crepe), barbajuan (stuffed fried savory bites) and pan bagnat (salad nicoise in a sandwich)
If you don’t need strictly local cuisine, but French/Provencal and non-touristy places in Nice, you might try Fine Guele, Bistrot d’Antoine, Comptoir du Marche in the Old Town or for more modern takes L’Alchimie and La Cantine du Meme are two very popular new places. Les Agiteurs, Pur et V, Jan and Flaveur are all notable at the top end.
If you want to eat at the Colombe d’Or in St. Paul de Vence, reserve ahead in season. And it is one of those places that tend to be overpriced. They get packed and was just OK (you might try le Tilleul instead). Some of the other notable places are outside the old village. In Vence, La Cassoulette in the old town was good, but it has been a while. Les Pecheurs is notable in Antibes, but I have not dined enough in the town to find something more everyday (we are part-timers still in Nice).
Hi Gooster,
Thank you again for all of these wonder suggestions.
I’m wondering if you have recommendations for any casual, cafes that are really delicious but not Michelin Star?
Just a clarifying question — what do you mean by “cafe”. For some can mean anything from an establishment with all-day service with a limited menu to something more extensive, but still with extensive outdoor seating. All of the non-starred places I mentioned are relatively casual. Most of the places also now provide outdoor seating.
In Nice, Le Safari on Cours Saleya has an OK menu but a great terrasse where you can watch the market traffic. There are literally a ton in the pedestrian zone with not that great food but a place to have an apero with some snacks. There is also Little Boho on Place Garibaldi, outside the main tourist haunts, or CCE on rue Bonaparte, in the trendy area once called le petit Marais. These have continuous service, though more extensive menus, plus other places right nearby with extensive outdoor sections.
Hi Gooster,
When I say cafe, I guess I’m thinking of simple cuisine, less fussy. I know when we travel for two weeks, we like to have very special, interesting meals but also like to have some meals with clean, simple ingredients, fresh, and very good quality.
Gooster,
Can you explain to me how to place my post in a different area of the platform?
TeriT – it looks like the mods moved your original post into the France forum, where it belongs.
Regarding simple cuisine with clean, fresh ingredients, there are generally many choices on the menus that are less heavy than the food of the north. I think that is true of most of the restaurants I posted in my first response – all of which clearly cook everything on site, with fresh ingredients although the Nicois restaurants may be a bit heavier. To places like Alchimie, Cantine du Meme, Bistrot d’Antoine, I’d add Bar des Oiseux, Lavomatique, Rouge, Peixes. Now these are restaurants, although generally casual. There are of course places where you can get salads and bowls, or the Olim casual spots, that specialize in fresh jars and turines. (To be honest, we just cook at home when we don’t want anything complex)
Gooster,
That’s exactly what I am looking for. Thank you again for all of your recommendations, I can’t wait to enjoy them.
