Destination: French Riviera | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eat & Drink Nice - Nice Antibes - The Riviera Biot - The Riviera Bormes-les-Mimosas - The Riviera Cannes - The Riviera Cogolin - The Riviera Collobrières - The Riviera Èze - The Riviera Fayence - The Riviera Fréjus - The Riviera Fréjus-Plage - The Riviera La Garde-Freinet - The Riviera Gorbio - The Riviera Gourdon - The Riviera Grasse - The Riviera Grimaud - The Riviera Haut-de-Cagnes - The Riviera Les Issambres - The Riviera Juan-les-Pins - The Riviera Menton - The Riviera Miramar - The Riviera Monaco - The Riviera Mougins - The Riviera Roquebrune-Village - The Riviera Ste-Agnès - The Riviera St-Paul-de-Vence - The Riviera St-Tropez - The Riviera Valbonne - The Riviera Villefranche - The Riviera |
Opening Times
The restaurants listed here are open for lunch and dinner daily unless otherwise stated. Opening hours change frequently and
many restaurants and hotels take an annual holiday in winter. It is always best to telephone before setting out.
Nice's Top Chef Irresistible local dishes such as pâté au pistou and tripes Niçoise are the trademarks of Dominic Le Stanc, former chef of the Hôtel Négresco's famous Chantecler restaurant, and a name synonymous with the very best in Provençal cuisine. Now all eyes are on La Mérenda, newly acquired by Le Stanc - a tiny, rustic restaurant already popular among Niçoise gourmets. Lou Pilha Leva 'Lou Pilha Leva' in local 'Nissart' patois means 'you take away'. At the heart of old Nice, this hole-in-the-wall serves piping hot plates of socca, pissaladière, beignets, farcis, pizza and other Niçoise specialities. Ideal for a snack lunch, with large trestle tables that provide the perfect opportunity to chat to the locals. Fish Dishes The world-famous fish soup, bouillabaisse, originated here as a nourishing family meal, made with up to a dozen different kinds of fish in a rich stock and served with croûtons smeared with rouille (garlicky mayonnaise). Moules (mussel dishes) are also delicious and always good value. Bon appetit! Provençal Wines Tobias Smollett once wrote that 'the local wine-merchants brew a balderdash, and even mix it with pigeon's dung and quick-lime'. That was, admittedly, over 200 years ago, but to avoid choosing such unpalatable 'plonk', make sure the bottle is labelled with a quality-controlled AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée), meaning that the wine is made from recognised varieties of grapes and comes from a certain defined area. Some of the best local wines come from Bellet, Bandol, Cassis and Palette. Christmas Puddings Christmas on the Riviera is a time of great gastronomic importance, when families get together for a special meal called Le Réveillon on Christmas Eve. It usually starts with oysters or foie gras, followed by fish, accompanied by champagne. The best part of the meal is undoubtedly dessert - with 13 different puddings, including dried fruits, nuts and nougat, cream cakes, clementines, and not forgetting the pièce de résistance, a Bûche de Noël (Yule Log). Pastis The most popular apéritif of the region is pastis, the ubiquitous drink that has come to epitomise the essence of the south in countless classic films and advertisements. This clear aniseed-based liquid has an alcoholic strength similar to that of whisky, and is usually drunk diluted with water and ice, which makes it go white and cloudy. Some brands are drier than others, and some taste strongly of liquorice. Pastis-based cocktails can include grenadine and/or peppermint. What's 'In' in St-Tropez Tips on where to be seen and when during your stay in St-Tropez.... For breakfast, Sénéquier's Salon de Thé (Address: quai de Suffren) is a must. Boules is on the lunchtime menu at Café des Arts, place des Lices' number one address. L'Èchalotte (Address: 35 rue Allard) is currently 'in' for dinner, and the notorious Tropezien institution, Le Gorille (Address: quai de Suffren) remains the place to eat steak tartare after the nightclubs close at dawn. |
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