vSFU

I’d be very grateful for a few restaurant recommendations for Nice or the surrounding area (will have car so can easily travel). I’m not looking for traditional French as I know plenty of those. I’m looking for something a bit more “hip and trendy” with perhaps an Asian influence. Something like Hakasan or Zuma if you were in London.

Any ideas would be much appreciated

p.s. if you know any fab places that don’t quite fit the description above, feel free to share anyway – always fun to try new places.

slawecki

In london, people will do anything to avoid british cooking. In outlyng france, do not expect to find fusion or pacific rim cooking.

Nice cooking is unique to nice. Not at all like Paris, or Lyon. has a lot of italian influence(fusion?). stuffed squash blossoms and stuff like that. lots of olive oil & garlic.

a car in the old part of nice is a real experience.

I have not eaten in the surrounding area, unless you consider canne the surrounding area, but there really is no place to park in the old city, and with car, I would stay out of center city.

vSFU

I've never had a problem driving in the old part of Nice and there seems to be a plethora of very reasonable underground car parks. As a frequent visitor to the region I've no problem finding the very best French and local food, however sometimes one is looking for something a little different. Looking forward to your best suggestions.

warheel

vSFU, I don't want to derail or hijack your thread, but do you have any reasonably priced French restaurant suggestions for Nice?

keisari

Louis XV in Montecarlo.
one of Alain Ducasse's restaurantes.
if dinner is too pricey, try lunch.
definitely a 3 star experience.
enjoy

AltaJoe

Take a look at this one. Its on the Cap d' Nice. Fantastic views. Fantastic food.

http://www.palais-maeterlinck.com/in...de=gastronomie

stevenshev

If you want good food and are in Nice, drive to San Remo. I love a tiny restaurant there named la Vela d'Oro (sp?). Drove there on a NIGHTLY basis from Cannes. Cheaper, better food, mmm....almost want to jump a plane to Genova now.

SpaceBass

looks like an older thread, but I wanted to toss in L'Oliver.
At least I'm fairly sure that was the name. The closest thing I could find online was this link: http://www.10best.com/Nice/Restauran...sinessID=21791

It was an amazing place just outside of town in an older building that was not quite a châteaux, but pretty impressive nonetheless. I remember thinking how neat the grounds where, tons of olive trees, beautiful setting.

Its been since 2000 that I was there, but Mrs. SpaceBass and I still think of it as one of our top 10 ever (a list that includes The French Laundry, Tetsuya, etc...).

scotlass

You all seem to know Nice very well, so my question is, what are the 'must sees' in Nice and the surrounding area? We will be there in March 2007.

Thanks.

jim87

The old town, flower market, soccer match, opera, ballet, roman ruins, chagall & matisse museums, shopping, beach, dining and 1.3e bus fare to the alps or Cannes or Monte Carlo!

christianj

Bumping an old thread with the hope of more current restaurant suggestions. Will be in Cannes for three nights (at the IC Carlton Cannes) and in Nice for two (at the Le Meridien Nice) as part of our trip to France.

menton1

Just 2 blocks from the Meridien is the wonderful La Petite Maison, on rue St Francois de Paule. Authentic, lively, wonderful wonderful food, mostly locals. Essential to reserve.

Also Keisuke Matsushima on rue de France, in spite of the name this is a French restaurant!

Personally, I find little of much interest in Cannes, rather than pack up and move 20 minutes East I would just do the entire stay in Nice. Something for everyone in Nice, museums (over 20!) old historic center, great restaurants, excellent tram system, and good access to the train for day trips east as far as the Italian border, and into Italy (Ventimiglia) for a totally different cultural experience and environment.

I also love Menton, right on the order, b ut that's obvious from my name here!

christianj

Thank you very much for the recommendations! Ony reason we are doing both Cannes and Nice is because I have to use a voucher which is going to expire at a IC hotel....thus the nights at the IC Carlton Cannes. Ending the trip in Nice since we are flying out of there back to the US. Had really wanted a nice beachfront/oceanview luxury hotel in Nice or the area but decided to just book the Le Meridien on points since I couldn't find anything within a somewhat reasonable price range. I was going to splurge but I really wanted a seaview room and they were asking Euro 890 for those at the Royal Riviera. Grand Hotel du Cap-Ferrat and Hotel du Cap Eden Roc were sold out. Others I looked at were: La Voile d'Or, Tiara Yaktsa, La Perouse, Chateau Eza and a bunch of others.

I've actually been to the area frequently as a child because my father (who lives in Germany) is a Formula 1 fan and we used to go down for the race and then vacation in the area.... but it's been years since my last visit. On one visit we actually stayed in Menton and it was a beautiful little town. Also spent a summer in Antibes trying to learn French when I was in school.

Any other hotel, restaurant or to do recommendations are appreciated since all of my hotel reservations can be changed without penalty.

menton1

Well, of course, staying at the Carlton/Cannes as an award is hard to pass up. It's quite a fantastic hotel. Most of the gliterati from the film festival stay there. (4 weeks from now).

Yes, the Cote d'Azur is quite an expensive area. The Meridien is OK. (Nothing like the Carlton!) I don't think you'll find anything really luxurious under 500E per night. The Maeterlinck was quite a place, but alas, it's gone belly-up, as did the Metropole/Beaulieu a few yearts ago.

What do you like to do? Will you have a car? There is plenty to do in this area, let me know your interests.

slawecki

the palo d'or is still a 2* michelin. when we were there (around feb, 2006), we were able to reserve the chef table for 5 consecutive nights.

in neice, we had a meal at the negeresco. it was a fabulous throwback to pre-wwII days. grand dining, pairs of aristocracy with table for 10 or 12. one table for about 12 was roped off for a woman in her 60's or so. her dining mares were 2 white poodles who were seated on pillows on the chairs.

we ate at half a dozen other restaurants. any with a decent michelin rating was quite good, and about half the price of paris.