Côte d'Azur

Nice

The driver’s guide

The addresses I give my own passengers: the distinguished tables, the institutions, the real local cooking, the sights, the beaches and the nights out. Each one with its phone number, its website and directions.

91
addresses checked
10 min
from the airport
7 days a week
taxi on request
Where to eat

Restaurants

Nothing here was chosen on the strength of online ratings. Three families only: the 2026 Michelin Guide, the institutions that passengers ask for by name, and the City of Nice's official "Cuisine Nissarde" label — awarded since 1998 to kitchens that keep to the traditional recipes, ingredients and proportions.

Photo Wikimedia Commons — Public domain

The 2026 Michelin stars

Eight starred tables in Nice this year, one of them newly awarded.

Two Michelin stars
Flaveur
25 Rue Gubernatis
Creative cooking by the Gressier brothers. The only two-star table in Nice.
Michelin star
Le Chantecler
The great classic dining room of the Hôtel Negresco, on the Promenade des Anglais.
Michelin star
JAN
12 Rue Lascaris
South African chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, in the harbour district.
Michelin star
Les Agitateurs
9 bis Rue François Guisol
Inventive cooking, a short menu that changes with the market.
Michelin star
L'Aromate
32 Rue de l'Hôtel des Postes
A modern fine-dining table, a few steps from Place Masséna.
Michelin star
Racines — Bruno Cirino
3 Rue Clément Roassal
A chef of the house, back home to cook Mediterranean produce plainly and directly.
Michelin star
Onice
5 Rue Antoine Gautier
Contemporary Italian cooking.
Michelin star
Épicentre
2 Rue Rusca
Selim M'Nasri. Barely a year old, and already awarded its first star.
NEW IN 2026

The institutions — the ones you will be asked for by name

No star, no label, but everyone in Nice knows them. These are the addresses a passenger names unprompted, and the ones you have to book.

An institution
La Petite Maison
3 Rue Jacques Médecin
Nicole Rubi's restaurant, and probably the best-known in Nice. Artichoke salad, little stuffed vegetables, sole meunière. Exported as far as London, Dubai and Miami. Everybody passes through.
BOOK AHEAD
The institutions — the ones you will be asked for by name
Le Plongeoir
60 Boulevard Franck Pilatte
Perched on a rock above the sea, on the pillar of the old diving board. The most spectacular setting in the city. Mediterranean cooking, lounge bar in the afternoon.
OUTSTANDING VIEWBOOK AHEAD
An institution
La Réserve de Nice
60 Boulevard Franck Pilatte
The other great seafront house on the eastern shore, right beside Le Plongeoir. Serious cooking, professional service, and a Niçoise set menu at lunch.
Rooftop
SEEN by Olivier — rooftop de l'Anantara Plaza
On the sixth floor of the Anantara Plaza hotel, a 360° view over the sea and the old town. Mediterranean cooking with Asian notes, cocktails and music in the evening.
BOOK AHEAD
The institutions — the ones you will be asked for by name
Nespo
48 Boulevard Victor Hugo
A carefully designed room and a large terrace right in the centre. A reworked Mediterranean menu — lobster linguine, vitello tonnato, sole.
FASHIONABLE
Bib Gourmand
La Merenda
10 Rue Alexandre Mari
Dominique Le Stanc, once the two-star chef of Le Chantecler, gave it all up to cook Swiss chard pie and stockfish in a twenty-seat room. A legendary address.
NO PHONE
An institution
Café de Turin
5 Place Garibaldi
More than a century on Place Garibaldi. THE reference for oysters, sea urchins and shellfish. People come with the family as readily as with friends.
SEAFOOD
Bib Gourmand
Olive & Artichaut
1 Rue Place Vieille
Local cooking, between sea and mountains, fairly priced. A safe bet in the old town.
The institutions — the ones you will be asked for by name
Le Bistrot d'Antoine
3 Rue Place Vieille
The reference bistro of the old town: daube, hand-cut steak tartare, grilled veal kidney. Always full, always good.
BOOK AHEAD
The institutions — the ones you will be asked for by name
Peixes
4 Rue Jacques Médecin
Fish served in small plates to share, with Mediterranean and South American notes. Two addresses, served without a break from noon to 10 pm.
SERVED ALL DAY

Real Niçoise cooking — the "Cuisine Nissarde" label

The City of Nice label, 2025 edition. These are the houses that serve the real socca, daube, stuffed vegetables, stockfish and Swiss chard pie — not the tourist menu of the Cours Saleya.

Cuisine Nissarde label
Acchiardo
38 Rue Droite
A family institution in the old town, the same family since 1927.
Cuisine Nissarde label
L'Escalinada
5 Rue du Choeur
A stepped terrace in the old town, Niçoise cooking from start to finish.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Le Safari
5 Rue de la Poissonnerie
The only restaurant on the Cours Saleya to hold the label. Large terrace over the market.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Chez Davia
11 bis Rue Grimaldi
A small room in the centre, family cooking since the 1950s.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Lu Fran Calin
5 Rue Francis Gallo
In the old town, a menu that is Niçoise from top to bottom.
Cuisine Nissarde label
La Table Alziari
4 Rue François Zanin
The restaurant of the famous Niçois olive oil house.
Cuisine Nissarde label
A Buteghinna
A tiny table in the old town, booking strongly advised.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Lou Balico
20 Avenue Saint-Jean-Baptiste
An institution run by the same family for three generations.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Le Tchitchou
31 Avenue Georges Clemenceau
Off the tourist trail, with a crowd of regulars.
Cuisine Nissarde label
La Table à Julie
50 Rue Arson
Harbour district, a small neighbourhood address.
Cuisine Nissarde label
La Ratapignata
63 Avenue du Ray
Le Ray district, well away from the seafront — locals only.
Cuisine Nissarde label
La Gaité Nallino
72 Avenue Cap de Croix
Up on the heights of Cimiez, Niçoise cooking and a quiet terrace.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Chez Cane
317 Avenue de Fabron
Fabron district, in the west of the city.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Auberge de l'Aire Saint-Michel
2 Chemin de Chateaurenard
Up in the hills above Nice, surrounded by greenery. A proper taxi ride.

Socca and takeaway — "Cuisine Nissarde" label

For the visitor who wants to try socca without sitting down to a meal.

Cuisine Nissarde label
Chez Thérésa
28 Rue Droite
The most famous socca in Nice, straight out of the wood-fired oven.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Socca du Cours
Place Charles Félix — Cours Saleya
At the end of the Cours Saleya, takeaway only.
Cuisine Nissarde label
D'Aqui
28 Rue Cassini
Harbour side, local produce.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Lou Pelandroun
4 Boulevard Joseph Garnier
Borriglione district, far from the tourists.
Cuisine Nissarde label
Le Pitchoun
12 boulevard de Cessole
Newly awarded the label in 2025.
NEW IN 2025

🚕 I drive you there — and I come back for you after the meal.

+33 6 58 27 93 12