Mediterranean cuisine : 10 Specialty to taste of niçoise gastronomy

Discover Nice and its local specialties with accents of Provence that smell like sunshine. The Best Western Plus Hotel Masséna invites you to discover the 10 specialties from Nice you have to taste during your stay ! Make a gourmet break in the heart of the city of Nice with our guide of good addresses.

1. Socca

The socca is a pancake made with chickpea flour baked with olive oil on a large round plate in a wood-fired oven.
This specialty from Nice is to be savoured hot, right out of the oven, natural or with a bit of pepper. To taste the authentic socca from Nice, the Best Western Plus Hotel Masséna Nice advises you to go at Chez Pipo. This restaurant is located near the port of Nice, after the Promenade des Anglais, and the socca has been their main specialty since the 1920s. Discover the history of socca on the website of “Chez Pipo”.

Chez Pipo
13 Rue Bavastro, 06000 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 55 88 82
Opening times : Wednesday-Sunday, 11:30 am-2:30 pm & 5:30-10:00 pm ; Tuesday-Sunday in summer

2. « Daube Niçoise » (Niçoise stew)

The Daube Niçoise, or doba a la nissarda in Niçard dialect, is a specialty made of beef cooked with red wine, tomatoes, carrots, bacon, onions, porcini mushrooms… The Daube Niçoise is often served with ravioli from Nice or with gnocchi, two other key elements in the Niçoise cuisine !

In the Old Nice, the restaurant Lu Fran Calin, which holds the label “Cuisine nissarde”, suggests a fresh and gourmet local cuisine. This restaurant overlooking the beautiful Rossetti place knows how to delight the palates and the reception is impeccable !

Lu Fran Calin
5 Rue Francis Gallo, 06300 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 80 81 81
Opening times : Tuesday-Saturday, midday and evening

3. The olives from Nice & the olive oil

The black olive from Nice is a variety of olives cultivated in the north of Nice and in the east of the department of Var.
The olive from Nice is produced by a cailletier, a type of olive tree that is preponderant in the Alpes-Maritimes region. Small and black, these olives can be eaten as such or as olive paste and olive oil.

In many restaurants of the city, the olive from Nice is offered as a side dish with your aperitif. You can also taste the olive from Nice on the markets of the city like the one of the Cours Saleya. To bring some as souvenirs, you’ll find your happiness at specialists like the shop Oliviera and La Maison de l’Olive, two shops located in the Old Nice.

Marchés du Cours Saleya
Horaires : mardi-dimanche, 6h-13h

Oliviera
8 Rue du Collet, 06300 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 62 94 03
Opening times : Tuesday-Saturday, 10 :00 am-8:00 pm

La Maison de l’Olive
18, rue Pairolière 06300 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 13 44 97
Opening times : Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00 am-7:00 pm

4. Niçoise salad

You thought you already tasted the Niçoise salad ? Be careful ! The recipe of the true Niçoise salad is of paramount importance for the inhabitants of the city.
Composed of green onions, tomatoes, fava beans, celery, peppers, hard-boiled eggs, olives from Nice, anchovies or tuna, small purple artichokes, olive oil… the Niçoise salad does not contain rice or potatoes !

It is a refreshing salad in summer, under the sun of Nice.
To eat an authentic Niçoise salad, go to A Buteghinn’a, a restaurant in the Old Nice also renowned by Lonely Planet for this specialty.

A Buteghinn’a
11 Rue du Marché, 06300 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 92 28 22
Opening times : Monday-Saturday, 9:00 am-6:30 pm

5. The pan bagnat

The pan bagnat, which means “wet bread”, implied wetted by the olive oil, is part of these specialties of the Niçoise cuisine you absolutely must eat during your stay. In the form of a small round bread stuffed with the ingredients of the Niçoise salad, the pan bagnat to be savored on the beach in love or between two museum visits for example.

The inhabitants of Nice all recommend the pan bagnat from Kiosque Chez Tintin, in the Libération quarter.

Kiosque Chez Tintin
3 Place du Général de Gaulle, 06100 Nice - +33 (0)4 92 09 16 19
Opening times : Tuesday-Sunday, 6:00 am-3:00 pm

6. The stuffed vegetables from Nice

This typical dish of the Mediterranean basin is declined in Nice with tomatoes, peppers, zucchini or eggplants of small size. You can even find small “farcis” made with zucchini flowers !
The stuffing is composed of the vegetables used, meat, bread crumbs, olive oil… the “petits farcis” can be eaten cold or hot. A simple and tasty recipe to enjoy during your family holidays!

The restaurant Acchiardo located in the Old Nice proposes small stuffed vegetables that are to die for !

Restaurant Acchiardo
38 rue Droite, 06300 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 85 51 16
Opening times : Monday-Friday, midday and evening

7. The vegetable fritters

The cuisine from Nice includes vegetables in all kinds of recipes. And even in the form of fritters !
The fritters of zucchini, eggplants and above all of zucchini flowers are worth the detour.
A few steps from the Best Western Plus Hotel Massena Nice, book a table at Lou Balico to taste this typical specialty from Nice.

Lou Balico
20 Avenue Saint-Jean-Baptiste, 06000 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 85 93 71
Opening times : 7 days a week, midday and evening (except Sunday noon during the summer)

8. The « pissaladière »

The pissaladière is an onion tart originally topped with « pissalat », a mix made with sardines and anchovies ; then, the pissalat is put on a bread dough. We find it today decorated with anchovy fillets and black olives from Nice. The pissaladière of Nice is generally eaten as a starter with a white or rosé local wine. This is a delight for the taste buds dating back from the Middle Ages and of which the people of Nice have kept the recipe until today !

The pissaladière makes the notoriety of the restaurant Le Jardin d’Hélène, a few minutes from the Best Western Plus Hotel Masséna Nice and from the port.

Le Jardin d’Hélène
15 Rue de Orestis, 06300 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 89 17 94
Opening times : Tuesday-Saturday, 11:30 am-2:30 pm and 5:00 pm-midnight

9. Swiss chard pie (« tourte de blettes »)

This pie dating back from the 15th century is consumed sweet or salted, generally cold or even warm. In its sweet version, it is composed of Swiss chards, pine nuts and dried grapes and is sprinkled with icing sugar ; the pie from the Boulangerie du Palais is very appreciated by the people of Nice and by the tourists !

The salted Swiss chard pie is stuffed with Swiss chards, rice, salt pork (“petit salé”) and Parmesan cheese. The one from La Fourchina d’Aqui will undoubtedly please you !

La Fourchina d’Aqui
53 Rue Beaumont, 06300 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 31 71 73
Opening times : Tuesday-Thursday, 7:00 am-2:30 pm and 5:00 pm-7:30 pm ; Friday-Saturday until 9:00 pm ; Sunday 7:00 am-2:30 pm

10. Bellet wine

Harvested on the territory of Nice, the Bellet wine is emblematic of the city. It can be white, red or rosé – ideal to go with the specialties of Nice !
The appellation consists in 10 domains, in which the one of Fogolar Collet de Bovis, in the heights of Nice.

Profit from your stay at the Best Western Plus Hotel Masséna Nice to visit the domain !

Domaine du Fogolar Collet de Bovis
370 Chemin de Crémat, 06200 Nice - +33 (0)4 93 37 82 52
Opening times : 7 days a week, 8 :00 am-8:00 pm

 

The addresses that we advise to you constitute a non-exhaustive list among all the restaurants that are in the city of Nice. Discover all the restaurants labelled “Cuisine nissarde” as well as our top 5 best glaciers in the city and where to eat delicious pizzas in Nice.

To spend a gourmet stay in the beautiful city of Nice, book your room at the Best Western Plus Hotel Massena, located in the heart of Nice.