Restaurant recommendations in French Riviera

[Mimi19510]

We will be in port of Cannes and doing private tour to Nice, Eze and St Paul deVence so eating lunch off ship. Any experience you would like to share?

 

 

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[WineDown17]

This is a great thread starter!!! Please share folks!

[Hlitner]

All 3 places (Nice, St Paul de Vence, and Eze) have nice places to eat in many price ranges. So much would depend on where you are located around lunch time and how much time you want to spend eating lunch. If you go to a Michelin Starred place you might spend 2 hours eating lunch. Or you could go to a simple cafe and grab a quick lunch (probably still take about an hour) or just grab some fast food. The difficulty in recommending restaurants is we find that many fellow American/Canadian tourists do not want to take the time to enjoy a really nice lunch. Once you decide that you want to eat fast you are really limiting your options. If you end up in Nice we normally recommend going over to the Cours Selaya (in old town) where the square is lines with many cafes. Personally, I would go there just to have the wonderful fish soup (Soupe de Poissons) that is a popular item in Nice. DW would probably want her Moules et frites. If in St Paul de Vence we know of a little terrace restaurant that overlooks the countryside and has great crepes (Restaurant La Terrasse). But others might want to go to Colombe d'or and sample lunch at a famous Michelin starred place (with very high prices). As to Cannes, we have our favorite places but they are primarily for dinner. There are plenty of cafes/restaurants across the street from the Marina (not far from the tender pier) that all have OK food.

 

Hank

[Mimi19510]

Thanks for the help Hank. Thinking we would not want to spend 2 hours at very expensive restaurant. Definately would prefer a sit down meal though. Hoping for good food with reasonable prices! Is that to much to ask?! Love hearing what wonderful meals others have tried. We are definately foodies!

 

 

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[cberge]

I have eaten quite a few times in St.P at different places...some meals lasted longer than other's as the French do not really know a quick meal,but there are a few places that you can check out along the way not oonly for the menu,but to see how the tables are set etc.If no table cloth you can get in and out faster.You really cannot go wrong.Lion d'Or on the other hand is a very looooong lunceon and as Hank says very $$$$.Not the thing to do on a day trip,but if you go back...who knows. Nice and Cannes have great cafe's as well,and maybe a little quicker. Your guide should be of help.I must say years ago I had the best and I mean the best FF's and cheesburger in Nice.Just saying:D. Hank..don't roll your eyes if you read this.Enjoy your day.

[Hlitner]

Thanks for the help Hank. Thinking we would not want to spend 2 hours at very expensive restaurant. Definately would prefer a sit down meal though. Hoping for good food with reasonable prices! Is that to much to ask?! Love hearing what wonderful meals others have tried. We are definately foodies!

 

 

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We have seldom had a bad meal anywhere in France. But the French have traditionally taken food to a nearly religious level (although these days they have some fast food issues like in the USA) and getting really good food in a quick meal (under an hour) is really not part of their culture. You can probably get a meal in some cafes in about an hour, but you might need to get the waiter to hurry-up which does not always go over well (they think, another Ugly American in a hurry). That crepe place I mentioned in my other post would work, but they have very few tables on their small terrace so you have to get lucky to get a table. But having a lunch of a carafe of wine, crepes, and a salad can be done under an hour and is quite good. Since you will have a private guide you probably need to lean on him/her for their recommendations. Your guide will know where to get a fast meal and might even know the restaurant owner which can always get you great service.

 

This post brings up one of several reasons why DW and I normally avoid excursion or even tours. We see food and wine as a very important part of European culture and normally want the freedom to take more time with lunch and sacrifice some time site seeing. It is just a personal preference, but it has done well for us in over thirty years of European travel. We often pick our restaurants at the spur of the moment when a daily menu looks interesting and we notice a lot of locals (as opposed to tourists) frequenting a place. In fact, we often will simply ask shop owners and locals we meet for their recommendations...which often lead us to amazing places with reasonable prices.

 

Hank

[scrapycruiser]

We always eat at Le Tilleau when we're in St Paul. Love sitting outside under that big tree. Food excellent. Service slow but typical.