Côte d'Azur Riviera

[Tarek]

Joel Robuchon's place in the Metropole -- an experiences?

Thanks.

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Brilliant all around, Excellent food and service over the last three years

Tarek

[robert brown]

This really is a case of "If you've eaten in one, you've eaten in all ". Robuchon has managed to standardize his dishes such that the first week his Monaco restaurant opened, the same dishes and even the same fellows I saw in Atelier Robuchon in Paris were there. And everything tasted exactly the same in Monaco as in Paris. This in more of the internationalizing of food, so I guess Monaco is an appropraite spot for this restaurant. If you want to delve into the heart and soul of the cuisine of the region, the restaurants I mention below are better and cheaper. I'm sure

Robuchon is making 5-10 times more money than he did when he had the three-star restaurant in Paris in the 1980s and 1990s, which is why the food there was 5 to 10 times better than what he's now serving in these amoeba-like establishments.

[mdbasile]

This really is a case of "If you've eaten in one, you've eaten in all ". Robuchon has managed to standardize his dishes such that the first week his Monaco restaurant opened, the same dishes and even the same fellows I saw in Atelier Robuchon in Paris were there. And everything tasted exactly the same in Monaco as in Paris. This in more of the internationalizing of food, so I guess Monaco is an appropraite spot for this restaurant. If you want to delve into the heart and soul of the cuisine of the region, the restaurants I mention below are better and cheaper. I'm sure

Robuchon is making 5-10 times more money than he did when he had the three-star restaurant in Paris in the 1980s and 1990s, which is why the food there was 5 to 10 times better than what he's now serving in these amoeba-like establishments.

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I was sort of afraid of this. I have noticed this trend throughout the Cote d'azur esp. in the last 5 years or so...

I am sorry Robert - but your list didn't make it.

Thank you,

Mark

Edited September 12, 2006 by mdbasile (log)

[WHS]

There is something repellent about a chef/restaurant that has outlets in Paris, New York, south of France and LAS VEGAS??? l'Atelier de quoi?

[mdbasile]

There is something repellent about a chef/restaurant that has outlets in Paris, New York, south of France and LAS VEGAS???  l'Atelier de quoi?

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This is true.

[menton1]

Popped into La Merenda last night for the second time and am convinced that, despite its fame, it is a brilliant gem.  Stockfish -- I now dream of stockfish!

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Also, their Daube Provencal is among the best I've ever eaten. Wish the place were a little more comfortable, but I suppose the environment here is part of its attraction...

Edited September 16, 2006 by menton1 (log)

[panello]

I have lived in Monaco for 14 years and recently joined egullet.

I understand that visitors might want to try all the best restaurants found in their guide books (and hopefully comfirmed by egullet). This is what we all tend to do in our early foodie years. This is like drinking four or more super great wines during one meal. Embarras de richesse. It is not good for your health.

Our greatest memory: Le Bacon in 1982 was a tiny charming place, where the fishermen came in in person and sat next to us, a gem. Today it is no longer what it meant to us in 1982.

The restaurant scene changes all the time. My criteria for picking a LOCAL restaurant are *wine list * comfort/space and *cooking. I put cooking last because in an era where most of us are overfed, wine and comfort are just enough for enjoyment. Based on thise criteria, here are the places we currently go to routinely:

Monaco: Quai des Artistes, Royal Thai, Pulcinella, La Vigie (when open), Lamparo in Cap d'Ail (great wine selection at half the price of Monaco places)

***don't knock Monaco restaurants as we have seen happening here, they are just as diverse (good and bad) as in Beaulieu, Villefranche, Mougins etc***

St.Martin de Peille: Chez Cotton, for the mountain view on the terrace (and BYOB)

Beaulieu: the terrace of the Panorama (Royal Riviera Hotel), Paloma Beach (daurade!)

on the border to Italy: Balzi Rossi (on the terrace) [they are friends]

Apricale: Da Delio (Ristorante Apricale), also for their Barolos

We have been to all the restaurants mentioned here (in egullet) and also many not mentioned here, and they are quite enjoyable for the OCCASIONAL visit (Nice has become too far, prefer Liguria), some quite quaint such as Piccolo Mondo Nuovo in San Remo. Biggest joke (based on our criteria above): Le Merenda (vastly overrated ONLY thanks to their friends Gault et Millau)

generally we find Italian cooking lighter and better for our health, throughout so many years in this area

P.S. yes we DO love to eat great French food, our top choice in France: La Pyramide, Vienne

but then, we haven't even mentioned heavenly places in Piemonte etc

[menton1]

(Nice has become too far, prefer Liguria),

Ever been to Magiarge in Bordighera? A real gem.

http://www.magiarge.it/

[panello]

(Nice has become too far, prefer Liguria),

Ever been to Magiarge in Bordighera? A real gem.

http://www.magiarge.it/

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YES

Many times.

Great wine list, of course, which they are famous for.

Found Canadian Inniskillin Ice Wine there!

[WHS]

I have lived in Monaco for 14 years and recently joined egullet.

I understand that visitors might want to try all the best restaurants found in their guide books (and hopefully comfirmed by egullet). This is what we all tend to do in our early foodie years. This is like drinking four or more super great wines during one meal. Embarras de richesse. It is not good for your health.

Our greatest memory: Le Bacon in 1982 was a tiny charming place, where the fishermen came in in person and sat next to us, a gem. Today it is no longer what it meant to us in 1982.

The restaurant scene changes all the time. My criteria for picking a LOCAL restaurant are *wine list * comfort/space and *cooking. I put cooking last because in an era where most of us are overfed, wine and comfort are just enough for enjoyment. Based on thise criteria, here are the places we currently go to routinely:

Monaco: Quai des Artistes, Royal Thai, Pulcinella, La Vigie (when open), Lamparo in Cap d'Ail (great wine selection at half the price of Monaco places)

***don't knock Monaco restaurants as we have seen happening here, they are just as diverse (good and bad) as in Beaulieu, Villefranche, Mougins etc***

St.Martin de Peille: Chez Cotton, for the mountain view on the terrace (and BYOB)

Beaulieu: the terrace of the Panorama (Royal Riviera Hotel), Paloma Beach (daurade!)

on the border to Italy: Balzi Rossi (on the terrace) [they are friends]

Apricale: Da Delio (Ristorante Apricale), also for their Barolos

We have been to all the restaurants mentioned here (in egullet) and also many not mentioned here, and they are quite enjoyable for the OCCASIONAL visit (Nice has become too far, prefer Liguria), some quite quaint such as Piccolo Mondo Nuovo in San Remo. Biggest joke (based on our criteria above): Le Merenda (vastly overrated ONLY thanks to their friends Gault et Millau)

generally we find Italian cooking lighter and better for our health, throughout so many years in this area

P.S. yes we DO love to eat great French food, our top choice in France: La Pyramide, Vienne

but then, we haven't even mentioned heavenly places in Piemonte etc

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We've rented a place in Apricale for a couple of weeks next June, the thought of which should help get us through our New England winter. What are your recommendations between say, Nice and San Remo?

[barbjack]

Last years posts for Nice Cote D'Azure were a big help in selecting dining spots for our September trip to Cap Ferrat, Eze, Beaulieu and Nice-here are a few more to add to the list. Our meals varied from the tiny cafe with the huge Rottweiler in Nice ,a nightclub in Monaco, to the "serious" restaurant in Eze. We had thought we were booked in La Provencal but arrived to a closed restaurant, so continued on the to Voile D'Or in Cap Ferrat. Despite not having a reservation, they were welcoming and presented a very nice dinner, which included a 50 euro truffle salad and an excellent bottle of wine for the same price;the bill for 3 people with cocktails and wine was 450 euros!-not exactly the casual meal we had in mind, but very pleasant and we were after all on the Riviera.

We also had dinner in the Zebra club in Monte Carlo, located in the Sports forum-waitstaff in zebra outfits, zebra drinks, etc., with an outdoor deck and great views. We then continued on to Eze with the goal of having another dinner at the Chateau de Chevre D'Or, staying in the Chateua Eza for that purpose. The meal begins on the terrace overloooking the coastline where you drink champagne and have tiny amouse bouches, a spectacular setting. While we enjoyed haute cuisine with a provencale flavor and meticulous service on our last visit, this meal was a not always successful mixture of Provence and Ferran Adria.Lots of foams, frozen things, tapenade in several dishes, and a very tasty pork roast brought to the table in its own cocotte and carved tableside with a salt ceremony and an odd attack with perfum atomizers to spray moka essence on our tater tot looking pastas which we instructed not to cut..Some presentations were outstanding and delicious but others were merely odd. Then the service teetered downhill after the entrees, coming to a complete halt until we repeatedly asked for the check. A completely different meal at a much lower price point awaited us at Les Viviers in Nice, 22 Rue Alphonese Carr. The wait staff and owner could not have been nicer, the ambiance more friendly and food more delicious-experimental takes on Nicois cuisine. (turbot served over marrow bone, rouget fillets, and with a fig tart and cumin ice cream for dessert.)We ate in the Bistro side in a Non smoking section-it is the same chef as the more serious side, with essentially the same food in a more causal atmosphere at about 125 euros for two including drinks and wine. The Riviera is a magical place , particulary in September after the crowds have left, with plenty of dining opportunites on all levels of the culinary spectrum.

[mdbasile]

Quick update:

Had a very nice meal @ Baia Benamin - what a spot!

Rubuchon's place@ Metropole: Actually ready to be disappointed, but it was very nice indeed, and the way the menu is set - it is possible to taste some very nice different dishes w/out spending a fortune.

Jerome : actually our least spectacular meal there out of about 6 - still really excellent.

Reserve Beaulieu: Outside on the terrace... unbelievable as usual... we had the degustation menu - the almmond pastry/truffle/foie gras/apple thing is amazing - heck the lobster course - they serve what must have been a 3lb normandy blue!!!

Cap d'ail lunch.... disapointing, but no surprise.

La Pinede.... ok

... can't remember the rest...

[Lenny]

I'm due on the Cote d'Azur in a few weeks and was hoping someone might be able to provide a few updates and recommendations.

I'm looking for a food market on a Saturday. Do Nice or Ventimiglia have a market of note at the weekend?

Where's the best place in Nice or nearby for traditional Nicoise food on a Saturday lunch, on the assumption that La Merenda and Lou Pistou are closed?

Where would anyone recommend for a Michelin-starred lunch up to €50 plus wine? Have enjoyed L'Oasis in the past but would be keen to try somewhere else. The Bastide? Jouni?

Also looking for a place for good, rustic food in the Lorgue, Salernes, Flayosc area. Nothing too flash.

Thanks for any help and I'll be happy to report back any findings.

[milla]

The market in Ventimeglia is really great especially with vegetables and one particular fish purveyor inside the main building. Definitely worth a visit as is the market in nearby San Remo.

As for a meal, it is a bit out of your stated budget but the prix fixe lunch at Louis XV in Monaco is one of the super *** deals in Europe.

Choice of first plate, choice of main, cheese and dessert, coffee AND a bottle of wine per two persons off a shortened list for 100E per person. A great bargain in my mind and i much prefer that room in the daytime anyway.

[degusto]

I agree with Milla that Le Louis XV on lunch is a great bargain and it is almost always better to eat in that dining room at lunch time. Having said this, the real treat right now on the Riviera is Mirazur in Menton. Mauro, the chef, is a disciple of Alain Passard and he has now really found his suppliers and is starting to get confident with the region's produce so at times he is turning out absolutely fantastic food in the spirit of Alain Passard but with a personal twist. It can be really really good and it is still a bargain for what you get. I would bet that this guy will become one of the truly great chefs of the future. Especially his sea food, often sourced from the fishermen the same morning in Menton or Ventimiglia can be as amazing as it gets. To be quite frank, I have not seen a better new young chef on the Riviera ever.

Avoid Merenda. It is a rip off unless you are comfortable with paying 12 euros for four fried greasy zucchini blossoms or 13 euros for rather ordinary beef tail stew with a couple of slices of over-cooked carrot in it.

As for markets, it depends a little on the day. Ventimiglia food market is to be avoided on Fridays unless you go very early (before (8am) since this is the market day (for everything else but food) so finding a parking or just moving around can be a hassle. San Remo has its market day (for non-food stuff) on Saturdays but parking there is less of a problem if you arrive before 9.45 am in the winter time. Both markets are very worth visiting. Nice market is very good at this time of the year most days of the week when it is open. Not to forget is the Cannes market, which is probably the most spectacular to a newcomer. It is great most days of the week when it is open (not Mondays). Menton has a market too and it is good mainly during weekends.

[Busboy]

Our 40 minutes at the Ventemiglia market (admittedly on Friday) was the worst 40 minutes of our summmer vacation (as soon as we saw the mob scene and trashy good for sale, we turned back around and got on the train).

Contrary to degusto's experience, my two meals at La Merenda have been wonderful and well-priced for the quality and location. Try the stockfish or the pasta pistou.

(That's the chef's bike parked in front, btw)

Though neither meal included the squash blossoms, we did spot the Chef from La Merenda buying them in the pretty darn good Nice Market the morning after we ate there.

And, of course, there's street food everywhere you go.

Mark Bittman in the New York Times likes Chez Pahlmyre, and we did, too. And the whole meal costs less than those La Merenda squash blossoms, I believe.

Chez Palmyre is the opposite of stylish and trendy; the décor is irrelevant, as if done by one of your more impoverished and tasteless older relatives. The service is friendly and effective; the owner, a large, middle-aged, hard-working woman wearing coke-bottle glasses, brings you menus and tolerably decent wine, takes your order and proceeds to go cook it. The ingredients are from the local markets (by "local," I'm pretty sure we're talking about a half-mile radius), the menu changes daily, the repertory is limited, and the experience ironically exotic. What will you eat? I'm not sure; nearly everything on the menu changes daily. For first courses, I sampled a plain but flavorful vegetable soup with croutons; a fine little salade niçoise; and hard-boiled eggs with anchovies, a fish with which this stretch of the Mediterranean is obsessed.

[degusto]

Contrary to degusto's experience, my two meals at La Merenda have been wonderful and well-priced for the quality and location.  Try the stockfish or the pasta pistou.

Though neither meal included the squash blossoms, we did spot the Chef from La Merenda buying them in the pretty darn good Nice Market the morning after we ate there. 

I am refraining from commenting on Bittman's article. As for la Merenda, the problem is the following.

Every time I walk out from a meal at la Merenda, I am completely baffled by how a restaurant can be so revered yet serve such ordinary food at very high – from the point of view of food cost and labour cost – exorbitant prices.

The reputation of the chef, Dominique le Stanc, probably plays a part. Dominique is a former Michelin 2-starred chef (Negresco in Nice) and was once touted as one of the most promising chefs of his generation and his talents cannot be questioned that is for sure. He has the Nice market is just around the corner. It is a fantastic market which apart from all the usual stalls selling boring wholesale produce most days of the week have a fair number of producers that come to sell their own produce. Some of it is as good as it gets. But Dominique does not seem to bother too much. His pretty much static menu contains little of the seasonal specialties that can be found on the market around the corner. Well admittedly, the most recent meal featured the often on the menu present deep fried zucchini blossoms (which is probably one of the few things he buys around the corner), but paying 11 euros for four deep fired-non-filled blossoms with no garnish, no sauce no nothing and with a taste of burnt frying oil (which it has had on every occasion I have had them), that cost 2 euros a dozen (if that) on the market is nothing short of rip-off. Some call it la cuisine niçoise of the poor. I would say it is served at prices for the wealthy.

There are people who have labeled the cuisine here as refined, which always makes me wonder if there is another la Merenda close by, but there is not.

The labour involved is highly limited. Dominique just spoons up the food. It is rare to see a chef cooking for 25 people at the time alone being so calm and not having too many things to think about.

The menu is full of well-in advance preparations. It is nothing wrong with this, it is just that guides and critics seem to look away from this fact or they simply don’t understand it. Why can’t people face that the food at la Merenda is really very ordinary but sold at pretty high mark-ups considering both food costs and labour costs to produce it.

[Busboy]

Not being Nicoise, the consistency of the menu doesn't bother me, as it might someone who gets to Vieux Nice more than once every other year. And we were pleased to have a meal I quite enjoyed -- 6 or 7 courses for the three of us, and lots of wine -- for 90 euros or so. Given the cost of seaside dining, I thought it reasonable. I was unconcerned that the chef did not break a sweat. Sorry about your squash blossoms.

I thought the food was very good, though I am mystified that anyone would call oxtail or stockfish refined -- I have never seen it called such. (one-star [stille?] L'Universe Christian Plumail was pretty refined and that might fit Lenny's needs, now that we're on the subject). And I've never judged a kitchen by how busy the chef looks, just what's on the plate.

Obviously, I can't engage you in a detailed argument on the pros and cons of various restaurants in Nice. But my wife and I have been a lot of places and eaten a lot of meals. In a city with a lot of crappy food available, at prices not much less than LM (I've eaten bad blossoms, too, and I'm sure you know that the smell of burning grease is hardly confined to the environs surrounding La Merenda). I find La Merenda to be a fun place, featuring cooking I can't get at home, of high quality, at reasonable prices.

I don't revere it, but I like it. I think Lenny should drop by and provide a third opinion.

One thing it occurs to me that you might be able advise on (since we seem to be Bush v. Chirac on La Merenda ) is a seafood/shellfish spot. I was in Nice this summer but a lot of things I was looking forward to eating again -- like violets and sea urchins -- were out of season. Since my wife and I hope to get back, and we're on the subject, any suggestions you might have will be noted for future reference.

[mdbasile]

I have to agree with degusto on the La Merenda - I am in Vieux Nice 4-5 times a year and have eaten there a couple of times, and truly find the food to be very ordinary... just my opinion... the stools are too small too.... and that no phone thing is just a gimic to me.....

Is there a link to Mirazou(sp?) in Menton - planning on trying it this spring...

Thanks

[Lenny]

I have to agree with degusto on the La Merenda - I am in Vieux Nice 4-5 times a year and have eaten there a couple of times, and truly find the food to be very ordinary... just my opinion... the stools are too small too.... and that no phone thing is just a gimic to me.....

Is there a link to Mirazou(sp?) in Menton - planning on trying it this spring...

Thanks

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Many thanks for all the suggestions.

Le Mirazur's less than useful website is here It's currently the favourite so I'll let you know how we get on.

[Tarek]

I find La Merenda to be a fun place, featuring cooking I can't get at home, of high quality, at reasonable prices. 

I agree, we just had a very good and fun dinner at L.M last week, and I thought the oxtail

and the daube for 12 Euros each quite reasonable. I had the blossoms last summer, and did

not think they were that greasy considering the locale.The vegetable Farci were terrific

in my humble opinion, in any case I have come to enjoy L.M a lot but never thought

of it as refined dining.

As far as Plumail, I did not have a memorable experience there last year, perhaps it was the heat

my two cents

Tarek

[annadev]

I will be in Cannes next week - from Sunday to Friday - and then in Nice for one night, Friday. I really want to sample the food of southern France. I've checked the site, and many of the postings are fairly old. Merenda in Nice seems to be recommnded, though. Any suggestions for Cannes and other places in Nice? I won't have a car, so going out of town is probably not on.

[Simon_S]

We had a really enjoyable, if slightly pricey, meal at Mantel in Cannes last summer. We went for a degustation menu of some kind, and it featured quite a lot of truffle action I seem to recall. Truthfully, I can't remember everything we ate, but it was one of the gastro highlights of our time in Cannes. We preferred it to the 2-star Villa de Lys for example. I'm not sure the cuisine could be considered especially "southern French", but hey, there was a lot of seafood!

Simon

[WHS]

Any specific feedback on these two? We have dinner reservations mid June. BTW, for American monolinguists nervous about making phone reservations, the man answering the phone at Mirazur speaks impeccable English and is extremely charming.

[robert brown]

WHS. I went to both in February. I'm in Nice now and am thinking of revisiting both, especially since the second component of Jouni-La Reserve (the expensive, more ambitious second floor) is now open. I think I posted that lunch on the ground floor, which is the bistro part, is a good deal if you are willing to eat the no-choice meal. Dinner and a la carte can be good. Jouni (pronouced "yow-nee") is a quite good chef. The refurbished Art Deco quarters are worth the visit in themselves.

Mirazur may be the closest to a culinary "buzz" in-the-vicinity restaurant in the present-day, what's happening now sense. I posted that I had a mixed experience. It's worth going to since the young Argentine chef here is being followed and has a good pedigree. I am quite certain I'll give it another go.

Edited June 3, 2007 by robert brown (log)