Nice is one of the great dining cities of the French Riviera, blending old-school Niçois cooking, Mediterranean seafood, polished hotel dining, and a newer wave of chef-driven restaurants near the Port and Old Town. This Top 10 balances classic local institutions, Michelin-recognized fine dining, neighborhood bistros, and modern Riviera restaurants.
#10 Olive & Artichaut
Cuisine: Mediterranean / Niçois bistro
Neighborhood: Vieux Nice
Price: $$
Best For: A relaxed local bistro dinner in the Old Town
Must Order: Seasonal market dish, house pâté or foie gras when available
Why It Made the List:
Olive & Artichaut brings a polished but approachable bistro lens to Vieux Nice, with a kitchen grounded in Mediterranean products and local hospitality. Its Bib Gourmand recognition makes it one of the city’s most useful addresses for quality cooking without full fine-dining formality.
Known For:
- Bib Gourmand value
- Old Town setting
- Market-driven Mediterranean cooking
- Warm neighborhood-bistro atmosphere
#9 Le Canon
Cuisine: French bistro / natural wine
Neighborhood: Carré d’Or / Meyerbeer
Price: $$
Best For: Natural wine, local produce, and a small-room bistro feel
Must Order: Whatever seasonal plate pairs best with the by-the-glass natural wine selection
Why It Made the List:
Le Canon is the kind of compact, product-driven restaurant that gives Nice’s modern dining scene its energy. The appeal is less about spectacle than sourcing, seasonal cooking, and a wine-bar rhythm that feels local rather than tourist-facing.
Known For:
- Natural wines
- Locally sourced produce
- Vintage bistro mood
- Small, convivial dining room
#8 Chez Davia
Cuisine: Niçoise
Neighborhood: Centre / Grimaldi
Price: $$
Best For: Refined Niçois specialties in a comfortable setting
Must Order: Stuffed vegetables, daube, or a seasonal Niçois special
Why It Made the List:
Chez Davia is a strong bridge between heritage Niçois cooking and a more polished restaurant experience. It works especially well for readers who want regional flavors in a setting that feels warm, established, and carefully run.
Known For:
- Authentic Nice Cuisine accreditation
- Bib Gourmand recognition
- Traditional specialties with a modern touch
- Comfortable local atmosphere
#7 ONICE
Cuisine: Modern seasonal tasting menu
Neighborhood: Antiquaires / Port area
Price: $$$$
Best For: A contemporary Michelin-starred dinner near the Port
Must Order: The seasonal tasting menu
Why It Made the List:
ONICE gives Nice a modern fine-dining voice: intimate, seasonal, and chef-led without leaning on old Riviera grandeur. It is one of the city’s best choices for readers who want a newer Michelin-starred experience with a precise, contemporary point of view.
Known For:
- One MICHELIN star
- Chef duo Florencia Montes and Lorenzo Ragni
- Seasonal modern cuisine
- Intimate fine-dining room
#6 L’Aromate
Cuisine: Creative French
Neighborhood: Jean-Médecin / near Place Masséna
Price: $$$$
Best For: A refined central Nice tasting-menu dinner
Must Order: Five- or seven-course hidden menu
Why It Made the List:
L’Aromate is a quietly confident fine-dining address built around chef Mickaël Gracieux’s technique and precision. Its central location and contemporary room make it a useful luxury pick for visitors who want Michelin-starred cooking without leaving the heart of Nice.
Known For:
- One MICHELIN star
- Chef Mickaël Gracieux
- Contemporary setting
- Creative hidden menus
#5 Les Agitateurs
Cuisine: Gastronomic French / Mediterranean
Neighborhood: Port / Bonaparte
Price: $$$$
Best For: Playful, polished fine dining near the Port
Must Order: The seasonal tasting menu
Why It Made the List:
Les Agitateurs captures the creative side of Nice’s Port district, with a restaurant that feels polished, personal, and a little more adventurous than classic Riviera fine dining. The cooking is rooted in the Mediterranean but shaped with a chef-driven sense of movement and surprise.
Known For:
- MICHELIN-starred dining
- Port-side neighborhood energy
- Samuel Victori and Juliette Busetto
- Inventive tasting menus
#4 JAN
Cuisine: French / South African tasting menu
Neighborhood: Old Port
Price: $$$$
Best For: A romantic, intimate tasting-menu experience
Must Order: Seven-course tasting menu with the MARIA cheese-room interlude
Why It Made the List:
JAN stands apart because it gives Nice something highly specific: South African memory filtered through French Riviera produce and fine-dining technique. Its intimate scale and distinctive culinary identity make it one of the city’s most memorable special-occasion rooms.
Known For:
- One MICHELIN star
- Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen
- 20-seat dining room
- MARIA cheese-room experience
#3 La Merenda
Cuisine: Traditional Niçoise
Neighborhood: Vieux Nice
Price: $$
Best For: A true taste of old Nice
Must Order: Pissaladière, beignets de fleurs de courgette, or daube
Why It Made the List:
La Merenda is the essential Niçois bistro: small, direct, deeply local, and more interested in the plate than ceremony. Dominique Le Stanc’s cooking makes the restaurant a living reference point for the city’s culinary identity.
Known For:
- Niçois institution
- Dominique Le Stanc
- Market-based local dishes
- Tiny Old Town dining room
#2 Le Chantecler
Cuisine: Mediterranean haute cuisine
Neighborhood: Promenade des Anglais / Le Negresco
Price: $$$$
Best For: Grand Riviera fine dining in an iconic hotel setting
Must Order: Seasonal Mediterranean tasting menu
Why It Made the List:
Le Chantecler remains Nice’s grand-hotel dining statement, pairing Le Negresco’s historic setting with Virginie Basselot’s lighter, contemporary Mediterranean approach. It is the clearest choice for readers seeking ceremony, service, and Riviera elegance.
Known For:
- Le Negresco setting
- One MICHELIN star
- Chef Virginie Basselot, MOF
- 18th-century dining-room grandeur
#1 Flaveur
Cuisine: Creative French / global Riviera
Neighborhood: Centre / Gubernatis
Price: $$$$
Best For: Nice’s most ambitious destination tasting menu
Must Order: The chef’s tasting menu
Why It Made the List:
Flaveur earns the top spot for combining the city’s highest level of Michelin recognition with a personality that is unmistakably its own. Brothers Gaël and Mickaël Tourteaux build a four-hands cuisine shaped by Nice, Guadeloupe, travel, and serious fine-dining craft.
Known For:
- Two MICHELIN stars
- Gaël and Mickaël Tourteaux
- Creative tasting menus
- Nissart roots with global inspiration
