36 Best Restaurants in The French Riviera, France

There are plenty of places where you can sample socca in Old Town, but if you want to understand why so much fuss is made in Nice over the chickpea pancake, this out-of-the-way café behind the port is the place to go. As per usual, a batter of chickpea flour, water, olive oil, and salt is baked in giant copper tins in a wood-fired oven, but here, the cook expertly scrapes the surface of the nearly-cooked dough with a metal spatula so that it comes out extra-crispy. It's hard to explain why, but this is socca you can eat in large quantities even if you're not hungry: proof is the line on weekend nights, when people are willing to wait an hour or more for their petite (€3.50) or grande plates (€5.90). If you can't make it to this location, Chez Pipo is also at Terminal 1 at the Nice Airport. For the lowdown on everything socca, watch the short We Eat Socca Here by American filmmaker Scott Petersen.

The food might be a bit overpriced, but where else in the world could you eat in a dining room under a Picasso, on a terrace beside a ceramic Léger mural, or next to a pool amid an idyllic garden with a Calder sculpture? The quirky but unpretentious Provençal menu has hardly changed over 50 years—the hors d’oeuvres de la Colombe (basket of crudité and hunks of charcuterie), salmon quenelles, and Grand Marnier soufflé flambé are as acclaimed as ever. If you can't afford a room at the world-famous hotel but still want wonderful Instagram moments, a dinner here does the trick.

Although lunch and dinner are delicious, this the place to come for a breakfast of freshly sliced country breads, mouthwatering Ö Jardin Sucré jams (say, raspberry and violet or apple-pear with hazelnut), and organic yogurts—all made in France. Sure, you can still have your flaky croissant, but here the friendly owners deliver a toaster to your table to grill the bread exactly to your liking. Throw in Alain Milliet vineyard juices and creamy café au lait, and you’ll be planning to come back before you can wipe the jam off your chin.

The back-to-bistro boom climaxed here when Dominique Le Stanc retired his crown at the Negresco to take over this tiny, unpretentious landmark of Provençal cuisine. For decades he has worked in a miniature open kitchen creating ultimate versions of stuffed sardines, tagliatelle with pistou, slow-simmered daubes (beef stews), and the quintessential stockfish (the local lutefisk)—but don’t worry, pizza is an option, too. There are two seatings at both lunch and dinner. You'll have to stop by in person or message on Facebook or Instagram to reserve entry to the inner sanctum as there's no phone—and note that credit cards are not accepted either.

You wouldn't expect to find a restaurant with two Michelin stars set in a residential area, 10 minutes by car from La Croisette, but Bruno Oger promises you an unforgettable evening in this très cozy spot surrounded by centennial trees and gardens. Yes, it's pricey (à la carte from €130 and the two set menus are €230 and €350 without drinks), but you'll have bragging rights that you and Robert De Niro have shared the same chef. That's right, Oger is official chef of the Cannes Film Festival. If this is beyond your means, opt for the three-course menu (€49) at Le Bistrot des Anges (Michelin Bib Gourmand), under the same management. While waiting, sink into an armchair, and watch the fashion parade at L'Ange Bar.

With a handwritten menu board, wine bottles as far as the eye can see, and a low-key assemblage of chairs and tables that look like they came out of a 1970s-era attic, this is the kind of authentic French bistro people travel to Provence for. Owner Sébastien Perinetti and chef Elmahdi Mobarik source the freshest hyperlocal produce to bring you a parade of taste sensations, all seductively priced. Each selection is described by Sébastien in its entirety, perhaps a Sardinian “fregola” pasta with cuttlefish and peas from the fields of St-Isidore, with a peach soup made with white peaches from St-Martin-du-Var.

Christian Morisset’s Michelin-starred restaurant is named after the 50-year-old fig tree that, along with a canopy of vines, shades the private courtyard. This is one of the region's best restaurants, and the haute-cuisine chef bases his scrumptious set menus on what's available at the daily market. Yes, it's pricey—à la carte is around €70 for a main, and don't choke when you see a €3,900 bottle of 1990 Château Lafite Rothschild on the wine list; like everything else on the menu, it's there for a reason.

Owners Renaud and Marilène Geille, who used to run Les Viviers back in the day, pack this popular eatery by offering exceptional surroundings, fabulous food, and flawless service. The fish dishes are supreme, lightly accentuated by seasonal vegetables, and the magret carnard seems reinvented. The desserts may not seem particularly adventurous, but the delicate combination of salty and sweet will knock your socks off (if you’re wearing any). Next door is sister restaurant Le Petit Café, equally as atmospheric and delicious.

Judging by the crowd of regulars flocking to his restaurant, Daniel Desavie has built quite a reputation for his classic Provençal dishes—hardly surprising given that he was trained for 23 years by the late Roger Vergé at the famous Moulins de Mougins. Try the half lobster with cranberry beans and wild mushrooms salad in herb vinaigrette before tucking into thinly sliced beef with truffle coulis. If you want to add wine, a sommelier will help you turn your classic meal into a masterful one. There are splendidly set-priced lunch and dinner menus at both the restaurant and his more relaxed Le Bistrot, which features a weekly market offering. 

Part of a tiny Old Town enclave determined to resist the press of tourism, this casual tavern has tables scattered across a sunny terrace on Place Safranier. Chef Gaïatto Olivier is in charge of a refined menu that reflects his five years in the kitchen at the celebrated Eden Roc—think roasted catch of the day with chickpea stew, chorizo, mussels fennel, and coriander—but at a fraction of the price.

For more than 50 years, celebs have holidayed and dined at Cap Estel along Èze's bord de mer, enjoying its private 5-acre peninsula with all-encompassing views of the Mediterranean. Chef Patrick Raingeard's Michelin-star set menus are worthy of the location and may start with six oysters "Pearls Monte-Carlo," followed by Charolais beef fillet with chard cannelloni, and then finish with "the all-chocolate tube." There is a four-course vegetarian menu (€145), and the produce often comes directly from the hotel's garden.

What could be more fashionable than tucking into exquisite cuisine—prepared by Michelin-starred guest chefs such as Yannick Alleno and Arnaud Donckele—in an enchanting sheltered garden designed by Peter Wirtz at the House of Dior? Meals are reasonably priced for St-Tropez, and the dessert selection is large (consider trying the much-lauded, tiny, round D’Choux pastries, which come in a variety of flavors). This magical oasis is also the perfect place to toast the sunset with a glass of Champagne; expect to pay €60 for une verre of Dom Pérignon 2004, though.

Could it be that Cannes finally has an eatery where good food and friendly service come together? Come for une verre on the terrace or a meal in one of two interior rooms, one modern and the other traditional, where the steak-house menu offers more than just grilled Argentine black Angus, Australian Wagyu, and Kobe beef—there are also fish and seasonal vegetarian dishes, as well as plenty of French and world wines.

When chef Jean-Paul Battaglia decided to set up shop in Cannes, gastronomes were delighted, and he does not disappoint—so much so that it’s not uncommon for tourists to eat here more than once during their stay. The roast beef is succulent, and the spicy lobster has just the right kick. L'Affable is always packed (and often noisy), so reservations are essential. Note that dinner service is a €53 fixed-price menu with lots of tempting choices, ditto for lunch (€28 and €32).

Cheerful blue-and-white-checked tablecloths, massive colorful throw cushions, and a polished wood facade give this unpretentious "blue house" on the main pedestrian street a welcoming air. You'll find straightforward fresh pasta like tagliatelle pistou and ravioli and simple grilled meat and fish dishes, accompanied by well-chosen local wines.

This wineshop with some 300 labels and a few tables and chairs at the back is really about vins naturels—unfiltered, unsulfured wines made by small producers from hand-harvested grapes—but the often-simple food served here also happens to be excellent. Whether you choose a charcuterie or cheese plate or one of the handful of hot dishes (like spaghetti with razor clams or octopus cooked in red wine), you can expect it to be generous and fresh. No corkage fee is charged for wines off the shelf, a rarity for a wine bar. Reservations are advised for Friday and Saturday night. The bilingual owner Olivier has opened a second wine bistro with lots of food, La Mise en Verre, at 17 rue Pastorelli.

Chef Jêrome Cotta knows what it takes to earn restaurant acclaim, and his originality and attention to detail are reflected in creations like mille-feuille of foie gras caramelized with maple syrup; fig marmalade flavored with port wine, cranberry, and red-currant jelly; and cod fillet cooked in frothy butter, shallots, and cocoa beans stewed with bacon in a fine truffle bouillon. It's easy to run up a bill of €200 per couple with drinks here, but the panoramic views, especially upstairs, from the Art Deco building jutting over the sea cannot be faulted. It's also the site of one of the city's most stylish bars.

For more than 50 years, celebs holidayed and dined at Cap Estel in Èze, a private 2-hectare peninsula with all-encompassing views of the Med. And now, with chef Patrick Raingeard, whose produce comes directly from the hotel’s garden, the dining here can’t get any better. Start with the asparagus salad with creamy cauliflower and wild truffles, followed by the Charolais beef fillet à la Parillada in a “Los Lobos” red-wine sauce served with a potato-and-truffle cake. Finish it off with a banana soufflé. Vegetarian options are also available. Lunch set menus are a good value.

La Brouette de Grand'Mère built a following as a charming hole-in-the-wall with a true-blue bistro menu, and although the restaurant has changed its name and location, it has kept its €55 three-course menu that includes wine, fizzy water, a shot of vodka, as well as surprisingly tasty food. It feels especially right in winter.

This place checks all the French-bistro boxes—mouthwatering classic dishes, a chalkboard menu, and a setting on a cobblestone street—with the bonus of friendly service. The three-course €55 menu rounds off the experience, and there is a vegan option.

Just 10 km (6 miles) west of St-Tropez and 4 km (2½ miles) south of Grimaud and the village of La Mole, this bucolic old farmhouse restaurant sits on a hillside over forests dense with cork oak and chestnuts. Whether you eat on the terrace with its views of the Massif des Maures and Gulf of St-Tropez or in the rustic dining room, the food tastes and smells of the surrounding countryside. Think crispy baked St-Marcelin cheese with honey and nuts or grilled beef tenderloin, fried potatoes, and béarnaise sauce, nicely topped off with chocolate and mango sorbet. Add the warm and friendly service, and this is your dream French restaurant experience. Choose from a three-course set menu (€45–€55), or order à la carte. 

If you're tired of choosing from complicated menus, visit this long-popular restaurant in Le Suquet, where you only have to decide what kind of meat you want. Every dinner starts with a gigantic basket of whole raw vegetables—to be cut up and dipped in a selection of sauces—and grilled bread, and then come the generous servings of charcoal-grilled beef, lamb, or chicken (there's also a meat-free menu). With a low, wood-beam ceiling and only a few tables (draped in pink), Le Maschou (meaning "small pretty house") is a favorite during the Cannes Film Festival, when the 60-day matured prime rib is as hot as the red carpet.

In an intimate space on a tiny street, just behind Cours Saleya, this restaurant has a chalkboard menu of dishes that showcase the natural skill of chef Aurélien Martin. The choice of market-fresh seasonal cuisine is easy, as there's one four-course menu for lunch and either a four- or a five-course menu for dinner.

When Hell’s Kitchen presenter and chef Arnaud Tabarec left to open Beam! in Toulon, Lori Moreau stepped in at this trendy restaurant occupying the fifth floor of a former post office with fabulous views over Le Suquet. She shortened the menu, but there is still a good selection of fish and vegetarian dishes, as well as beef and chicken options. There’s also a stellar brunch menu if a lazy Sunday appeals.

The Cours Saleya's desirable terrace tables provide an excuse for many of the restaurants along this strip to get away with culinary murder, but that's not the case at Le Safari, which pays more attention than most to ingredients and presentation. Choose from traditional Niçois dishes—the fish soup served with croutons, spicy mayonnaise, and cheese is particularly good—and Italian-inspired fare such as creamy risotto. Inside the colorful dining room is where the locals eat, and some even claim the food is a notch better there. Wherever you'd like to sit, it's a good idea to make a reservation.

You'll find your bonheur (happiness) in this popular and centrally located gem of Dutch owner-chef Lodewijk Schröder. From a hearty black Angus steak to a mouthwatering chicken vol-au-vent, the selection is classic French gastronomy (so definitely not vegan or vegetarian-friendly). There are a few chic surprises for the middle of a tourist town, like the Indonesian Nasi Rames spicy rice dish. Too bad about the trucks and motorcycles roaring past.

From just outside the walled village, you can see this restaurant that was once a 17th-century oil mill. Owner Frédéric Rossi hired the young chef Olivier Depardieu, who did his apprenticeship at the Colombe d'Or and worked at Château Saint Martin, to create regional dishes like risotto with artichokes and langoustines or sea bass with pole-fried vegetables. This place is best for a hearty dinner rather than a light lunch, especially since the terrace doesn't get much shade.

In 1954, French resistance hero Camille Rayon built a restaurant between two stone fishing huts from the early 20th century, and today it's part of the Relais & Chateau Cap d'Antibes Beach Hotel. Although beef is available, chef Nicolas Rondelli's menu emphasizes fish, and all dishes are complemented by produce from the nearby hills and wines from a formidable list that includes a 2018 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault at €2,400 a bottle. Stunning, albeit pricey, desserts, give you an excuse to linger as the sun sets over the Îles de Lérins and the Estérel. The more affordable beach restaurant is open for lunch, and from June through September, dinner.

Popular with both locals and expats, the three restaurants at the Paul Augier Hospitality and Tourism School, attended by 1,200 pupils and apprentices, serve lunch weekdays and dinner some evenings—and everything is prepared by aspiring young chefs. The fifth-floor La Rotonde is the most sophisticated and expensive of the three restaurants, but, still, the set lunch menu is just €28 without drinks, and set dinner menus start at €35. Note, though, that reservations are by email only.