Best Restaurants in Nice: Top Tier 2024

Michelin-starred or otherwise, they’re considered the very best restaurants in Nice.  Here are the foodies top picks for achieving gastronomic bliss in Nice.

Michelin restaurant guide with knives and forksTwo Nice restaurants just ascended into the Michelin galaxy of gastronomic bliss for 2024!   The newest Nice Michelin stars for 2024:

Onice Florencia Montes from Argentina and Lorenzo Ragni from Italy met while working under Chef Mauro Colagreco at Mirazur in Menton, one of only two triple-star restaurants on the Cote d’Azur.  The protegees learned well and then branched out on their own to create Onice, now with a star of their own!  7 rue Antoine Gautier in the antique quarter of the Nice Port, tram stop Port or Garibaldi. Open Wed-Sun for dinner and lunch on Sat/Sun.  +33 4 93 56 18 30

Racines  Chef Bruno Cirino had 2 (!) Michelin stars for L’Hostellerie Jerome up the coast in La Turbie, a restaurant has been closed for over 2 decades.  Almost as a caprice, he bought his current location at a covid-era bankruptcy auction, and tentatively jumped back in after his long hiatus.  And now, at  70-years-old, he just won a Michelin star for cutting edge vegan fine dining that will blow your mind.  It is the only Michelin starred vegan restaurant in France. Open for dinner-only Wednesday-Saturday.  3 Rue Clément Roassal tram stop Liberation 04 93 76 86 17

Overall in France 31 restaurants lost their stars, but not here in Nice!  All previously starred Nice restaurants kept their coveted stars:

Flaveur – The Niçoise brother-chef team of Michaël and Gaël Tourteaux helm the only restaurant in Nice with two Michelin stars, one for each brother, so no fighting.  Flaveur is also on ‘La Liste’ as one of the 100 best restaurants in the world! 25 rue Gubernatis, tram stop Durandy, +33 4 93 62 53 95, closed Sunday and Monday.

Pure & V –  V is for Vanessa, and Vanessa Masse’s pure passion for wine won her Michelin’s Best Sommelier in 2021, which is a nice accompaniment to go with her other Michelin star, for the restaurant itself, with Danish chef Mads Thomsen.  In new location at 7 rue du Lycee with a lot more space, they have created a second, more affordable and casual restaurant on the 2nd floor called Pure & Vins, which riffs off the fine dining below and helps get the best use out of their products. 7 rue du Lycee, tram stop Cathedrale, +33 6 19 88 68 90, Pure & V open for dinner Wednesday -Sunday, plus Sunday lunch; Pure & Vins open for apero, snacking and dinner Monday-Thursday from 6pm.

Les Agitateurs – In the middle of the pandemic in 2021, Julie Buseto and Samuel Victori may have been the only people on the planet that could say, “It was a verrry good year!” …after being the only restaurant in Nice to be awarded a new Michelin star that year. Well, they still have it!  24 Rue Bonaparte in the trendy Petit Marais district, tram stop Garibaldi, +33 9 87 33 02 03, closed Monday and Tuesday,

Restaurant JAN – Chef Jan Hendrik is the first South African chef to win a Michelin star, and he did it right here in Nice, in his tiny 24-seat restaurant in the old Port.  The décor and the cuisine are at once familiar and innovative, with out-of-the-box ideas like ‘MARIA’, a private dining room across the street, where JAN guests are invited to stretch their legs for the cheese course featuring a mind-blowing cheese room, before returning to the main restaurant for dessert.  Two choices: a 4-course tasting menu for 165€, or go all out for the 7-course extravaganza for 195€.  12 rue Lascaris, tram stop Port Lympia, +33 4 97 19 32 23, open dinner only; closed Sunday and Monday.

L’Aromate – Chef Mickael Gracieux and his wife Elise Morselli-Lourtet are living their dream at Michelin-starred L’Aromate. The decor is sleek and so is the menu: 2 choices, 4 or 6 courses, 120€ or 160€.   2 Rue Gustave Deloye (one street east of Jean Médecin), tram stop Massena,  +33 04 93 62 98 24, only open for dinner, closed Sunday and Monday.

Le Chantecler at Le Negresco –  Since 2018, chef Virginie Basselot continues the magic as one of a long line of celebrity chefs that have run this prestigious kitchen, located in the most iconic and eccentric hotel on the Cote d’Azur.  37 Promenade des Anglais, +33 4 93 16 64 10, open dinner only; closed Monday and Tuesday.

These next eateries, mostly former Michelin-inductees, are still be among the top restaurants in Nice…

Le Bistro Gourmand in Old Nice –  Chef David Vaqué was awarded a Michelin star a year after opening, but then lost it the following year.  But Michelin-Smichelin, it’s a local favorite, plus features a weekday lunch deal for just 27€, making this restaurant our top pick for best Michelin-level lunch deal.  3 Rue Desboutin, Tram stops Massena or Opera, +33 4 92 14 55 55, open 7 days a week

Keisuke Matsushima – Following on the success of his first restaurant Kei’s Passion, this latest incarnation almost immediately won a star, and then promptly lost it.  But that does not stop his loyal followers from flocking to his door, especially for his weekday lunch deal.  22 Ter Rue de France, behind the Hotel Palais de Méditerranée, +33 4 93 82 26 06, closed Sunday and Monday

La Petite Maison – No Michelin stars here but lots of other stars, as this legendary Old Nice eatery is a favorite of French Presidents, movie stars and rock stars alike… as evidenced by an awkward situation when a feuding Elton John and Madonna both dined there on the same night…  It their terrace is surrounded by red screens, you know someone important or famous is inside… 11 Rue Saint-François de Paule Tram stops Massena or Opera, +33 4 93 92 59 59, closed Sunday

And don’t miss my Best Top-End Lunch and Dinner Deals in Nice which features the most notable former Michelin star-holders plus the anti-star darling of the Nice food scene…

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