Best Restaurants Open on Sunday and Monday

The traditional “night off” for restaurants, it’s a challenge to find a good place to eat on Sunday and Monday…   Here’s a list of favorite restaurants that are not only open on Sunday and/or Monday, but can be counted on for an excellent meal!

Most of these are from my lists Best Cheap Eats in Nice and Best Restaurants: Medium Price Range, with a few extra spots added in.

My top picks for Sunday:

Ruth Levy Benseft - half of the musical duo at Banthai restaurant on SundaysLe Banthai  Excellent homemade Thai cuisine, moderate prices (most mains are 14€), and on Sunday nights they have live music starting around 7:30pm .  One caveat: Thai food in France is mild, but just ask for the condiments and spice it up yourself. 29 rue Droite, +33 9 73 57 19 06.  Tram stop Cathédrale, closed Tuesday/Wednesday.

If the weather is nice, have a rooftop lunch at La Bocca, across from the opera house.  The entrance is almost hidden, tucked in deep between two tacky souvenir shops, but once you’ve found it, climb the stairs to a fabulous open-air rooftop garden!     They don’t take reservations by phone, but you can book online via their website. 3 Rue Saint-François de Paule, tram stop Opera.  Open 7/7

Building covered in leafy vinesLa P’tite Cocotte Up a tiny side street, is worth the effort to find for their three-course fixed-price menu, lunch or dinner, for 28€ (but roughly half the menu choices cost extra, so the bill can expand rapidly).  The ambiance on the terrace is great though, with a view of a historic vine-covered building (which is home to one of my favorite wine bars, btw).  Dinner only during the week but they also serve lunch on the weekends, making this a good choice for Sunday lunch or dinner. 10 rue Saint-Augustin, tram stop Cathédrale or Garibaldi,  +33 4 97 08 48 61.  Closed Monday.

Restaurants open on both Sundays and Mondays:

  • My top pick here is Rouge, which is just outside the Old Town, on the back side of the Chateau Hill, sort of overlooking the Port, and is open every day, non-stop from noon to midnight, which makes it a great place for a late Sunday lunch when a lot of places have stopped serving. Great tapas (we order 4 for two people and usually can’t finish), impressive wines (if a bit pricey), and they have a Michelin ‘Bib’ award which means you can can have a top level meal for under 35€. 2 Rue de Foresta, tram stop Garibaldi or Port.
  • For a light meal in the Old Town, try the Fish Bar.  It’s like fish tapas, choose a few and share… or don’t!  The food is fresh and creative, comes out of their miniscule kitchen, and is served on street-side table.  Everything is between 3.50-9€, or go for it with their tasting menu for two for 45€.   Closed Wednesday, 42 rue Droite on the corner of rue de la Prefecture, tram stop Cathedrale.
  • Le Tire Bouchon serves “Frenchy-style” tapas for sharing; choose from their extensive list of ‘entrees‘ (which means ‘appetizers’ in French, not ‘main course’ like in America!)  19 rue de la Prefecture, tram stop Opera or Cathédrale.
  • Panda Chine has a huge local Chinese following, which is all you need to know. Most mains are between 13-15€, and if they offer a Canard Laqué (Peking Duck) on the daily special, take it!  4 Rue de l’Abbaye, tram stop Opera.  Closed Tuesdays.

For higher-end Sunday/Monday, I recommend:

  • Cote Marais for dinner. It’s another little gem with an almost cult following that you would never find unless you were looking for it.  With top-tier cuisine that rivals its Michelin-starred cousins, it is a little pricey but worth it.  Serving dinner only, cash only, no website, reservations a must.  4 rue du Pontin +33 4 93 80 95 39.
  • Café de Turin on Place Garibaldi is Nice’s oldest restaurant, serving up their oyster and fresh seafood platters under the ancient arches since 1908.  A veritable institution, with top quality product in a turn of the century grand brasserie feel.  Open every day, tram stop Garibaldi, +33 4 93 62 29 52.

My top pick for Monday:

Chez Palmiere exteriorChez Palmyre was run by a mother/daughter team since 1926, but it changed hands 10 years ago when the 93-year-old mother died and the 77-year-old daughter decided to finally retire. Now it’s chef Vincent, who’s been coming here since he was a child, who elevates grandma’s cuisine to something wonderful. Three courses, lunch or dinner, 22€.  The restaurant is tiny, so they do 2 seatings at dinner, 7pm and 9pm, and  they’re always  packed, so call well in advance +33 4 93 85 72 32.  5 rue Droite, tram stop Cathédrale.

…and best Monday lunch deals…

Le Bistrot Gourmand in Old Nice, one of Nice’s top restaurants, offers a 3-course weekday lunch menu with choices for just 27€. 3 Rue Desboutin, Tram stop Massena +33 4 92 14 55 55  Open 7 days a week.

Bistrot du Port is a local favorite with a view on the port, open for lunch and dinner on both days, but is especially good for Monday lunch, when you can get their bargain weekday deal that includes 2 courses (daily special starter and main), plus wine and coffee for just 20€. Reservations a must, especially to be seated on the terrace.  28 Quai Lunel, tram stop Port Lympia, +33 4 93 55 21 70.

Enjoy a lunch of French Crepes under the ancient archways at Creperie Trimaran in the Old Town.  But I only recommend this one on Mondays, because every other day they are across from the fish market, which, while interesting for people (and gull) watching, tends to make the meal kind of… fishy. They even have a lunch deal: for 14€ choose a savory crepe followed by your choice of a dessert crepe and a coffee. 13 Place Saint-François, tram stop Cathédrale or Garibaldi, lunch only, closed Tuesdays.

More towards downtown, Le Sens has refined cuisine and a weekday lunch deal Mon-Fri. For 26€ you have 3 choices for each course, starter, main and dessert, which change every week according to what’s fresh… but best of all, you can see this week’s choices in advance here (scroll down for English).  They have the same deal for dinner but for 29€ which puts them in my Monday dinner picks (below) as well.  37 rue Pastorelli, closed Sat/Sun, +33 9 81 06 57 00

Followed by top Monday dinner picks…

  • For Monday dinner, I like Le Lavomatique, which opened in what used to be… my laundromat!  They kept the funky blue industrial/laundromat decor, and created a French-style tapas bar, where their creative takes on classic fare are meant to be shared.  They’ve gotten kind of pricy recently, but still a fun and unusual dining experience, and they have an excellent selection of wines that you won’t see elsewhere else. Fun, hip, and always packed… it’s best to reserve.  11 rue Pont Vieux, tram stop Cathédrale, +33 4 93 55 54 18
  • Chez Acchiardo is coming up on 100 years in the same family.  Dine under photos of grandma and grandpa back in the day, in this noisy, crowded and fun eatery.  A victim of their popularity, their prices have recently shot up, but the main courses are large and come with generous side dishes so you will leave full and happy.  The stuffed veal dishes (Escalopes Milanaise for around 25€… used to be 15€!) are my favorites.  Reservations a must. 38 Rue Droite, tram stop Cathédrale, +33 4 93 85 51 16  Closed weekends.
  • More towards downtown, Le Sens has fine dining plus a weeknight dinner deal!  For 29€ you have 3 choices for each course, starter, main and dessert, which change every week according to what’s fresh… but best of all, you can see this week’s choices in advance here (scroll down for English).   37 rue Pastorelli, closed Sat/Sun, +33 9 81 06 57 00

A few streets bursting with Sunday/Monday choices…

Rue Bonaparte, between Place Garibaldi and the Port, is a pedestrian street with absolutely lined with restaurants and wine bars with hearty tapas offerings and local followings, so just stroll down this street and you can’t go wrong.  Tram stop Garibaldi, and rue Bonaparte is just to the left of the neon Hotel Geneve sign.

Your instinct will tell you to avoid touristy Cours Saleya, lined with restaurants open every day of the week.  But despite its tourist trap vibe, there are still a few holdovers from the old times that are still good enough to have a local following: Le Safari, the upscale La Cambuse,  La Storia, Blast for rock-n-roll and cheeseburgers, and La Voglia for bountiful Italian.  And with the all-day Monday Brocante antique market, Monday is the very best day of the week to lunch here.

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Photo credit: All photos from Best of Nice, except Cours Saleya by Miniwark, licensed under Creative Commons

 

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