Pan bagnat is the Nicois sandwich: a round loaf soaked in tomato and olive oil, filled with raw vegetables, tuna, egg, anchovy and olives, never mayonnaise.

Pan bagnat means soaked bread in Niçois, and Chez Pipo says the name refers to bread wetted by tomato juice and olive oil. The City of Nice calls it the take-away snack of fishermen and morning workers, made from simple, cheap local ingredients; tuna, now in every version, replaced anchovy because tuna was an expensive fish in the 19th and early 20th centuries, which makes the tuna version the rich one. Chez Pipo serves a mini pan bagnat as a starter, and Lou Balico lists pan bagnat among its specialities.

Where to eat Pan Bagnat in Nice

2 editor picks for Pan Bagnat in Nice, ranked by editorial score. All Nice signature dishes · Pan Bagnat across every city.

  • Chez Pipo

    Order Socca, the chickpea flour galette, and the pissaladiere of caramelised onions on bread dough.

    Chez Pipo serves socca and Nicois specialties at 13 Rue Bavastro in Nice; locals have eaten its socca for generations, a tradition of nearly 100 years.

    DetailsDirections

  • Lou Balico

    Order Raviolis à la daube, then the sweet chard pie for dessert.

    Lou Balico is a family restaurant at 20 Avenue Saint Jean Baptiste in Nice, open since 1979, labelled Niçoise cuisine and run by three generations.

    DetailsReserveDirections

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Make it at home

Serves 225 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 2 round loaves, 15 to 20cm across (sourdough or country bread)
  • 4 tomatoes, including one very ripe tomato per loaf
  • 2 spring onions
  • 1 small green pepper
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs
  • 10 radishes
  • 10 stoned black olives
  • 80g tuna in olive oil, flaked
  • 4 salted anchovy fillets
  • 4 basil leaves
  • 40ml olive oil
  • 20ml wine vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Halve each loaf, leaving a deeper bottom half, and pull out the excess crumb. Rub the inside with garlic.
  2. Soak both halves with the ripest tomato, cut in half, then the olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper.
  3. Fill the base with sliced tomato, sliced radishes and spring onion, sliced egg, tuna, anchovies, basil and olives, and season.
  4. Close the loaf, pressing the lid down firmly to pack the filling in.

Editor tip. Rub the bread with the ripest tomato and let the juice soak in before filling: that is what gives pan bagnat its name.

Common allergens: Gluten, Fish, Egg.