Socca is the Nicois chickpea flour pancake, baked at 300C in a wood burning oven on a large copper plate, crisp on the edges and silky in the centre, salt and black pepper at the table.
Socca came out of Genoese and Ligurian cooking centuries ago as farinata, the chickpea pancake the people of Nice adopted under the Savoyard centuries. Chez Pipo (1923), Chez Theresa (1925) and Lou Pilha Leva are the three Nice addresses still firing socca in wood ovens at 300C, the canonical city street food. Cucina Nissarda treats the dish as the Nicois centrepiece and the Cuisine Nissarde label requires it on every certified restaurant menu.
4 editor picks for Socca in Nice, ranked by editorial score. All Nice signature dishes · Socca across every city.
Chez Theresa ★ 4.6
28 Rue Droite, 06300 Nice
Chez Theresa on Rue Droite has fired socca in a wood burning 1867 oven since 1925, one of only three Nice addresses still cooking the chickpea pancake traditionally at 300C in wood.
Chez Pipo ★ 4.5
port-lympia · 13 Rue Bavastro, 06300 Nice
Chez Pipo on Rue Bavastro between Place Garibaldi and Port Lympia has fired socca in wood-burning ovens since 1923, the canonical Nicois address for the chickpea flour pancake the city invented.
Rene Socca ★ 4.3
2 Rue Miralheti, 06300 Nice
Rene Socca on Rue Miralheti in Vieux Nice runs the city's most enduring self service socca and pissaladiere counter, paper plates and shared terrace tables with a glass of rose.
Lou Pilha Leva ★ 4.2
vieux-nice · 10 Rue du Collet, 06300 Nice
Lou Pilha Leva on Rue du Collet runs the Vieux Nice street food counter for socca, pan bagnat and pissaladiere, the tiled cafeteria with shared tables in the heart of the old town.