The plates that define Nice: what they are, and where to eat the canonical version.
The plates that define Nice. what they are, where they came from, and where to eat the canonical version.
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.
Where: Chez Pipo, Lou Pilha Leva, Rene Socca, Chez Theresa
Price: EUR 3-5 per slice
Pissaladiere is the Nicois caramelised onion flatbread, slow cooked onions on a thin yeast dough base topped with Nicoise olives and a lattice of salt anchovies.
Where: Chez Pipo, Le Safari, Cave de la Tour, Rene Socca
Price: EUR 4-8 per slice
Pan bagnat is the Nicois tuna sandwich on a round bread soaked in olive oil, tomatoes, hard boiled egg, anchovies, olives, raw vegetables and basil, never any cooked vegetables.
Where: Lou Pilha Leva, Rene Socca, Le Safari, Chez Pipo
Price: EUR 6-10
Salade nicoise is the Nicois raw vegetable salad with tomatoes, anchovies, hard boiled eggs, Nicoise olives, raw red onion, raw green pepper and tuna, all dressed with olive oil and never any cooked vegetable.
Where: Acchiardo, La Petite Maison, Le Safari, Felix
Price: EUR 14-22
Petits farcis is the Nicois dish of stuffed Provencal vegetables, tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, courgette flowers and onions baked together with a meat or vegetable stuffing in one large dish.
Where: La Merenda, Acchiardo, Cave de la Tour, Lou Balico
Price: EUR 14-22
Ratatouille is the Nicois stewed summer vegetables dish, aubergine, courgette, tomato, red pepper, onion and garlic cooked separately and combined in olive oil with basil and thyme.
Where: La Merenda, Acchiardo, Lou Balico, Le Safari
Price: EUR 10-18
Daube de boeuf is the Nicois slow cooked beef stew in red wine with carrots, garlic, onion and a strip of orange peel, simmered for four to six hours until the meat falls apart.
Where: Acchiardo, Lou Balico, La Merenda, Le Safari
Price: EUR 16-26
Tarte de blettes is the Nicois sweet Swiss chard tart with raisins, pine nuts and a dusting of sugar, the regional dessert that surprises visitors with its vegetable filling.
Where: Lou Balico, Acchiardo, La Merenda, Cave de la Tour
Price: EUR 6-10
Estocaficada is the Nicois stockfish stew, dried cod rehydrated and slow cooked with tomato, olives, garlic, potatoes and herbs, the slow country dish of the Vieux Nice winter table.
Where: La Merenda, Lou Balico, Acchiardo, Le Safari
Price: EUR 18-28
Fougasse de Menton is the Nicois sweet bread baked with orange blossom water, sugar, and either fennel seeds or candied citrus, the Riviera answer to brioche.
Where: Maison Auer, Patisseries LAC, Mama Baker, Lou Pilha Leva
Price: EUR 5-12
Ganses are the Nicois Carnaval pastry, fried strips of citrus scented dough dusted with sugar that appear at bakeries across Nice through February for the Carnaval de Nice.
Where: Maison Auer, Patisseries LAC, Henri Auer Chocolaterie, Mama Baker
Price: EUR 3-6
Gnocchi a la nicoise is the Nicois potato gnocchi tossed in daube sauce or tomato basil, the small dumpling that comes from the Italian Savoyard heritage of the city.
Where: Lou Balico, La Merenda, Acchiardo, Le Safari
Price: EUR 14-22
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.
History: 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.
Where to try it: Chez Pipo, Lou Pilha Leva, Rene Socca, Chez Theresa
Pissaladiere is the Nicois caramelised onion flatbread, slow cooked onions on a thin yeast dough base topped with Nicoise olives and a lattice of salt anchovies.
History: Pissaladiere comes from the Nicois word pissalat, the salt-cured anchovy paste that sat at the base of the dish before the modern whole-anchovy lattice took over. The Liguria-Provence influence shows in the dough and the slow onion cooking. The dish remains a staple at Chez Pipo, Le Safari and Cave de la Tour and travels well on the Cours Saleya morning market.
Where to try it: Chez Pipo, Le Safari, Cave de la Tour, Rene Socca
Watch out for: Gluten, Fish
Pan bagnat is the Nicois tuna sandwich on a round bread soaked in olive oil, tomatoes, hard boiled egg, anchovies, olives, raw vegetables and basil, never any cooked vegetables.
History: Pan bagnat means soaked bread in Nissart, the old portable lunch for Nicois fishermen and market workers that combines the same components as a salade nicoise on a round bread. The Cuisine Nissarde label specifies no cooked vegetables, no mayonnaise and the use of canned tuna or anchovy and tomato as the protein base. Lou Pilha Leva is the canonical Vieux Nice address.
Where to try it: Lou Pilha Leva, Rene Socca, Le Safari, Chez Pipo
Watch out for: Gluten, Fish, Egg
Salade nicoise is the Nicois raw vegetable salad with tomatoes, anchovies, hard boiled eggs, Nicoise olives, raw red onion, raw green pepper and tuna, all dressed with olive oil and never any cooked vegetable.
History: Salade nicoise originated as the Nicois fishermen's quick lunch made from the components of the morning market. The Cuisine Nissarde label requires raw vegetables only, no cooked potato or green bean (Escoffier's later version added them) and Nicoise olives instead of black olives. The dish travels well across the city under the same name at Chez Acchiardo, La Petite Maison and Le Safari.
Where to try it: Acchiardo, La Petite Maison, Le Safari, Felix
Watch out for: Fish, Egg
Petits farcis is the Nicois dish of stuffed Provencal vegetables, tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, courgette flowers and onions baked together with a meat or vegetable stuffing in one large dish.
History: Petits farcis is the canonical Nicois Sunday lunch dish that puts the whole Provencal market in a single oven dish. La Merenda under Dominique Le Stanc and Acchiardo cook the family meat version, while Cave de la Tour runs the world petits farcis championship every autumn. The Cuisine Nissarde label specifies five vegetables and a stuffing of meat, breadcrumbs and herbs.
Where to try it: La Merenda, Acchiardo, Cave de la Tour, Lou Balico
Watch out for: Gluten, Egg
Ratatouille is the Nicois stewed summer vegetables dish, aubergine, courgette, tomato, red pepper, onion and garlic cooked separately and combined in olive oil with basil and thyme.
History: Ratatouille comes from the Nicois rata, a stew, and originated as a Provencal summer market dish that uses the canonical six vegetables. The Cuisine Nissarde label specifies separate cooking of each vegetable before combining, so each retains texture rather than collapsing into a mush. The dish appears across the canonical Cuisine Nissarde rooms in Vieux Nice.
Where to try it: La Merenda, Acchiardo, Lou Balico, Le Safari
Daube de boeuf is the Nicois slow cooked beef stew in red wine with carrots, garlic, onion and a strip of orange peel, simmered for four to six hours until the meat falls apart.
History: Daube de boeuf is the Provencal slow cook the Nicois adopted, the country room dinner cooked in a deep earthen daubiere pot. Acchiardo cooks the canonical version on Rue Droite, Lou Balico on Avenue Saint Jean Baptiste another reliable address. The Cuisine Nissarde label specifies overnight marination of the meat in red wine before the slow cook.
Where to try it: Acchiardo, Lou Balico, La Merenda, Le Safari
Tarte de blettes is the Nicois sweet Swiss chard tart with raisins, pine nuts and a dusting of sugar, the regional dessert that surprises visitors with its vegetable filling.
History: Tarte de blettes is the Nicois sweet version of the Swiss chard tart, an old country dessert that combines chard greens with raisins, pine nuts, sugar and sometimes apples in a sweet pastry shell. The Cuisine Nissarde label specifies the chard variety, the pine nut topping and the icing sugar dusting. Lou Balico is the canonical lunch address for the dessert.
Where to try it: Lou Balico, Acchiardo, La Merenda, Cave de la Tour
Watch out for: Gluten, Egg, Tree nuts
Estocaficada is the Nicois stockfish stew, dried cod rehydrated and slow cooked with tomato, olives, garlic, potatoes and herbs, the slow country dish of the Vieux Nice winter table.
History: Estocaficada (stockfish) came from the Nordic dried cod trade that arrived in Mediterranean ports through the medieval centuries. La Merenda under Dominique Le Stanc cooks the canonical Vieux Nice version, dried cod slowly rehydrated then stewed with tomato, olives, garlic and potatoes. The dish reads as Nicois rather than Provencal because of the heavy olive use and the absence of cream.
Where to try it: La Merenda, Lou Balico, Acchiardo, Le Safari
Watch out for: Fish
Fougasse de Menton is the Nicois sweet bread baked with orange blossom water, sugar, and either fennel seeds or candied citrus, the Riviera answer to brioche.
History: Fougasse de Menton is the sweet variant of the Provencal fougasse and a regional speciality of the eastern Riviera between Nice and Menton. The bread arrives at bakeries during Christmas and Carnaval, with orange blossom water and candied citrus the canonical flavourings. Maison Auer sells a candied citron version through the winter months.
Where to try it: Maison Auer, Patisseries LAC, Mama Baker, Lou Pilha Leva
Watch out for: Gluten, Egg
Ganses are the Nicois Carnaval pastry, fried strips of citrus scented dough dusted with sugar that appear at bakeries across Nice through February for the Carnaval de Nice.
History: Ganses are the Nicois variation on the Italian Carnival chiacchere and the French bugnes, fried sweet dough that appears for Carnaval de Nice every February. The Cuisine Nissarde label specifies orange blossom water and a knot or strip shape, with icing sugar dusted at service. Maison Auer and Patisseries LAC are the canonical winter addresses.
Where to try it: Maison Auer, Patisseries LAC, Henri Auer Chocolaterie, Mama Baker
Watch out for: Gluten, Egg
Gnocchi a la nicoise is the Nicois potato gnocchi tossed in daube sauce or tomato basil, the small dumpling that comes from the Italian Savoyard heritage of the city.
History: Gnocchi a la nicoise reflects the Liguria meets Provence cooking that defines cucina nissarda, the small potato dumpling fast cooked in salted water and tossed with either a daube ragout or a tomato basil sauce. Lou Balico and La Merenda are the canonical addresses, with the dish often served as a side to the slow cooked beef daube on the same plate.
Where to try it: Lou Balico, La Merenda, Acchiardo, Le Safari
Watch out for: Gluten
Nice's signature dishes include Socca, Pissaladiere, Pan Bagnat, Salade Nicoise, Petits Farcis. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.