L’Ane Rouge, Nice 2

L’Ane Rouge, the Red Donkey, has been a regular fixture near the top of the Nice dining scene for the thirty years we have been coming here and probably for years before that. Looking in my 2005 Michelin Guide: it was one of three restaurants in Nice with a star, but it does not have one in the current guide. It survived a fire five years ago and has been redecorated. Although we remembered the excellent bourride, Linda and I had not been for many years and we decided to try it again on May 27, 2008.

Les Pêcheurs

18, Quai des Docks;04 93 89 59 61;
www.lespecheurs.com

( May 1, 2008 ) Finally, a beautiful spring day. One that cried out for a walk and a nice lunch. Our destination was the port of Nice, specifically Les Pêcheurs,

L’Aromate, Nice 2

Seeing Gary and Varian’s enthusiastic blogpost a few days ago on this new restaurant, Linda and I decided to dine at L’Aromate on April 5, 2008.  We were the first to arrive, but eventually the larger dining room filled up on this Saturday evening.

L’Aromate

20-22 avenue du Maréchal Foch; 04 93 62 98 24

(April 1, 2008)  As we wander around Nice and other cities, we gather cards from restaurants that look interesting. Unfortunately, it is an entirely different matter to actually eat at any of them, but this year we have tried two and both were worthy of note.

Le Diamant Noir, Nice 6 & 7

On March 6, 2008, two days before our friend Kees’ birthday, we invited him and his brother Flip, with their wives Els and Lide, to join Linda and me at Le Diamant Noir  to celebrate with the truffled Menu Dégustation. We all had a happy celebration.

Don Camillo Creations (Update)

5, rue des Ponchettes, Nice 04 93 85 67 95.(Closed on Sunday and Monday)(November and December  2007)  

It had been over a year since we had a very nice meal with Linda and Michael here.It had been good but not exciting so there had been no rush to get back (See Original Review,” below).

Le Diamant Noir 5

As the nights on the Côte d’Azur get colder, we start to think of black truffles and, therefore, of Le Diamant Noir where Benjamin Bruno uses them liberally and well. So on November 6, 2007, we went for dinner with Bob and Peggy.

Jouni, Atelier du Goût, à La Réserve de Nice

In March of 2006 Jouni, Atelier du Goût, a tiny restaurant near the Old Port in Nice, received a Michelin star. This was a big success for its Finnish chef, Jouni Tormanen, and his Piemontese partner, Giuseppe Serena, as the restaurant was very small and informal. We enjoyed going there for its delicious straightforward local cuisine, friendly and efficient service, relaxed ambience and reasonable prices. But the Michelin star was taken away a year later pending Jouni’s move

L’Ane Rouge

7, quai des Deux Emmanuel;
04.93.89.49.63
www.anerougenice.com

(September 17, 2007)
It was such a beautiful night; we decided to choose a restaurant that required a nice walk, something we wouldn’t do on a winter’s evening. We arrived at 8:00 and had our choice of tables, including one of the few outdoor spots.

Keisuke Matsushima 2

While we were still in New York in August, an email arrived from Keisuke Matsushima announcing that he and Mauro Colagreco would be serving two different surprise dinners in their restaurants on September 11 and 12.

Not So Sound Bites

ALLEGRO. New owners from Croatia have shifted the focus to that part of the world.

DIVA. New owners have let things slip.

Aphrodite – Molecular Gastronomy

The weekend magazine of Nice-Matin on May 26, 2007, told us that David Faure, the chef of Aphrodite, a good, but conventional, restaurant in Nice had added a R…évolutionary menu, featuring the deconstructivist molecular gastronomy of Ferran Adrià.

Jouni, la Réserve de Nice

For reasons which are too complicated to describe here, Linda and I dined at Jouni’s new restaurant the evening of May 8, 2007. We had planned not to go there until the upstairs floor with the upscale restaurant had been completed and was in order, but it didn’t work out that way. We were told that the upstairs would open in ten more days, but no one seemed sure of that.

Stephane Viano Restaurant – Nice

On May 4, 2007, Linda and I dined at Stephane Viano. We had been intrigued by it ever since we read Varian and Gary’s blog post from last October describing the team which had come to this restaurant from one of our old favorites in Nice, Don Camillo.

Côté Marais – Old Nice

4 rue du Pontin  04 93 80 95 39 

Closed Monday, no credit cards 

On April 24, 2007, the four of us dined at Côté Marais, a small restaurant in the heart of Old Nice, a ten minute walk from Varian and Gary’s apartment where we had enjoyed our apéritif. 

Le Diamant Noir 4

On April 20, 2007, Linda and I went back to Le Diamant Noir with Véronique, Jean-Yves, David and Marda.

Crazy Wok

4, rue d’Alsace Lorraine. 04 93 87 30 61(January, 2007) Sometimes Gary and I just want a Chinese dinner fix and until now we didn’t really have a happy solution in Nice. Enter Crazy Wok, a redecorated and repositioned restaurant, once called Dim Sum, to answer our plight.

Oliviera

8, bis, rue du Collet. 04 93 13 06 45

(April 3, 2007)   Six years ago we watched this charming, low-key shop take shape as the owner renovated this Old Nice address. We noticed the large metal vats of olive oil and the five or six wooden tables, thinking to ourselves who needs another olive oil place. How wrong we were – twice wrong.

Le Diamant Noir 3

On Thursday evening, January 11, 2007, we went with Daniel and Marièse for dinner at Le Diamant Noir. We were warmly welcomed by Benjamin and Sandrine Bruno. They had read our blog posting after our first visit there December 23, 2006, and were happy to read our comments.  

We started with various apéritifs, a white wine kir for me.

Keisuke Matsushima

Keisuke Matsushima

22ter, rue de France, Nice.  04.93.82.26.06

Closed Sunday & Monday.

www.keisukematsushima.com 

On December 27, 2006, Linda and I went to dinner at this newly expanded restaurant. As Kei’s Passion, it had gained a Michelin star last March and we had dined there in June; (see our blog post for June 6, 2006.) Kei is reported to be going on to bigger and better things.