Travel Reference
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meets-café ambience. It offers
(bien sûr)
good wines at fair prices, and tasty bistro fare
(tel. 04 93 92 93 20).
Rolancy's Restaurant & Bistrot des Viviers
attract those whorequire attentive ser-
vice and authentic Niçois cuisine with a big emphasis on fish. This classy splurge offers
two intimate settings as different as night and day: a soft, formal restaurant (€58
menu,
€28-38
plats
), and a relaxed
bistrot
next door (€10 fish soup starter, €24-35
plats,
€45
bouillabaisse). I'd reserve a table in the atmospheric
bistrot,
where some outdoor seating
is available (restaurant closed Sun,
bistrot
open daily, 5-minute walk west of Avenue Jean
Médecinat22RueAlphonseKarr,tel.0493160048,
http://restaurant-gastronomique.fr
).
L'Ovale
takesitsnamefromtheshapeofarugbyball.Thiswelcoming,well-runbis-
tro has quality food at respectable prices, with an emphasis on the cuisine of southwestern
France. Dine inside on big
plats
for €12-16; consider their specialty,
cassoulet
(€17), or
the
salade de manchons
(€13), with duck and walnuts (excellent €18 three-course
menu,
€13 big salads, daily, air-con, 29 Rue Pastorelli, tel. 04 93 80 31 65).
Le Luna Rossa
is
molto
Italian, with a smart setting inside and out. It's also
molto
popularwithlocals.Comeearlyorbookahead(€10starters,€20-27
plats
,justnorthofthe
parkway at 3 Rue Chauvain, tel. 04 93 85 55 66).
La Maison de Marie
isasurprisinglygood-qualityrefugeofftouristyRueMasséna,
where most other restaurants serve mediocre food to tired travelers. Enter through a deep-
red arch to a bougainvillea-draped courtyard, and enjoy the fair prices and excellent
cuisine that draw neighborhood regulars and out-of-towners alike. The interior tables are
as appealing as those in the courtyard, but expect some smokers outside. The €23
menu
is
a terrific value (€12-18 starters and €20-30
plats
, open daily, look for the square red sign
at 5 Rue Masséna, tel. 04 93 82 15 93).
Villa d'Este
hasthesameownersastherecommendedLaVoglia(listedearlier,under
“In Vieux Nice”). The portions are big, the price is right, and the quality is tops (daily, on
a busy pedestrian street at 6 Rue Masséna, tel. 04 93 82 47 77).