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    La Merenda

    4.0 (74 reviews)
    PriceyFrench
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    Zack F.

    Need a larger space I can't book a week in advance when I'm on my holiday. The lady taking reservations took someone's reservation right before us and the. Decided after that there fully booked.

    William M.

    Always a pleasure, no phone, no booking, but magnificent Tomato tarte tatin, oxtail stem with orange zest served with a delicious wet polenta, sensational Forgot to mention the Courgette flower's delicious, light as a feather

    Luscious onion tart
    Julie K.

    La Merenda was our final meal before leaving Nice and I'm so glad I saved it since it left such a lasting impression.  Only 1 chef at the helm, Dominique Le Stance, Michelin trained super chef with a veritable pedigree having worked at fine restaurants all over the Riviera.   He left his high ranking stations and all his past riches to take over this tiny Mom-and-Pop establishment for the last 12 years. His goal was to simply cook his heart out without all the large kitchen logistics and politics.  Now that is the mark of a truly passionate chef! La Merenda has been a historical landmark in Nice having served the city for 30 successful years.  The establishment only offers a few seatings per day/evening as the dining room holds no more than 20 people at a time and is only open during lunch for 2 hours (12-2pm) and during dinner for 4 (7-11pm).   We totally lucked out and snagged the last two available spots for dinner, literally an elbow's length away from the gals seated next to us.  I'm sure it bugs some Americans to be all up in someone's grill, but I quite enjoy the close quarters.  What better way to ogle a stranger's dishes than to see/smell it up close and personal? We started with this luscious onion tart and breaded sardines stuffed with leafy green market picks of the day.  House-made pesto pasta came next and you could have heard me moan from a mile away at the firstAHMAZZING bite!  It's been a minute since I enjoyed a plate of carbs this much as I could still taste the perfectly cooked bouncy, chewy noodles as if it was yesterday.  Seriously ridick guys! For our main dishes le hubs and I both selected the highly recommended beef dishes.  One Daube de Boeuf a la Provencale et Parisse and Queue de Boeuf a l'Orange et Polenta.   I would typically never order 2 of the same proteins in one meal but they had run out of veal tripe when we arrived and I wasn't in the mood for stock fish.  I mean he only makes about a dozen dishes every evening so once it's out, it's dunzo hunnnies!   The vernacular translation of La Merenda means "the crust breaks".... I absolutely LOVE that.  Breaking bread over an authentic Nicoise meal, made with precision, tradition, and above all else, absolute passion. Just a note:  They have no phone, they do not take credit cards, and reservations can only be made in person, as a result.  So get there right when they open and you should be fine.  They even allow dogs in the restaurant (as I've come to learn most restaurants in France do) which obviously means I LOVE IT HERE!!!!!   You get why I would move in a heartbeat?!!!

    Genovese pasta!
    Satoshi M.

    The best restaurant in Nice! Very kind Ratatouille. Great tasty Genovese pasta! People at restaurant are also very good! Love it!!

    Salad with fresh figs and feta
    Irina K.

    Although my experience here didn't start on a good note, it ended as one of the best meals I've ever had. I have eaten in 3 star Michelin restaurants and this was different but just as good. Recommended by a local, we tried very hard to find this place. It was slightly tricky and what a disappointment when we realized it was closed all day. How do you make reservations? No phone, no website. I was determined however. We came later that night and were basically laughed at by the waiter and the locals giving us quizzical looks when we tried to navigate through closely packed tables and speak to the only waiter / bus boy / maître d'. Alas a reservation was made for the next night. Turns out they only have two seatings so dont miss out! It was the smallest restaurant I have ever been to. I am pretty sure I counted only 24 seats altogether. We were seated extremely close to a table of 6 loud men having lots of wine. It was close to the kitchen and extremely hot. I am not going to lie, I was annoyed. Take all this and scratch it right out. The food is so worth the aggravation! Exquisite! Phenomenal! Simple. Dont expect decorated plates. Its just simple food from the best ingredients that South of France has to offer. Not sure why it took me so long to write this review, I forget most of what we had. I can however, still taste the pates au pistou (pasta with Pesto). Not being a huge pasta fan, it was naturally not what I ordered. Having tried it from my husband, I was practically begging him for more and almost licking the plate. It was just devine. I watched the chef all night weighing the fresh pasta portions (fettucini) on the old fashioned hanging scale and tossing them into hot water. My god was it delicious. The whole night was magical. Romantic with amazing wine. Great conversation with the table next to us. If I am ever back in Nice, I will be going out of my way to come here for sure!

    Alena P.

    What you need to know about this place - its tiny, cosy and very very good. It has around 15 seats, no outside seating. It's authentic and pretty awesome. It's a family place, no music, just people talking and enjoying their meal. I did not like the wine much though, but the food was very good. Especially I loved the beef (on the pic).

    Excellent food! We went based on TA and Yelp recs. Were there at 12:15 and the place was almost full already. No phones, no set menu and no credit card just great food!!

    Good choice

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    Food was excellent and atmosphere eclectic. Clearly a locals favorite for good reason!

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    8 years ago

    Till this day, the best meal of our lives!! We will visit Nice again simply to eat at La Merenda!!

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    Page 1 of 2

    La Merenda Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - La Merenda

    The pesto pasta was definitely the standout and one of our favorite dishes in France.

    Mentioned in 5 reviews

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    La Cave du Fromager - Beef stew !!!!

    La Cave du Fromager

    4.5(293 reviews)
    0.3 km
    €€

    I came here 2 nights in a row. First solo, and then with friends because I'd enjoyed it so much…read more Firstly, the atmosphere is lovely. The restaurant has a humble exterior (largely blocked by gelato customers), but once you descend the stairs into the dining area you are in a sheek, romantic, cellar. Intimately small but comfortable. The walls are lined with stone and endless wine bottles. The starters were all quite good. We had the snails, squid, and cheese plait. As a bonus, my waitress recommended an excellent wine to pair with the squid. It was spot on. My group shared the beef and tartafelle (forgive my spelling). The beef was succulent, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. I had no idea what to expect with the second dish but it was delicious and I would certainly order again. The prior night, I had the bakes camembert when eating solo. The dish is exactly as described. It's tasty, but I'd recommend it for a group since eating an entire block of melted cheese solo is challenging. Last but not least, the wait staff were wonderful! We really enjoyed chatting with our 2 waitresses, who went out of their way to make sure we enjoyed ourselves and our election of drinks. As a tourist, you really hope to stumble on a gem like this were the locals charm you and really guide your dining experience. If ever back in Nice, i'll certainly go again!

    Came here dinner. A bit hard to find as an underground restaurant. Pure French restaurant. Limited…read moremenu and they only except cash. Also note there is no cell service or WiFi service in the restaurant. Nice ambiance in the restaurant and away from the hustle and bustle of Nice. We ordered the squid, Foie Gras and Filet Mignon. All 3 were very good though I am not a fan of the Fois Gras but it came with a nice salad and bread. The squid was seasoned well and cut thin and flash fried. The filet was sliced and cooked perfect The potatoes were great and also nice salad came with it. Service was ok. Prices Moderate.

    Photos
    La Cave du Fromager - Old cheese cellar converted to a restaurant

    Old cheese cellar converted to a restaurant

    La Cave du Fromager - Croquettes

    Croquettes

    La Cave du Fromager - White wine made specially for La Cave du Fromager

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    White wine made specially for La Cave du Fromager

    Chez Palmyre - Cheese with Blueberry Compote

    Chez Palmyre

    4.6(89 reviews)
    0.4 km
    €€

    This was our favorite meal of our trip to Nice!…read more Warning: Reservations are hard to come by we dropped by and only reservations available were for 9pm two nights later. We took it. The place is super relaxed. 5 maybe 6 tables which made the difficulty of reservations more understandable. Prix fix menu - 4 appetizers to choose from, 4 entrees and 4 desserts. We were there with somewhat of a limited diet, but the options were awesome. We got a cauliflower appetizer and an artichoke one. Both were excellent. We all had the cod for dinner also delicious - served in a bath of traditional fish soup and with potatoes. The dessert was also excellent - we got the goat cheese in olive oil and garlic, the cream cheese with blueberry compote, lemon cheesecake and cinnamon "tiramisu". Every bite was full of flavor and such cool takes on the food. Now the intangibles - we arrived for our 9pm reservation, restaurant closes at 9:30 and we probably didn't walk out until 11:15 and there was still another table of 8 people dining. The host/waiter, Sebastian, was awesome. So friendly and we at no point felt rushed. In fact the opposite. When our daughter was slow in finishing her meal he joked with her instead of hurrying us along. Once we finished our main dish, he casually brought us our dessert and because we didn't order his favorite (we didn't know) he brought us out an extra to enjoy. We felt a little bad so somewhat accelerated the dessert phase so we could square up and leave. Instead he was unhurried, he casually cleared our table and chatted with us for a bit. It took us another 15 minutes before we finally said could we get the bill. He brought it to us another 5-7 minutes later. We had a great experience and one of our best meals in France, if not the best.

    I really want to love this place: it has such an intimate feel and just screams Nice. But I've been…read morehere a few times and each time the food has been between OK and good, but nothing particularly memorable. With that said, at €20 this is excellent value for money. Overall, I'd say the food is a 3.5/5 but the value is 5/5. I'd recommended Chez Palmyre if you want a real Nice experience, especially on a budget. Be sure to make a reservation well in advance.

    Photos
    Chez Palmyre
    Chez Palmyre - Goat cheese soaked in garlic and olive oil

    Goat cheese soaked in garlic and olive oil

    Chez Palmyre - Tiramisu

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    Tiramisu

    La Merenda - french - Updated May 2026

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