14 Best Restaurants in The French Riviera, France

There are plenty of places where you can sample socca, but if you want to understand why so much fuss is made in Nice over the chickpea pancake, this out-of-the-way café behind the port is the place to go. As per usual, a batter of chickpea flour, water, olive oil, and salt is baked in giant copper tins in a wood-fired oven, but here, the cook expertly scrapes the surface of the nearly-cooked dough with a metal spatula so that it comes out extra-crispy. It's hard to explain why, but this is socca you can eat in large quantities even if you're not hungry. On weekend nights, people are willing to wait an hour or more for the petite or grande plates. If you can't make it to this location, Chez Pipo is also at Terminal 1 at the Nice Airport. For the lowdown on everything socca, watch the short We Eat Socca Here by American filmmaker Scott Petersen.

Here, the gluten-free pancakes, brownies, and cheesecake are irresistible. Add in delicious brunches, lunches, and specialty coffees, and you’ve got the perfect place for the whole family to eat.

For fresh, homemade, gelato-style ice cream offered in a rainbow of flavors and colors, stop at Glacier Fenocchio any day of the week from 9 am to midnight, March to November. There's also a choice of sorbets made with locally grown citrus, including orange, mandarin, and lemon.

It might look like just another pizzeria, but Le Serre is a family-run restaurant where more than just pizza is prepared with care. The warm welcome ensures that the restaurant attracts plenty of locals who have learned to tread carefully around tourist traps. Daube, the Provençal beef-and-wine stew with herbs, often tops the set menu; the chef starts its preparation at midnight for the next day.

Heavenly homemade macarons are the order of the day at this sweet little tea shop in the old town, just steps from Cours Saléya and its bustling market.

Clay is renowned for its Mediterranean-inspired brunch menu, its specialty coffee, and its buzzy atmosphere. Menu favorites like avocado toast, savory pancakes, French toast, and açaí bowls are all made with fresh, high-quality ingredients.

You may not be able to afford a squillionaires villa here, but you can buy an ice cream. Pull up a seat on the port-side terrace, and pick your favorite flavor. Need something stronger? Coffee and cocktails are also available. 

A cozy, rustic-chic atmosphere makes this a popular spot for coffee, brunch, or lunch, and there's often a line out the door around midday. The delicious vegan carrot cake and cookies are must tries.

If all that paddleboarding has made you hungry, this snack bar with a seated terrace overlooking Plage des Marinières has just the thing. The bruschetta is a highlight, served on warm, soft, fresh bread and, if you are salty fish inclined, the anchovy option is delicious. Get here early for summer lunch as it will be packed. 

Try this spot for delicious specialty coffees, as well as organic, homemade scones and cakes.

Popular with both locals and expats, the four restaurants at the Paul Augier Hospitality and Tourism School, attended by 1,200 pupils and apprentices, serve lunch weekdays and dinner some evenings—and everything is prepared by aspiring young chefs. The fifth-floor La Rotonde is the most sophisticated and expensive of the three restaurants, but, still, the set lunch menu is just €35 without drinks, and set dinner menus start at €40. Note, though, that reservations are by email only.

This organic craft bakery offers delicious sweet and savory creations that are great for a tasty takeaway.

No trip to St-Tropez is complete without indulging in a tropézienne, the famous local pastry that combines airy brioche with velvety cream and is topped with crunchy sugar granules. For an elevated take on this classic, head to this family-run patisserie, where Laurent Cavazza trained at Lenôtre and offers the iconic fleur d'oranger version alongside a red berry variation.

At the far southeast tip of Théoule's miniature bay, this unpretentious pizzeria serves simple Italian specialties—but, oh, what a setting. A few tables line a wooden "boathouse" porch directly over the lapping water, and at night the whole glittering necklace of Cannes reflects its luxurious glow over the bay. Good wood-oven pizzas and pastas add superfluous pleasure.