Boccaccio — Restaurant in Nice

🇬🇧 English

When visiting Boccaccio, it becomes very clear very quickly that this is not only about good food, but about a coherent overall experience combining atmosphere, hospitality and cuisine.

From the moment you enter the restaurant, you immediately feel at ease. The warm colours, the high-quality furniture, the abundance of wood and the harmonious lines create a cosy, almost private atmosphere. Nothing feels cold or staged; rather, you have the feeling of sitting in a very beautiful living room. Particularly impressive is the aquarium in the centre of the room, which conveys a calm, maritime depth and perfectly matches the culinary focus. Light, colours and spatial design blend beautifully here and create a relaxed, elegant mood.

A key part of this experience is the exceptionally friendly service. The attentiveness of the team is remarkable – warm, present and always pleasantly discreet. You are looked after carefully without ever feeling watched. This natural friendliness, combined with professionalism and experience, plays a decisive role in making guests feel welcome and valued.

Culinarily, the focus is clearly on seafood, and this is where the house truly shows its strength. The products are of outstanding quality, and the preparation is precise and respectful, without unnecessary effects. The seafood platter deserves special mention and is simply sensational. Oysters, shellfish and other seafood are served in a quality that is beyond reproach – absolutely fresh, perfectly tempered and without any gimmicks. Here, the product speaks for itself, and at a very high level.

Another highlight is the whole fish, pan-fried and served as classically and as well as one could wish for. Whether sole, sea bass or sea bream – the quality is consistently excellent. The fish are cooked to perfection and professionally filleted, calmly, precisely and with great confidence. Regardless of the choice, each fish impresses with freshness, flavour and craftsmanship at the same high level.

The side dishes also deserve special mention. In particular, the truffle purée stands out, not merely as an accompaniment but as a pleasure in its own right: fine, creamy, aromatic and perfectly balanced. A side dish that shows how much care is given even to the seemingly small details.

Boccaccio is also well known far beyond the region for its paella, and this reputation is well deserved. It is not served here as a tourist cliché, but as a true house speciality: aromatic, generous, structured and prepared with evident experience. One can sense that this dish has been cultivated seriously and consistently over many years.

The desserts also deserve special attention. It is wonderful to see that classic French dessert culture is not modernised or distorted here, but remains traditional and technically precise. Great classics such as Crêpe Suzette, flambéed with Grand Marnier, are served with ease – a sign of skill and respect for tradition. Desserts such as brioche perdue, crème brûlée or Belle Hélène also show that great value is placed on quality, technique and flavour. Ice creams and sorbets do not feel like an afterthought, but rather a natural part of the culinary standard.

In the end, the impression is of a place defined by harmony: a warm, elegant atmosphere, an exceptionally friendly team, first-class seafood, perfectly prepared whole fish, a paella with substance and desserts that clearly reflect craftsmanship and tradition.

A restaurant where you not only eat very well, but truly feel at ease.

A sincere grand merci to the entire team for this outstanding performance.

I very gladly recommend Boccaccio.

Avec vous · Avec passion · Avec Éric

If you’re Asian, DO NOT EAT HERE.

I’ll preface this review by saying that the service and food once seated were impeccable - however, they could not completely make up for the fact that we were seated in a terrible spot despite having a reservation. If you are from any Asian country at all, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, etc., consider very carefully if you want to eat excellent seafood at the cost of being prejudiced against. Especially since Nice has plenty of restaurants that serve great seafood.

When we came to the restaurant, we were checked in with our reservation. We were told that since al fresco dining tables out front were first come, first served, we could not sit out there since it was full. That’s understandable. However, we were advised to go upstairs to sit down. There were a couple of open corner booths - premium spots in this restaurant - however, our waiter told us that my family and I could not sit there because we were a party of 3, and booths were meant for 4-5 people. Sounded suspicious, but whatever. A mere 10-15 minutes after we were seated in front of the fish tank - not the best seat in the house, but better than being seated on a table in the side - a white family of 3 people exactly were seated in the corner booth we requested. That was a huge embarrassment and insult to myself and my family.

If you look around the restaurant, all the Asian customers are seated on the sidelines and in relatively bad spots in comparison to white customers. It’s like the owner and the restaurant hate Asian people despite enjoying all the money our patronage brings in.

This review isn’t all negative though - the Paella Valenciana was amazing, even better than what we’ve had in Spain. The pan it comes in is huge! Combining Provençal vegetables typically found in ratatouille with fresh seafood makes this signature dish a big hit! The linguine aux/alla Vongole was amongst some of the best dishes we’ve had in southern France, maybe even better than in Italy! The oysters we had in the beginning were fresh and huge. Even the dessert, the crème brûlée, was a large portion and very delicious.

However, the waitstaff claimed they would pack our delicious paella leftovers and they didn’t haha. We got scammed a bit leaving with nothing. Overall, I would not come back despite the food being delicious as it’s too pricey and as the waitstaff are too racist. There are plenty of delicious places to eat in Nice that treat you with dignity. If you’re Asian DON’T EAT HERE.

EDITED TO ADD-ON:

The owner’s response is very generic and not at all genuine. Reminder that we were told we couldn’t sit at a corner booth because we were a party of 3 people, but then a white family of 3 people were seated there a short while after we were seated. This place is racist, wasteful, and a scam. Please don’t eat here if you’re Asian - there are plenty of other great places to eat in Nice where you can be treated well with great food for a great price, such as Les Deux Canailles and Nespo.

My wife and I are spending three weeks in Europe and one of our stops was in Nice. We were looking for dinner ideas last night and given we were staying at at city along the sea what would be more enjoyable than some seafood. I found Boccacio after some quick searching and settled on visiting after visiting their website.

We were staying in the Old Port area of Nice so it was a short ride on the tram to the Masséna stop. It is just a minutes walk from the stop to Boccaccio. We did not have reservations but were able to get a couple of seats outside arriving around 19:15 in the evening. I would suggest you make reservations or getting there close to 19:00 if you prefer sitting outside.

We decided upon steamed mussels for an appetizer, Calamari Fritti and vegetables for the main course, and Creme Brulee for dessert. You can see from the pictures that we were provided a very large portion of steamed mussels. They were excellent, full of flavor, and varying sizes. We were not able to finish them all as I needed enough room to savor my Calamari. The Calamari was mostly rings with some tentacles mixed in. The Zuchinni and other vegetables balanced out the main course. The Calamari was excellent, tender, and cooked just right.

I have to make a special comment about the Creme Brulee as it is the largest portion that I have ever been served (I frequently order Creme Brulee). It was in a 12" oblong serving bowl and was enough for four people. I rarely leave any Creme Brulee in the serving dish when I am finished but I unfortunately left a large portion. It was the perfect consistency, the custard was flavorful, and the carmelized topping was excellent.

The only downside is that we had to move from sitting outside due to some rain. I would always remind everyone that you are in France so if you order carbonated drinks (coke/coke zero) or water be prepared to pay for it. A large bottle of water was 9 eur and a Coke Zero was 6 eur.

I was a very enjoyable meal, the service was excellent, and I would recommend visiting to anyone who loves fresh seafood.