L'épicerie Georges — Restaurant in Nice

Too Long; Didn't Read Some brilliant sparks of food let down by a poor setting and overzealous seasoning.

Full Review L'Epicerie George is a tiny little authentically French bistro in old Nice. The setting and interior I feel left me torn; the tables are small and very close by which is normal for many restaurants in old Nice and provide for a good atmosphere with a great view to the kitchen to see the food being prepared, if you're interested in that sort of thing (which I am!). However my visit in March '22 meant that the weather was on the cooler side for Nice (approx 13-15°C in the evening) which meant that the doors were closed and provided for a stifling environment. However the biggest issue was the incredibly overwhelming stink of damp, mildew, and mould on entering the restaurant. This was confirmed by there being significant spots of black mould behind the front door shutters. I'm genuinely surprised this is allowed because it was an uncomfortable environment to be in. Had this restaurant not had great reviews online, I would've left but as it was, I decided against my better judgement to stay. And in spite of the terrible setting, I'm glad I did.

L'Epicerie George's menu is basic but makes for great food; we ordered the bone marrow and camembert for starter, followed by the beef stew and pork knuckle for main, and the white chocolate & raspberry tart for dessert. We accompanied this with the only available beverage; some red wine.

Initially the service was very slow and lacking. This is down to only having 2 staff so if you're in for a quick meal, it can be an issue however it didn't affect us as we weren't in any rush. That being said, of all the restaurants we visited in Nice, the service was the least attentive. It took us some time to get our drinks orders in, and were missed for guests that arrived after. Nonetheless when we did receive service it was helpful and good.

The starters could have been absolutely incredible but they weren't, for one reason only; being too heavily salted. The bone marrow and camembert were exquisitely cooked and absolutely delicious but almost every mouthful was incredibly salty. I truly wish that the chef had lightly salted the dish and allowed us to add as necessary. However when I was able to have a rare mouthful which wasn't salted both starters were delicious. As it was though, these dishes were okay. A positive is that the dishes arrived very hot which showed their freshness from being cooked, and this was true of the mains too.

The mains were outstanding. The pork knuckle was akin to pork ribs in flavour and texture, and was incredibly tender and flavourful. The meat almost fell apart and the accompanying salad was exquisite. The pork was sold as barbecue flavour and though the sauce provided was indeed barbecue, it was definitely not homemade and therefore a massive oversight. It seemed to be of very low quality which detracted from an otherwise incredible main meal.

The beef was equally good; delicious mashed potato with a generous portion of beef and sauce which was mopped up by the delicious bread. We visited some brilliant restaurants in Nice and these main course meals were among the best.

The dessert was again very good. The crispy sweet base of the tart which was complemented by the decadent white chocolate filling, and balanced perfectly by very high quality raspberries.

Overall the food was very good, let down by the starters and a minor gripe with the barbecue sauce.

I wish I could give this restaurant 5* as I feel with some minor changes, it could quite comfortably achieve this but having been to some excellent restaurants of a similar model in Nice, L'Epicerie George isn't up there. Some minor changes would make this restaurant absolutely outstanding, and dare I say, one of the best restaurants in vieux-Nice.

Setting - 0/5 (Due to stink and visibility of damp and mould) Service - 3/5 Starter - 3/5 (Too much salt) Main -...

The guy that works there is crazy. Walks with tables over customers and behave extremely relaxed, someone would say unprofessional. The lady cooks everything alone, literary in the same place where you eat, and the place where you eat is extremely small. As people that cooks every day (my wife and myself) you can't expect much from that, ambient is more suitable for small antique shop than a restorant. We bumped to the restaurant by accident, just walking troughs small streets and trying to avoid big crowds with idea to find something small and more quiet to have some dinner. For people that showed there without previous reservation and seeing how is everything organized I immediately said to my wife to have patience, we were there for a long, long wait to get our meal. I hope I have painted the picture to future guests so you have been warned now. Now we were on holidays and I had a lot of patience and looked at this as a experience. House red wine? Extremely good. Food took probably an hour to come (best regards to our cook on her speed, amazing!) and everything that we have been served (filled pumpkin, beef, lamb) is something that you have to try. Now after our 3 weeks of vacations we can easily rate this restaurant (and that includes Michelin stars restaurant too) that this was the BEST meal we ever had. By far. So far that we would like to ask for a recipe now. And to thanks them once more, for that ambient, service, whole experience. We were left with feeling that it everything was done with only one thing we all need in our professions, love. And it looks like that they are doing it exactly like that, in the way that they want and that makes them happy. Guys stay as you are, it was fabolous. Regards...

Added) What a liar🤯Be honest. I swear I never asked for a discount. And that was not 1mm — it was at least 1cm. I’m truly disappointed in your attitude again.

Why are you lying? Can you really SWEAR that I ever mentioned the word “DISCOUNT”? Just take responsibillity for your mistake and apologize. Aren’t you ashamed?

I’m shocked again. Since I had already eaten most of the dish, I didn’t even ask for it to be remade. I didn’t want to cause any trouble, so I quietly paid and left. All the other customers who were there would know the truth. All I wanted was a sincere apology from the kitchen staff.

—————————————— ⭐️Worst experience ever – serious hygiene issue!⭐️

A piece of scouring pad came out of my beef cheek stew. I was absolutely shocked. The server seemed to pass my concern to the kitchen staff, but instead of showing any kind of apology, the kitchen crew laughed among themselves like it was some kind of joke. I still ended up paying the full €28 for the dish.

Is it normal in France not to take things like this seriously? Yes, the server did apologize eventually, but by then I had already seen the kitchen staff laughing, which made the whole situation incredibly upsetting.

The server even tried to tell me it “might have fallen from the ceiling decoration,” which is a ridiculous excuse – it was clearly a piece of a scouring pad.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a photo, but the people seated right next to me saw it too – it definitely came from inside the food.

At the very least, the restaurant needs to thoroughly check what ends up in their dishes. Just thinking about what could have happened if I had eaten it… absolutely...