La Rotonde Nice — Restaurant in Nice

Sorry in advance for the bad pictures...

We went in not really knowing what to have but felt that we at least needed to visit a restaurant of this standard as they are trying to get up to "that standard" and we find it fun to test those out.. The hotel were so amazingly beautiful and the restaurant were just as great with the christmas ornaments.

We were guided through the hotel before going to the dining area as one of the first guests for our seating. Service were excelent and our waitor (Dario) explained the menue and were great as giving us tips. We places special orders for drinks and let me tell you that they did a better Dry Martini than in central London.... #shame on London.... it's a sad but great thing (If you're in Nice).

We took a tasting menue with an extra plate of escargot as a starter. Catch of the day were swoardfish and both me and my GF were blown away from the dish.. best fish-carpaccio we ever had. The wine were superb together with the plates and the server even told us that with one of our plates we didn't need to get the other wine on the menue (that were priced higher) because the one we had with the one before were great with the next dish as well so we could just get another glass instead.

When the restaurant went busy and all of the tables were taken we just started talking about how the service were getting slower and our glasses were getting low we were interupted by the server comming up telling us that the kitchen were running a little behind but they gave us a refill of our glasses on the house. 1-2 minutes later the food came out and all went well... they were on point and didn't need to do that for us.

We have a favorite restaurant in our hometown in Sweden that we feel have the same service.. it doesn't feel like a up-tight restaurant but omg the service and food is great. What buzz my mind is that the price were much lower when the tab came. (Don't get me wrong.. it's high end, but what you get for your money is way more than your coin).

Please... I hope that they get their star so that we can get a table again and say that we tried it before and after -because they deserve it. We have been at places with stars and they have not been as good as the food we had here.

Only complaint is a personal one because I didn't like the texture of the spunge-cake (I'd like it a little more solid) but It's like saying that a perfect mid-rare steak isn't good because you like it mid-done... I won't remove anything from the score because all the sides to it were great and worked.

I would say sorry to Dario for taking this long for...

We were very excited to get a reservation at La Rotonde given Le Negresco's reputation and the high marks it has received. The food was great but the service was so dissappointing which unfortunately overshadowed the rest of the experience.

When we arrived for our reservation around 9PM, the hostess asked if we would like to sit inside or outside. I said outside and just before we sat down I asked if we could sit inside instead because the heat was uncomfortable and there was no breeze. She said that the inside was fully booked and we could not sit inside. Which was odd because she just asked about our preference only a minute prior. We figured maybe our initial choice of sitting outside then only left tables for reservations for inside. After about 20 minutes outside I could not enjoy our entrees at all because the food was hot and there was an actual heat advisory for outside so it was just extremely uncomfortable. I went inside to the bathroom to cool off and noticed that more than half of the restaurant was empty. And there were not crowds of people who had left since we had gotten there. So I asked the hostess again if we could move inside. She said she'd check with her manager. She came back and said that we could move inside after our meal for dessert. I told her that the inside was practically empty and I had requested to sit inside at the beginning of the meal and she repeated we could sit inside for our dessert. Which there was no way I would give the restaurant any more money for dessert if they could not make an incredibly simple accommodation such as moving us inside. I told her that I was not happy about it. The manager came out and told us we could sit inside and they brought our meal to a table inside. I do not know why they could not have made such a simple accommodation from the beginning, but that was a terrible choice on their part and a very unsatisfactory experience for us.

On top of that, we never received fresh cutlery between our courses. We asked for a wine recommendation for a nice light and refreshing red or white that would go with our meals and the waiter suggested a Bordeaux which is not at all light so we no longer trusted his recommendations.

Regardless, the lack of a simple accommodation and sub-par service at an upscale restaurant such as La Rotonde was disappointing. I expected much more for a restaurant in a...

A below ordinary experience!!! In short: they served us raw fish for 59€. no presentation skills whatsoever, mediocre at best drinks. The only good thing about this place is the setting and the view if you sit outside. Don't waste your money. there are tons of good restaurants in Nice with much better value for your money.

If you like to know more read below: I have reserved a table here for my wife's birthday after I saw the name of the bistro in a guide and after looking into creative chef's work. Seemed like a great place to experience the ultimate French cuisine excellence. The night started great but as the food started coming it went downhill very quickly. The drinks were served in the same glasses you'll find in any store, with small ice cubes you'll find in any inn on the road. You would expect a nice pristine glass with a bulky clear ice that melts slowly for a Negroni in a place like this ... The entrée again was not that complex but the taste was Ok at best. Then food came. I ordered a sea bass which looked pretty underwhelming when it arrived. No finesse whatsoever in presentation, and even missing some ingredients that were stated on the menu. but we started eating as we were having a good time. After a few bites I felt the fish was hard to cut as if you were cutting a raw fish. I flipped the fish and there it was, a raw piece of fish with just small parts of it cooked and parts of it completely raw. I didn't even have to argue ... They offered to make me the same dish again which I refused because I felt sick. They proposed to bring desserts and cheese but we just didn't want to stay after what we just saw. Out of respect for the guests we paid for whatever we ate except the fish and left, not to make a scene. This was the first service in a "luxury" hotel's restaurant in France!!! I strongly suggest the creative chef and the management re-assess their objectives and spend some time supervising what goes out of the kitchen because it's not on par with what they advertise and certainly not a good...