Lou Balico — Restaurant in Nice

Embarking on a culinary journey through Nice led us to Lou Balico - a traditional Niçoise restaurant that exudes warmth and heritage. Family-owned for generations, the space is decorated with family photos adorning the walls, a testament to its deep-rooted love and familial charm.

The service we received was not just efficient, it was also wonderfully friendly and fun, adding to the intimate atmosphere of the place. Despite its spaciousness, Lou Balico manages to evoke a cozy feel that makes dining here all the more special.

As for the food, it's an authentic Niçoise experience. I opted for a traditional Niçoise salad which pleasantly surprised me - it was unlike the typical Niçoise salads with beans and potatoes I've known. Fresh and packed with distinct flavors, it was a revelation.

Others in our group went for the ravioli with a rich beef stew - a hearty, comforting choice, and a salad featuring goats cheese and lardon, which proved to be a satisfying and flavorful choice.

In essence, Lou Balico serves up a wonderful combination of homely atmosphere and genuine Niçoise cuisine, making it a place I...

Quite disappointed by the entire experience ...

Food : we ordered a pissaladière + petits farcis + pistou soup. The pissaladière which was a bit burned (also it's quite a small piece , had 1 anchovy on it and comes with a little bit of lettuce) The petits farcis is a very small plate. The taste was not outstanding at all The pistou soup was very salty and had a mashed texture- definitely not the best pistou soup I had in my life.

We wanted a "nissarde experience" but were very disappointed . I would not recommend this restaurant unfortunately.

Also the service was not great, we had multiple waiters serving us and contradicting themselves , not very willing to cater for a vegetarian (myself) and frankly one of them was quite rude .

I am sorry , I very rarely leave bad comments because I prefer to support people. Hopefully my comment can help for the restaurant to improve in the future (and not live off the "nissarde" cuisine logo)

But I also want to give an honest review for future tourists. As a French person from Marseille, I would rather send foreigners to other restaurants so they have a better...

The food is good. The atmosphere is good. We went here twice on recommendation of our airbnb host. The first time was great. The second time was incredibly awkward. I guess in France it is not common to dip your bread in oil and vinegar. This I did not discover until I did so at this restaurant. Prior to your meal, you are provided croutons to nibble on. Then you are provided bread before your meal. I took the croutons put it in the bread basket and put some oil and vinegar in crouton bowl. When our server (who I assume is one of the owners) saw this he hastily took away the croutons and bowl and bread. He then clearly ignored us the entire time leaving the other server to just wait on us even though they were incredibly busy. The angry server also gave us an incredibly angry look when he took the items away without explaining to us what we did wrong. For the rest of the meal we felt terrible, and even ordered dessert when we were stuffed. I even apologized afterwards to which I received a head nod and “it is okay.” Basically- go here for the food but don’t mess with French food...