Maison Margaux — Restaurant in Nice

I wish I could offer no star for this restaurant. The experience was truly terrifying! We have ordered, French snails as starter, main courses were duck, pasta with truffle and kids steak with pasta.

Firstly the waiting time for our food. We have waited around 25 mins for our food which didn’t really bother us that much, a-little longer than we expected, but not too much of a problem.

Then comes the food!! OMG my pasta was complete cold on the top even the plate was hot to touch but the pasta was completely cold, what’s even worst the pasta has no taste in it what so ever not even salt. Therefore I have refused to accept and had no choice but requested to return the food. My wife’s duck was extremely dry and tasteless, texture was like eating rubber! potatoes were burnt! Then the kids meal for our daughter, the so call “steak” was actually mince beef and cold inside! My 7 years old was extremely hungry as we have just landed but she refused to eat the food, if the food can’t even satisfy a 7 year old, you can imagine what was going through our mind.

At the end We have made suggestions to the staff before we paid our bill. The waitress was kindly offered us l free desserts but we just couldn’t accept the offer as that wasn’t our intention of our complaint and I could already imagine what that desert going to taste like!

It was truly the worse 66 euro I have even spent on any food. We felt like we have been scammed and it was our very first meal after we landed in Nice, we choose this restaurant because of its location, but the experience was terrifying.

Anyone that reading this review....

When people talk about tourist traps, they're talking about places like Maison Margaux. I noticed the nice looking terrace so decided to take a seat and have a coffee before a meeting I had later.

Me - "Un café s'il vous plaît"

Waiter - "Un expresso?"

Me - "Oui"

Eventually (yes, slow service) he brings out a wide, rectangular plate that has a coffee on the right, a cannelé in the middle and a sealed small bottle of Evian water. At first I was thinking "oh, this is great" and then it hit me, this is not what I ordered and it's going to cost me. All I wanted was a coffee.

The waiter walks by and I hold up a 5€ bill, but he tells me it is 5,50€ which is shockingly expensive in Nice for a simple coffee. I again explain that all I wanted was a coffee and he starts rambling that it's not possible that's all they serve, blah, blah, blah. Yes, IT IS A SCAM! This is so sleazy, it's truly uncalled for and it tarnishes the otherwise pleasant reputation of the town.

I've since looked at numerous other reviews and sadly, I wasn't the first person - including plenty of French people - who have been swindled. This cafe only opened recently so it would appear that they either have rogue employees or there's a serious problem.

If I find a contact for Nice Tourist Police I will let them know. I enjoy Nice and have been visiting for over 20 years, so am sad to encounter such a place. I visit numerous times every year but am definitely avoiding this place until the entire ownership and team change.

If I could give it ZERO stars, I would, but this system...

Absolutely the Worst Dining Experience I’ve Had in France. Avoid at All Costs.

I ordered what was listed as an Eggs Benedict, expecting the classic French-style dish—perfectly poached eggs with creamy, warm hollandaise sauce. What I got instead? A cold, rubbery, clearly two-day-old hard-boiled egg slapped on soggy bread… topped with a spoonful of straight mayonnaise. Not toasted, not seasoned—just shameful.

When I politely questioned it, the waiter insisted—with full confidence—that in France, Eggs Benedict is made with mayonnaise, not hollandaise. He then brought over not just the manager, but another waitress too, like it was some kind of intervention. All three doubled down on this nonsense.

Let’s be clear: that is completely false. Any quick search, any basic culinary education, any brunch spot across France—hell, even a cooking school—will confirm that hollandaise is the sauce used for a proper Eggs Benedict. It’s literally the defining feature. Mayo is not a shortcut. It’s not a substitute. It’s a disgrace.

I left disgusted and insulted, both by the food and the gaslighting. If you’re visiting this place thinking you’ll get even a remotely decent meal, turn around. They either have no idea what they’re doing, or they do—and they’re lying to cover it.

This place should be shut down for misleading customers and serving subpar, inedible food. Zero stars. You’ve...