Restaurant Name: Le Safari
We went here for a meal on a crisp, cold day in January 2004. It was 2pm but luckily the restaurant is open all day. It was still full so we waited outside with a few others for a table to become free. Inside, full to bursting, the restaurant looked particularly welcoming this cold day with the glow of the wood-burning pizza oven.
For the winter, the outdoor terrace had been enclosed with temporary see-through walls and a roof and there were gas heaters - you needed them, it was too cold eat outside today.
We chose this restaurant on the recommendation of other VT members. We might not have tried it otherwise as it is right in the centre of the Cours Saleya - the famous flower market of Nice and I had always thought this would be full of 'tourist trap' restaurants - over-priced and not authentic. Also, the name of this restaurant, 'Le Safari' did not particularly appeal - it doesn't sound very
Nicois. Anyway, I'm glad to say that we had a lovely meal here - I was impressed with the food, the menu and the atmosphere and we will come back in the summer.
This restaurant is in a prime location in the Cours Saleya and it I can imagine it would be lovely to eat here in the summer in the outdoors terrace, with a prime view over the market stalls. The earlier you are, the better the view; at 2pm in the winter, all we saw was hosed-down wet road - the market stalls had been cleared away.
Favorite Dish: The menu was split into Nicois specialities, pastas, pizzas, Seafood and Meat.
Examples of the specialities include Soupe de Poissons (fish soup) at 12 euros, Salade Nicois at 10 euros and Petits Farcis Nicois et Salade (stuffed vegetables and salad) at 12 euros and Beignets de fleur de courgette (battered vegetable fritters) at 10 euros.
There was a range of pasta dishes from simple Penne with spicy tomato sauce from 10 euros to pasta with fresh langoustine for 24 euros. The pizzas were all 10 - 12 euros with the usual choice of toppings.
There was quite a choice of seafood from fried squid at 18 euros to grilled sea bass at 25 euros and examples from the meat menu include lamb cutlets at 17 euros to roasted loin of lamb for two at 38 euros. A grilled rib of beef for two is 42 euros.
Puddings were from 6 - 8 euros and included things like tiramisu, ice creams, fruit salads, creme Brule and profiteroles.
The house wine is 11, 50 euros a bottle and there were many regional wines to choose from too, the most expensive being a Graves, Vins de Bordeaux at 78 euros.
We shared a pizza and Nicois salad and a chocolate pudding, all very good just a few euros more than usual but that's what you pay for location.
If you only have a few hours or just a day or two in Nice at any time of the year and would like to have an authentic Nicois meal in beautiful surroundings looking out over the flower and food market (antiques on a Monday) of the Cours Saleya, one of the highlights of Nice, then this is the restaurant for you and is well worth a few euros more. I think that this restaurant will be very popular mostly because of its location so it would be worth calling by or telephoning a little earlier to reserve a table or getting here at 12 noon (when the cannon sounds)
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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Phone: 04 93 80 18 44
Address: Le Safari, 1 cours Saleya, Old Nice
Directions: The cours Saleya is found to the west of the Chateau, the east of the Opera House and south of the Old Town - simply follow the throng. Le Safari is about half way along the flower market on the north side.
Website: http://www.restaurant-safari.com/entree.htm
on Feb 8, 2004
