VirtualTourist

Restaurant Name: Le Romarin

(Note: 2006 - under new management and meant to be really nice)

The weather ruined this restaurant for me so this less than favourable review may be a little unfair.

The location is good, almost next door to the Cathedral St Reparate in the middle of the Old Town just off the central square, Place Rossetti.

We wanted to sit outside but it was just too windy. This was in the evening so the temperature had dropped a little too. I just wasn't prepared to battle against the wind, so in we went.

The decor was a bit 'country cottage' - bright check table cloths and the lemon-coloured walls were covered with hand-painted flowers, huge poppies, etc, bit twee perhaps.

The menu offered the usual range of Nicoise specialities, pasta and pizza but I had my usual Salad Nicoise and my sister (staying with me for the week, I had left the dear husband in Liverpool this time) had lasagne, 9 euros and 8,50 euros respectively. The daughter had the children's menu - 'menu enfant', burger and chips and salad plus ice-cream, 9 euros.

Coffee 2 euros and a cappuccino was 4 euros. The cappuccino was for my sister, I hadn't realised how expensive they were, but over the week, 4-5 euros was about the average price. Mind you they last a tad longer than an espresso.

Favorite Dish: It was all ok, but nothing special. I think it would have been greatly improved if we could have eaten outside. Place Rossetti is a lively buzzy place to be in the evening, great for people watching and there are usually a few street performers about (keep some change in your pockets)

I was starting to feel as though everything tasted the same, the same old menus, same prices, same flavours, not helped perhaps by choosing the same thing in every restaurant so I expect I have only myself to blame. However, I just think that many of these places in the centre of tourist hotspots such as right here in the Old Town, have lost an individual touch and are just so busy dealing with tourists they seem to have given up a bit. And although the meals are not hugely expensive, they don't seem to be particularly good value. This meal came to exactly 36.00 euros, with the free water and just one beer. Not expensive I suppose but not a memorable meal either.

I forgot - one unique thing about this restaurant, hurray - it IS different to the rest; the basket of bread had proper individual rolls of warm bread (and it tasted very nice) as opposed to the usual sawn up dry bagette. A few credit points for that.

I think I really do need to start looking in less popular locations for really good but cheap restaurants; I have to admit that I tend to stick to the comfortable well-trod path as much as the next tourist, and I don't include of course the wonderfully discerning VT travellers ;-)

I might come back here in the summer and view it all through a less-jaundiced eye. Bother the wind! The weather in Nice has been decidedly suspect so far this year :-(

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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average

Phone: 04 93 85 65 20
Address: 2-4 Place de la Halle aux Herbes, Old Nice
Directions: Just off Place Rossetti in the heart of Old Nice, next door to Cathedral St Reparate, to the right of the Cathedral if you are facing the doors. threr are two restaurants, 'Le Romarin' and a smaller, snackier place 'Le Petit Romarin', next door.