Chez Palmyre: Classic French Cuisine with a Twist

Chez Palmyre, before the lunch crowd came in

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I like to do food research before I go on trips, not only because I write a food blog but also because I enjoy great meals and believe the best way to ensure a great meal is to do some research. French food happens to be one of my favorite cuisines so I had to make this good. Fortunately, in my research I came upon Chez Palmyre, which was described by past visitors as a cute bistro in Old Nice with amazing food and affordable prices. Ding ding ding!

Upon arrival in Nice, I decided to try something that I hoped would work, and it did! You see, before going to Nice I had read online that reservations at Chez Palmyre were a must, but I figured if I showed up solo to the restaurant right around noon, there would hopefully be an open space for one person sans reservation. Turns out I was correct and throughout my meal I watched countless people come into the restaurant seeking a table, only to be told the restaurant was completely full for lunch. C’est la vie.

As with other restaurants with rotating menus, the great thing about a place that features a new menu daily is the element of surprise and the fact that you can visit the restaurant every day and possibly never have the same thing twice. The down side is that you may fall in love with a dish, only to have it disappear for a very long time. Again, c’est la vie. On the day I visited Chez Palmyre the menu looked pretty amazing: a three course meal complete with warm, toasty French bread, all for 14 euros. C’est pas mal! What was also great about the menu is that it featured classic French dishes, though not always served in classic ways. To start, I went with the Club Niçoise, which was a niçoise salad in the form of a sandwich. You see what I mean about classic dishes in not-so-classic ways? I really enjoyed this dish and thought it was an interesting way to present something that every other restaurant in Nice is serving in its usual form. The bread of the sandwich was pretty light, so as not to overwhelm the niçoise flavor of the interior of the sandwich. So far, a good start.

Club Niçoise

Next came the lamb with potatoes. This is certainly a classic French dish, and really, can you ever go wrong with lamb and potatoes? You probably can, I suppose, but not in this case. Served in a beautiful orange ceramic pot, the roasted lamb and potatoes tasted just as good as it looked. Moist (I hate that word but there’s no other way to describe it), tasty and tender, the lamb literally fell apart when touched with a fork and was perfectly paired with the roasted baby potatoes. So far we were going two for two, with only dessert to go.

Roasted Lamb and Potatoes

Roasted Lamb and Potatoes

Ah and then there was dessert. Delicious, delectable dessert. Very rarely can I resist chocolate, so when I saw pot de chocolat on the menu, I knew it was meant to be. The petit pot topped with slivered almonds was brought out soon after I finished the lamb and upon first bite, I knew my meal at Chez Palmyre had been worth all of the research (not that I spent days pouring over food forums or anything like that). The chocolate was immensely rich but not at all overwhelming, and the portion size, while seemingly small, was just the right amount. It was truly the perfect ending to a great meal.

Pot de Chocolat

Unfortunately I left Nice a few hours after this meal, otherwise I would have been back the next day, and the next, and the next… For anyone looking for a nice place with good food, no frills, just flavor, this is the bistro for you.

Rating: Love

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