Acchiardo Restaurant Review

We turned up to this restaurant on spec, not having been able to find a website or email address but assuming that mid-week in early May might be quiet. Not so! Even though there was just two of us we were lucky to get a table.

We were welcomed by the patron of the restaurant, who is the grandson of the couple who opened it way back in 1927. He explained to us that they rarely have a quiet night, even in the quiet season, due to it being a favourite with many locals.

The exterior is unassuming, much like many others in the area, and the interior is very cosy with a traditional Nicoise vibe - lots of wine bottles lining the walls and dark wooden beams against classic whitewashed walls. There are a few small tables outside but the interior is so lovely that we were happy to sit inside.

After perusing the menu we settled on the tomato and mozzarella starter (we both had the same to avoid food envy), followed by duck for me and escalope for my friend.

The starter was a great choice; fresh ingredients, wonderfully creamy buffalo mozzarella and a handful of olives drizzled in a good quality olive oil.

After such a good start we were keen to find out if our main courses would live up to our expectations… I’m pleased to say that the duck was excellent, cooked to a delicate pink and served in a fig sauce that added a pleasantly sweet contrast. Funnily enough, the duck seemed to have been cooked “upside-down” - normally you expect to have a crispy top where the fat has crackled but this had all the fat on the bottom - but it was still extremely juicy and very good. My friend had opted for the escalope “maison” - a breaded veal cutlet served with cheese, ham, fresh basil and a Provencal sauce that he was very happy with. Being a chef he can be quite critical of restaurant dishes but he was very impressed, declaring it a success on all counts - phew!

The menu features a lot of meat dishes such as grilled loin steak with various sauces, a choice of different escalopes, and the ever-present “daube” (a typically Provencal beef stew that is on practically every restaurant menu in various guises). There are a few tasty sounding fish dishes accompanied by Nicoise favourites such as ratatouille and tapenade, but vegetarians will struggle to find anything more exciting than pasta in a tomato or cheese sauce - which is probably homemade and very good, but…

Dishes are reasonably priced with the tomato and mozzarella starter costing 9,80€, the duck 15,50€ and the escalope 16,80€.

After such a good meal we couldn’t resist dessert so we went the whole hog and had a panna cotta and an Irish coffee to finish - both excellent. The light creamy panna cotta was topped with a tangy red fruit sauce and garnished with a handful of toasted pine nuts.

Overall, our meal cost us 85,70€ including a very nice bottle of Chateau Ducla Bordeaux, which isn’t bad for Nice and considering the popularity of the restaurant seemed like quite a good deal. The Acchiardo not only serves great homemade Nicoise cuisine but has such a charming atmosphere and warm personal service that I’m sure we’ll be back again soon.

As we found out, booking is essential, even mid-week in the quiet season. However, they have no website, so you have to call ahead or pop in earlier in the week - they speak good English and are very friendly!

Acchiardo Restaurant