La Pizza Cresci Restaurant Review

Located at the heart of the chic Carré d’Or (golden quarter), La Cresci dominates with a large terrace that seats about 100 people and the two storey interior holds many more. Open since 1956, the décor is kind of old-school French glamour - smart but not stuffy.

We chose to sit outside and watch the world go by in one of the busiest shopping districts in Nice, where the streets are lined with designer boutiques such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermès, Cartier, Armani, and so on. Lively bars and street musicians make it a great place if you like a bit of hustle and bustle.

We got straight down to business and ordered two pizzas and a bottle of Valpolicella - they have plenty of other options on the menu such as meat, fish, pasta, salads, omelettes, etc but we wanted the authentic Cresci experience. With about a dozen pizzas to choose from (including one with a focaccia base that we might have to go back to try) we opted for a pepperoni and an aubergine with an extra topping of ham.

Surprisingly the pizzas are all “demi-lune” half-moon shaped, which I don’t know the reason for and can only imagine that it must be less convenient to cook than a typical round pizza but they were plenty big enough, overhanging the plate at either end! They were also extremely good - fresh and crispy with rich flavoursome tomato sauce and good quality toppings. All pizzas here are homemade and cooked in a wood-fired oven, the traditional way - being this close to Italy they have to be good to survive the competition!

The service was quick, friendly and efficient - not massively personal but then they did have a lot of people to look after and they managed very well. It might look like a bit of a pack ‘em in, feed ‘em up and send ‘em home kind of a joint but it is actually very good in terms of service, food and value.

We washed our pizzas down with Irish coffee and a sweet fruity limoncello before heading off to check out the nearby bars; there are some quite cool ones within a few minutes stroll, give Jam a try if you like live music.

Our bill came to 83,90€ for two pizzas, an extra topping, a litre of sparkling water, a bottle of nice Italian wine, a cappuccino, an Irish coffee and two limoncellos - which we thought was pretty good for one of Nice’s most famous restaurants in the heart of the swanky Carré d’Or!

Over the years La Cresci has welcomed famous faces such as Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Elizabeth Taylor, George Clooney and Johnny Depp through its doors - make sure you go inside and have a look at all the celebrity photos lining the walls! La Cresci may not be as intimate and cosy as some of the smaller restaurants but it is fun and lively with plenty of flamboyant Nicoise energy. Hey, if it’s good enough for Elizabeth Taylor...

La Cresci