Sapore Restaurant, Nice

We ate a lot of French food in Nice and the South of France. A hell of a lot to be honest. Therefore, we were looking for something different for our last night in France. The Ryanair guide to Nice (available here) mentioned Sapore as follows:

Pick and choose from lots of small, delicious tapas-style dishes. Décor in stylish metal and light-coloured wood. The chef has been trained at some of the Riviera’s most highly-regarded kitchens.

When we checked out the restaurant on Google Maps, we realised that it was just around the corner from our hotel, the All Seasons Nice Vieux Port on rue Emmanuel Philibert. We hadn't noticed it before when we walked around the area, but we decided to walk over and see if we could get a table. To be honest, we nearly walked past it again, as it is quite discreet, but thankfully it wasn't busy and we were easily able to get a table.

The interior is simple and very stylish. Different colour water glasses are on every table and a selection of bread slices are bought to the table while reading the menu.

The menu is simple; The Menu Decouverte consists of a selection of 8 tapas style dishes for E30. If you like, you can make one or two substitutions from a short list chalked on a blackboard but we placed ourselves at the mercy of the chef. The menu is changed every 15 days and was as follows on the night we visited

Crab Veloute
Bruschetta sur un air Espagnol
Fagotin d'asperges, reduction Balsamique

Barande de morue, 'facon Catalane'

Pave de bouef et foie gras poele
Gratin d'epinard

Tarte au chocolat 'Caraque'
Sabayon passion sur son lit de bananes

The 8 dishes are served in 4 distinct groups, as split above. The Crab veloute really reminded me of the traditional french soup of the region, but creamier and more pleasant. The asparagus bundle was delicately flavoured by the piece of ham wrapped around the stalk, while the bruschetta featured more ham, a delicious roasted tomato and some grilled pepper.

The barande de morue was a mix of mashed potatoes and the local salt cod. Served in a little glass, like a mousse, it was deliciously light and slightly salted.

Next up was the beef and foie gras, served with a portion of gently creamed spinach au gratin. The liver was beautifully cooked and crumbled at the touch of the fork, while the beef was perfectly seasoned and cooked.

Two fantastic desserts finished the meal. The sabayon was sweet and creamy, hiding a bed of caramelised bananas and served with a creme brulee crust. The tarte au chocolat was darly rich and very decadent. Two espressos, along with a bottle of red and one of sparkling water meant that our total bill was just under E100. The staff were superb and friendly and it's easy to tell that the chef is quite skilled. All the dishes appear quite simple, yet the execution and presentation was top notch. Thoroughly recommended.

Sapore, 19 rue Bonaparte, 06300 Nice. 04 92 04 22 09

All Seasons Nice Vieux Port, 8 rue Emmanuel Philibert, 06300 Nice. 04 92 00 59 00

Frog Restaurant, Nice

We arrived in Nice on Saturday evening. We were staying at the Cityblue Malmaison on boulevard Victor Hugo. It's a nice simple hotel which did us perfectly for one nights stay in Nice.

We went out for a walk and looked for something to eat. Wandered around the Promendage Anglais and Vieux Nice, we ended up on the tourist trap that is Cours Saleya. We sat down in one seafood restaurant on the basis on the menu de jour, but when the waiter only provided us with the more expensive a la carte menu, we got up and left. We may be tourists in Nice, but we have no desire to be deprived of our hard earned cash.

We had passed by Frog Restaurant earlier, and it had looked good, so we went back. It's a nicely modern and cool restaurant, in sharp contrast to the mostly tourist restaurants in that part of town. The interior is lovely with white rough walls and comfortable seating areas. We ordered a mojito and a kiwi cocktail while we read the menu. The waiter insisted on translating all the specials into English, a lengthy process, but we finally ordered a millefuille of mozzarella, aubergine and tomato along with frogs legs for starters. Mains were red mullet en papillotte served with an olive and achovy polenta and a duck confit served with potatoes and compote. We ordered a demi-bouteille of the self-branded Pays du Var house red to accompany the food.

All dishes were excellent. Portions were not huge but very tasty. I especially loved my duck confit, which came layered in a glass pot with the mashed potato and onion compote. A cheese plate with 4 varieties and a basket of delicious bread finished off the meal. The total cost for this lovely meal was approximately E85, with excellent service throughout.

Frog Restaurant, 3 Rue Milton Robbins, 06300 Nice, France. 04 93 85 85 65