Overview of Villefranche Restaurants & Bars
Most restaurants in Villefranche are in the Old Town and on the waterfront. There are a few, however, at the Octroi level and one at the Col of Villefranche, and a couple at the marina area called La Darse.
You might enjoy starting with an aperitif in one of a number of bars / cafés, then stroll along the beautiful waterfront (a 2-km long waterfront walk from the quai to the end of the beach) and then go for a bite to eat afterwards. You will be spoiled for choice.
Following is a selection of various Villefranche restaurants. We apologize if one you like isn’t on the list — we try to include all the ones we know of, but we probably have forgotten one or two. As we cannot eat out every night, we can’t eat at all of them, much as we would like to. We do have a few favorites that we go to regularly as we think they are great and they have become friends. Therefore, although we may not have a recommendation to offer for a particular restaurant, it does not mean we do not recommended it. Therefore, please try them and we would love to share your comments and additions. As you will see from the list, there are a lot of restaurants in Villefranche!
There are several nice bars in town as well so if you aren’t in the mood for dinner or would like to have an aperitif before going for dinner, we can recommend a few places you’ll definitely enjoy. Or, you might also enjoy an aperitif on your balcony.
On the Waterfront
Mayssa: Great food, great setting, rooftop of Gare Maritime (Place Wilson parking area). Tel: +33 (0)4 93 01 75 08. mayssabeach.fr
Cosmo: On Place Pollonais (square across from parking Wilson), good food, basserrie (open all day), lovely setting, nice people. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 01 84 05. restaurant-lecosmo.fr
Palmiers: On Place Pollonais (square across from parking Wilson), good food, nice setting, nice people.
Marechiaro: On Place Pollonais (square across from parking Wilson), Italian, owners are two lovely couples from Naples (two sisters and their husbands), good food, lovely atmosphere, great Napolitane pizza. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 01 83 73 or +33 (0)7 83 86 59 38.
Splato: On waterfront quai, nice fish, nice service. spalato-restaurant-villefranche-sur-mer.com
Trastevere: On waterfront quai, good food and good value. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 01 94 26.
La Mere Germaine: On waterfront quai, most famous restaurant in Villefranche, excellent service, elegant, lovely food, pricey. Tel: +33(0)4 01 71 39. meregermaine.com
L’Oursin Bleu: On waterfront quai, excellent gourmet food, elegant, pricey. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 01 90 12. restaurant-oursin-bleu.com
Lou Bantry: On waterfront quai, good local Nicois specialities, great value, great location, nice people. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 91 87 68.
Espuma: On waterfront quai at entrance to the beach, great food, good value, love the people, décor and setting, Tel: +33 (0)4-93-88-05-25. restaurantespuma.com
Bars
Hotel Welcome: On waterfront quai, our favorite wine bar, great people, great hotel, wonderful aperitif plates, great live music on Saturday nights, love the bar manager Fred. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 76 27 62. welcomehotel.com
Leslie’s Wine Cave: Just above waterfront quai on rue d’Eglise, charming, excellent wine bar and Leslie is a delight. Open summer and a bit of shoulder season.
Café de la Paix: Nice little café to enjoy a coffee or aperitif and watch village life unfold. It can be quite enjoyable entertainment at times.
Summer Only & Lunch Only
La Voile Bleu and La Praie are the two beach restaurants that we recommend. We are dear friends with La Voile Bleu so tend to go there as we love them and their food.
Delibo, a private beach restaurant (see Private Beach Restaurants) is also a nice restaurant that you can go to without using the beach.
Old Town (not on Waterfront)
La Caravelle: Superb local gourmet cuisine, incredibly fresh ingredients (from their family farm in the hills behind Nice). Morgan and Jeremy, two locals from a village just behind Nice started this restaurant the Summer of 2020. Don’t miss it, you will love it. Located on rue d’Eglise, just below rue du Poilu. Tel: +33 (0)4 89 97 89 58.
Le Serre: Great pizza and local dishes, can do take out. Sylvie, the owner, is wonderful as are her staff. We love this place. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 76 79 91.
La Belle Etoile: Great classic French food with a modern twist, delicious 3-course gourmet menu at a reasonable price. Adorable young couple who own the restaurant, he is the chef. Tel: +33 (0)4 97 08 09 41. labelleetoile-villefranche.com
Les Garcons: Great food, good value, lovely setting, nice menu, nice people. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 76 62 40.
La Cave Nature: Simpler food, very nice, good for a light meal.
La Grignotere: Lovely food, lovely people, charming. la-grignotiere-restaurant-villefranche-sur-mer.com
L’Aparte: Recently changed ownership, was terrific, haven’t tried new owners, more Italian style, looks good and excellent reviews. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 01 84 88. laparte-villefranche-sur-mer.com
Mekong: Great Vietnamese food, lovely people, can do take out. Tel: +33 (0)4 93 01 71 11.
La Cantine de Ti’Flo: Good food, good value, lovely ambiance, great setting, top of Old Town (Place de la Paix) with great terrace, fun place to hang out and have a drink. Owner Flo is great. Tel: +33 (0).
Carrots: Tiny little restaurant, great food, very healthy, located directly up the street at Place de la Paix, just above the Café de la Paix. Can do take out.
La Darse
La Darse is the marina area of Villefranche and right on the waterfront. It is separated from the Old Town by the large fort called La Citadelle, which is a beautiful structure to explore and houses the well-known Volti museum. La Darse is mostly a working marina that has been operating for 500 years, but it does have a few restaurants that you might enjoy. To get to the Darse you’ll enjoy a 5-7 minute spectacular water’s edge walk around the base of the citadelle. (Currently the water’s edge walk called Chemin du Rond is closed for repairs on the citadelle walls, but you can walk to the Darse through the moat which is also a beautiful walk.)
La Corderie: Excellent food, excellent staff, lovely setting.
La Baleine Joyeuse: Cafe and lunch only, although dinners on weekends in the summer. Nice food, good value, real local place, lovely ambiance.
La Trinquette: Lovely ambiance, live music, nice food, popular, good value, lovely people.
Octroi
La Regence / Chez Betty: Great place for coffee and croissants in the morning or a drink in the afternoon. laregence-hotel.fr
Col de Villefranche
Bar: Good food, nice place, live music on Friday and Saturday nights.