Cannes Restaurants
Cannes is a dangerous place for the restaurant-goer: like so many places with a high proportion of tourists, many of the restaurants in this beautiful costal town are not worth the time or energy it takes to get to them. Luckily, you now have the insider's scoop for the best places to grab a bite to eat.
La Brouette de Grand-Mère
The Riviera may be known for seafood, but at this traditional French restaurant, youll be tasting food from all over the country. The prix fixe menu allows for the choice of one main - the rest of the work is done for you as you receive an aperitif, unlimited wine and several courses for 35 Euro.
Offers vary by season, but a sample menu may include an aperitif accompanied by traditional terrines and pate or charcuterie, a starter of smoked salmon served with a small glass of vodka as an accompaniment and mains varying from stewed rabbit to pot au feu to excellent roasted chicken with vegetables. You may not even have room for dessert, but the familial atmosphere and the friendly maitre des lieux (owner) will keep you there all night.
La Fregate
For lunch or a casual dinner, there's nowhere better than La Fregate, a pizza restaurant right on the water. Snag a seat on the covered terrace and try one of their countless thin-crust pizzas accompanied by a carafe of the house red. Unlike some of the other restaurants in Cannes, La Fregate's prices are quite reasonable, and you have the added bonus of being able to cross the street straight to the beach right after you finish your meal.
Canna Suisse
If you visit Cannes in the winter and need to warm up, try this Swiss restaurant near the train station, at the edge of the old town and at the end of the Suquet. At Canna Suisse, forgo the menu entirely and order raclette for the table: you'll be pleasantly surprised by the apparatus that will be set up at your table, hoisting a half wheel of buttery raclette cheese that you scrape (racler in French) onto a plate filled with potatoes, pickles and charcuterie (ham, cured beef, salami...) Accompanied by a bottle of wine, there's nothing better - although you may have to roll yourself home after!
L'Annexe
If you're going to patronize one of the many restaurants that have terraces right on the beach along the famous Boulevard de la Croisette, make it L'Annexe. The prices are high, as you would expect with this location, but the seafood is perfect - a salmon sashimi appetizer followed by whatever fish of the day the waiter recommends is the perfect accompaniment to a cannois sunset over the Mediterranean Sea. If the price of a meal here seems like too much, come by for an aperitif, but best try during the week - this restaurant is so popular that you risk being refused the right to use one of their coveted tables for a cocktail.
