Café Paulette

Disappointing Experience Despite a Pleasant Setting Reservation & Arrival: The restaurant was easy to find, and the greeting was warm and professional. The first waiter who welcomed us was kind and attentive, creating a positive first impression. Seating was comfortable and adequately spaced, providing a relaxed dining environment. Ambience: The place was clean, well-maintained, and pleasantly lit, with a cozy atmosphere that fit well with its Italian character. Its location on Bonaparte Street, only a few houses away from Napoleon’s former residence, added a nice historic charm to the experience. Service: Service quality was mixed. The first waiter was friendly, informative, and clearly familiar with the menu, even sharing small remarks about our selections. However, the second server who took our order offered no interaction or guidance. A key issue arose with a menu inaccuracy — I had clearly mentioned that I dislike eggplant and avoided ordering Parmigiana d’aubergine for that reason. I instead chose Espadon grillé à la sicilienne (Grilled Swordfish Sicilian Style), a classic southern Italian dish from Sicily that traditionally does not include eggplant. Unfortunately, the dish was served with eggplant, which was not stated on the menu. If the restaurant uses a variation of a well-known recipe, it should be clearly mentioned to avoid such issues. Food: Presentation and serving temperature were good, but the taste was disappointing. The swordfish lacked the flavor expected from a grilled preparation and did not match the description on the menu. The inclusion of eggplant made the dish unpleasant, given it was explicitly avoided. The “mozzarella sticks” were also below average and lacked flavor. Beverages: The drink selection was fine, though I ordered a small IPA and was served a large one instead. Water service was not consistent enough to notice. Value: While prices were reasonable, the food quality and service inconsistency didn’t justify the overall experience. There were no billing issues, but the lack of attention to menu accuracy and customer requests detracted from the value. Overall: Despite a charming location and a promising start, the dinner was let down by poor menu communication and underwhelming flavors. A restaurant in such a historic area should show greater attention to detail and respect for authentic recipes. ⭐ 2.5 / 5

A lovely cafe with some tasty food and good staff. We had a wonderful brunch here with great service. Food was cooked perfectly and flavours got the mark. Service was prompt and perfectly executed with friendly hospitality. All topped off with freshly pressed juices. Thoroughly enjoyable experience.

My friend and I chose that place because of the initial vibe it gave us! It looked really nice. We’ve been waiting to order at least 10 mins after 15 mins the order didn’t come in the meantime since it took really long at that point we’ve asked if was possibile to change into a very good French wine which came within 3 mins. The waiter suggested something we could really like. That means they didn’t even prepare the previous order (the restaurant/bar wasn’t really full). Well finally got the wine served with very cheap glasses and one of them was dirty inside. We’ve asked to have a new one they brought the same one (they tried to clean it up but came back dirty anyway). Plus we’ve noticed the others had proper glasses. And the wine unfortunately wasn’t good at all. I would have preferred him to pour the wine in front of us asking that was going to be good in a proper glass. It wasn’t really pricy thankfully, but the experience and the treatment was honestly horrible.

Cafe Paulette was wonderful. Staff were all very friendly especially Etienne! He was very patient with us as we practiced our limited French. He helped guide me through the menu for my kids ensuring they picked things they would be happy with. The food was really good. We ate way too much. The drinks so yummy. My kids had the lemonade with fresh muddled strawberries. So incredibly delicious that my husband had to also get one. I had a drink called the Mediterrane. ( I think😂) It had Gin and St Germain. Sooo good.

The service is very friendly, we felt welcome and the food was delivered fast. Very tasty dishes with good portions. I recommend going there for breakfast and brunch.

Food was good ! Pancakes were the best between the plates we got ! Be careful with the bacon there was bone in it. Maybe be normal for locals but us North Americans we’re not used to it 😅 Service was mediocre at best. Water was not given to us till after the food was done. We’re talking about being in the sun outside when it’s 35 degree Celsius… BUT that being said the only reason why they gave us water was because the owner was walking around and noticed that we didn’t have any water so he gave the server a nice long lecture without talking to us… good for him for being attentive and caring ! Atmosphere was great, as expected from a spot on such a cool busy street.

Get 2 stars because of the girl waiter. She is very rude and angry. Is she force to work. Maybe is not horrible here this job. Customers need to be treated with respect. Usually I never give bad reviews, but is here attitude. I see it with all the customers. The guy waiter looks nice and smiling all the time. Food looks presentable and good.

The ribeye was cooked perfectly. We paired it with an organic red wine and it was an excellent meal. I would definitely return

We ate two delicious dinners in this cozy, friendly café. The seating is close enough to be cozy, but not so crammed together that you are hearing your neighbors' conversations. The staff was incredibly friendly, very used to tourists who understand very little French. The food was delightful, a varied offering ranging from a sandwich special, a delicious fish soup, to a special local fish tartare. The chocolate dessert was incredible, and sold out the second night we went. Café Paulette is well worth a visit, or two when you are in Nice.

Excellent!!!! Top level dishes, coffee and service!! The pain au chocolat they have is beautiful Order the budda bowl

We just had cappuccino here... It was good/decent.

Wow wow wow! We stopped here for a quick drink and ended up ordering a delicious meal! Service spoke impeccable English, was funny, and knew what he was doing. Cool looking place. We were tempted to stop across the street as there were much more people, but decided to trust our gut. We ordered cappuccinos (amazing) followed by local beers, a charcuterie board and baratta cheese. See the pics. Presented beautifully and tasted even better!

We had great serious and everyone was so friendly. Loved the vibe during lunch time and a great spot to sit outside and enjoy some sun. Highly recommend.

We visited in late January, so it was fairly chilly outside, nonetheless we sat outside and was just fine with the heat lamps. Very nice and cozy place, the staff spoke English as well (very little, but enough for us to get by). Definitely coming back!

We arrived late to the area and they were the only ones to let us in, the rest of the places were closing. We had tapas and it was really good, the staff was also super nice and friendly. Four stars because it was a little expensive, but overall was great.

Not impressed with this place, didn't even get to order. The waiter claimed all tables inside were either reserved or only for parties of four, and only offered a tiny table directly in the middle of the way from the kitchen to the dining area. At this time the restaurant was completely empty except for two ladies who were paying, so clearly there was no lack of seating space. I also told the waiter that I had very limited time and would be in and out quickly, but again he wouldn't let us sit inside except for said (crappy) table. Once we sat outside in the cold, nobody would show up to service us or give us a menu and after 10 minutes of waiting we left. The waiter walked outside to say "goodbye" with an over-the-top wide grin. If you don't want foreigners at your restaurant (this was the impression we had) then perhaps you should say so right away instead of wasting both our time. Walking past later during dinner time (18:30) the restaurant was again almost empty - I can see why.

Cafe Paulette is one of those special places for me in Nice. I come here very often, because no matter what they serve, they focus on purity. The owner, with whom I've had many discussions, values excellent food. Its an understated place and people who (by Nicoise standards) are humble and dedicated to their craft and to providing their clientele with a beautiful experience. They do absolutely zero marketing, (which is why I, a "usual" client, ends up volunteering to add them to Yelp and giving them their first review), and yet, after a few months in operation, its become quite popular. This is due to their dedication to using the freshest ingredients, making everything in their kitchen (no canned sauces here) friendly and present but unobtrusive service, tasteful mix of music that ranges from classical to bossa nova to 90's garage rock and more, and their carefully curated wine selection. Anything one orders here is superb, but some of my faves are the lentil and squid salad served in a jar, the fish & chips, the dessert cakes, the wines, and the coffee. This is the best coffee I've tasted in Nice, matched only by a couple other places that do true single-origin specialty coffees. Note to salt-lovers and salt-conscious: this place does not over-salt their savory dishes, just be aware in advance that they leave room for that extra dash of salt that you might want to add.

We loved this cafe for both dinner and lunch. Wonderful small plate choices and everything we tried was just delicious. From drinks to wine to cappuccinos, meals and dessert - we loved it. Part of the fun is the atmosphere - taking your time to relax and have fun with the menu and all of the choices. May not be best if you're looking for a quick meal - at least during the dinner hours. Staff was friendly and fun - helped with translations. Maybe our favorite spot during our stay in Nice.

Neighbourhood favourite. Great service and outdoor space. Ate the hummus, the chicken tandoori, the tuna Tataki which were great. The tempura wasn't on point. The wine selection, the ambience, the patio will keep me coming back.