Cros-de-Cagnes: Bistrot de la Marine

Justly renowned chef Jacques Maximin has long been one of the great seafood cooks of France, which is why restaurant impresario and multiple-star chef Alain Ducasse hired him as a consultant at Rech, a seafood-oriented brasserie in Paris. But Maximin has a soft spot for the sun and the south of France. He’s presided over several restaurants on the Côte d’Azur over the years, and his latest project is a restaurant of his own, Bistrot de la Marine–Jacques Maximin in Cros-de-Cagnes, a seaside community attached to Cagnes-sur-Mer, just outside of Nice. It’s a cozy little spot, with a bar decorated in sardine cans, a small terrace and a pretty dining room with views of the sea across the street.

Grilled squid and artichokes à la barigoule

Though fish is expensive these days, Maximin has made an effort here with a €24 fixed-price menu and 50-centiliter pitchers of perfectly decent wine at €16. A friend who lives in Nice and I had a terrific dinner here shortly after it opened, beginning with Gillardeau oysters and lobster salad, and then splitting a wonderful sole meunière for two as our main course. The next time I come, though, I’ll hope to be part of a group of four, since I’d love to try Maximin’s special Grande Bourride Sétoise, a fish stew in the style of the canal-laced port of Sète farther west along the coast in Languedoc, concocted with scorpion fish, sole, white sea bream, sea bass and scallops. Maximin’s newest headquarters is a terrific address for any fish lover who might be heading to the Riviera.

96 blvd de la Plage, Cros-de-Cagnes, 04.93.26.43.46. website

A la carte €75 per person without wine

Originally published in the January 2011 issue of France Today; updated in September 2011

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