Huisdiervriendelijke restaurants in Nice

La Merenda is arguably the most authentic Niçois restaurant in the city. There is no phone, no credit cards, no website, just two small rooms and a blackboard menu that changes daily based on what was at the market that morning. The food is the real stuff: socca, pissaladière, daube niçoise, trofie au pistou. Dogs are accepted at the outdoor tables on the narrow pedestrian street, and the unhurried pace of service means nobody is rushing you along. Book in person by turning up before service.

A tiny, ancient trattoria on one of Vieux-Nice's most characterful streets. Palmyre is the kind of place that still has paper tablecloths and a fixed menu, there is no choice, you eat what is cooked. The food is home-style Niçois: stuffed vegetables, pasta, whatever came from the market. Dogs on leashes are accepted at the few tables spilling onto the cobblestones outside. The atmosphere is completely unpretentious and the portions are enormous.

On one of the most secret squares in Nice, the tiny Place du Safranier, which is technically its own commune within the city, this is a neighbourhood bistrot with a sun-drenched terrace where locals come for lunch. Dogs are welcomed without fuss on the terrace. The menu is seasonal Provençal: ratatouille, grilled fish, salads loaded with tuna, anchovies, and olives. The pace is slow and the atmosphere is exactly what you imagine the south of France to be before you actually get there.

The cours Saleya is Nice's great outdoor stage, a long boulevard of terraces running along the edge of Vieux-Nice facing the sea. In the mornings it is a flower and vegetable market; by lunch the market stalls fold away and the restaurant terraces take over the entire space. Dogs on leads are routine here. The energy is high, the rosé is cold, and you are sitting exactly where you should be in Nice. Multiple cafés and restaurants operate along the strip, any of the terrace spots will accept a dog without comment.

A family-run trattoria on Rue Droite that has been serving the same honest Niçois food since 1927. The inside is cave-like and covered in old photographs; outside there are a handful of tables on the narrow street. The menu runs to stockfish (stocafi), gnocchi with pistou, and various daubes. Dogs are accepted on the street tables without question. It is busy, it is noisy, and it is one of the few places in Nice where you feel like a local without any effort.