Latest news with #Nicoise

Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
This seaside European city has transformed from shabby to chic
It's been many years since I was last in Nice, and its transformation is both unmistakable and impressive. Traditionally, the French Riviera's humble (some might say shabby) seaside capital, overshadowed by its more glamorous neighbours Monte Carlo and Cannes, the city has been quietly reinventing itself as a sophisticated alternative to its glitzy cousins, with several five-star hotels opening in recent times. Here to celebrate Virgin Australia's return to long-haul flying via its new partnership with Qatar Airways, we're staying at one of these, the Anantara Plaza. It's a Belle Époque hotel set a block back from the Promenade des Anglais (and close to new designer stores along Rue Paradis), that has been smartly renovated in a collaboration by three different design and architecture studios. There are custom art pieces; bespoke furniture inspired by the hotel's coastal location, and references to local landmarks, such as the chessboard tiles in the entranceway that echo nearby Place Masséna. The rooftop bar and restaurant, Seen by Olivier, is the place du jour for sweeping views from the mountains to the Baie des Anges, the perfect accompaniment to your breakfast pain au chocolat or sunset glass of champagne. Not far away, the Hotel du Couvent, a former 17th-century convent set at the base of the Colline du Chateau, the hilltop park that dominates the old town, has undergone a meticulous and thoughtful €100 million renovation, which has taken it from derelict buildings to stunning 88-room hotel. Original colonnades and terracotta floors have been restored to reflect its monastic past, and it features three restaurants, multiple pools including Roman baths, a serene wellness studio for yoga (no unattractive weights room here) plus a bakery and a herbalist shop. Meanwhile Vieux Nice, the city's historic centre once characterised by narrow, car-clogged streets, is now a vibrant pedestrian-friendly zone, a modern tram system running through the city's revitalised core. History and tradition still abound, of course: perennial favourites in the old town are the Cours Saleya flower and produce market; Maison Auer, a rococo-decor chocolatier opposite the Opera House where candied fruits are considered a chic gift to buy, and Restaurant Acchiardo for its Nicoise specialties including stuffed vegetables and pan bagnat. Hole-in-the-wall Chez Theresa is the place to get your socca (chickpea flatbread/pancake) and pissaladiere (onion tart).

The Age
a day ago
- The Age
This seaside European city has transformed from shabby to chic
It's been many years since I was last in Nice, and its transformation is both unmistakable and impressive. Traditionally, the French Riviera's humble (some might say shabby) seaside capital, overshadowed by its more glamorous neighbours Monte Carlo and Cannes, the city has been quietly reinventing itself as a sophisticated alternative to its glitzy cousins, with several five-star hotels opening in recent times. Here to celebrate Virgin Australia's return to long-haul flying via its new partnership with Qatar Airways, we're staying at one of these, the Anantara Plaza. It's a Belle Époque hotel set a block back from the Promenade des Anglais (and close to new designer stores along Rue Paradis), that has been smartly renovated in a collaboration by three different design and architecture studios. There are custom art pieces; bespoke furniture inspired by the hotel's coastal location, and references to local landmarks, such as the chessboard tiles in the entranceway that echo nearby Place Masséna. The rooftop bar and restaurant, Seen by Olivier, is the place du jour for sweeping views from the mountains to the Baie des Anges, the perfect accompaniment to your breakfast pain au chocolat or sunset glass of champagne. Not far away, the Hotel du Couvent, a former 17th-century convent set at the base of the Colline du Chateau, the hilltop park that dominates the old town, has undergone a meticulous and thoughtful €100 million renovation, which has taken it from derelict buildings to stunning 88-room hotel. Original colonnades and terracotta floors have been restored to reflect its monastic past, and it features three restaurants, multiple pools including Roman baths, a serene wellness studio for yoga (no unattractive weights room here) plus a bakery and a herbalist shop. Meanwhile Vieux Nice, the city's historic centre once characterised by narrow, car-clogged streets, is now a vibrant pedestrian-friendly zone, a modern tram system running through the city's revitalised core. History and tradition still abound, of course: perennial favourites in the old town are the Cours Saleya flower and produce market; Maison Auer, a rococo-decor chocolatier opposite the Opera House where candied fruits are considered a chic gift to buy, and Restaurant Acchiardo for its Nicoise specialties including stuffed vegetables and pan bagnat. Hole-in-the-wall Chez Theresa is the place to get your socca (chickpea flatbread/pancake) and pissaladiere (onion tart).


San Francisco Chronicle
01-07-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Pizzeria calls it quits after 17 years, plus more Bay Area restaurant closings
The following is a list of notable Bay Area restaurants that closed in June. Click here for a list of May closings. Rotten City Pizza has closed following a 17-year run in Emeryville, E'Ville Eye reports. Owner Jonas Bernstein confirmed the closing to the outlet, blaming the current economics of running a restaurant. Workers have launched a crowdfunding campaign to keep the pizzeria alive. Oakland's hip French restaurant the Rendez-Vous is unexpectedly closing. In an Instagram post, its owners wrote that "unforeseen circumstances' forced the sudden decision but did not elaborate. The chic restaurant, which the Chronicle named one of the Bay Area's most beautiful new restaurants in 2022, served French dishes like a Nicoise salad with tuna loin, a classic coq au vin and beet-cured halibut. Bay Area barbecue chain Armadillo Willy's unexpectedly shut down three of its final four locations in mid-June, SFGATE reported. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but operate independently). The brand announced via Instagram that its San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale locations were officially closed. The post thanked patrons and staff for their support for more than 40 years. The sole remaining location in San Mateo will continue to carry the company's legacy onward. Khana Peena has served its final northern Indian plates, East Bay Nosh reported. The neighborhood restaurant was a popular fixture on Berkeley's stretch of Solano Avenue. You can still find the sought-after tandoori chicken legs and chapati at the restaurant's sibling location in North Oakland. It's a wrap, at least locally, for the wildly popular Basuku Cheesecakes. Owner and baker Charles Chen and his unimaginably creamy cheesecakes made their final appearance at Palo Alto's Vina Enoteca after he announced the end of his baking project earlier this year. Chen told the Chronicle that he was moving to Asia to focus on his restaurant consulting work. The Ferry Building's Grande Crêperie, a popular Parisian-style café, shut down when its lease expired on June 30. Owners Patrick and Joanna Ascaso told the Chronicle the closure was unexpected and had hoped to renew their lease; in a statement to the Chronicle, Ferry Building management said they were letting the lease expire. Grand Crêperie specialized in sourdough crepes, pastries and coffee, all of which lured long lines of customers. Walnut Creek's Nusantaran restaurant has closed for good after months of inactivity. SanDai owner Nora Haron officially put an end to her Singaporean-Indonesian project in June. The restaurant was regularly packed during weekend dinner service, but midweek business was ultimately insufficient. Dishes included beef rendang topped with pineapple, fish fried rice and a raviolo stuffed with tiger prawn in a red broth. Its joint coffee shop, Kopi Bar, has also shut down, though Haron is looking at opening more cafés in the future. One Market, the 32-year-old restaurant at the end of Market Street on the Embarcadero, closed June 11. Co-founder Michael Dellar told the Chronicle the decision was due in part to his retirement, but also to a slow pandemic recovery downtown. There were plans to sell the restaurant to current management, but the deal didn't materialize and a different buyer wasn't found. The restaurant held a Michelin star from 2008 through 2012.


Eater
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
A Patty Stand Is Launching at Lincoln Center From an Acclaimed Chef
Lincoln Center leveled up majorly when the restaurant, Tatiana, opened from Kwame Onwuachi in 2022, part of a bigger renovation of David Geffen Hall. This summer, the chef has been focusing on patties: first debuting Patty Palace, a patty stand at Citi Field, followed by an announcement that he'd be opening a permanent takeout booth at the forthcoming Time Out Market near Union Square. Now, Patty Palace will open a food stand at Lincoln Center Plaza for the summer, serving curried chicken patties. It's part of a larger event series at the performance venue, in collaboration with the Infatuation, running from Friday, June 11 to Saturday, August 9, with a mix of top chefs and up-and-comers in the city: The line-up includes Sam Yoo of Golden Diner, fine dining restaurant Saga's Charlie Mitchell, Korean Cajun restaurant Kjun's Jae Jung, and Bushwick's streetside ice cream sensation Nieves Cortes. Food is served at night, from Wednesday through Sunday, in tandem with shows at Lincoln Center, opening an hour before and closing after its duration. A new media elite clubhouse is here The Marlton, just off Washington Square Park, on West Eighth Street, has long been a hotel lobby functional for meetings and doing some laptop work. But in recent years, it had lost some of its luster. That is about to change thanks to the debut of Chez Nous, a buzzy new bistro that is sure to become a media elite clubhouse. It comes from David Kuhn, a literary agent, and his life partner, Kevin Thompson, a production designer who worked on Maestro — with an equally stacked group of guests at its opening party, chronicled by the New York Times . The French menu plays it straight with some tweaks: a menu lists whole artichoke, a yuzu tuna tartare, a Nicoise salad, shrimp cocktails with cured fennel and preserved lemon, steak, whole chicken, and a burger. The restaurant is currently open for reservations, including during breakfast hours — it's definitely work meeting-friendly. A horror-themed bookstore cafe for Williamsburg Bookstore cafes are everywhere in New York. The latest is the Twisted Spine, a horror-themed bookstore with drinks, on its way to Williamsburg. It'll be located at 306 Grand Street, near Havemeyer Street, Greenpointers reported. Eater has reached out for more information. See More:
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tacoma cocktail bar known for gin has closed for good. ‘Just time to move on'
Gilman House Room 428, a gin-focused cocktail bar that moved into a smaller speakeasy-style space last year, closed permanently after service on May 24. Its sister bar, tiki haven Devil's Reef, isn't going anywhere, confirmed co-owner Jason Alexander in a phone call on Tuesday. In fact, they just renewed that lease, he said. The story was different at Room 428 in the Stadium District. He and his wife Robyn Alexander originally took over the corner storefront at 12 N. Tacoma Ave. in early 2020. That first edition of Gilman House, which opened later that year amid pandemic limitations, garnered a positive reputation for its veg-friendly fare, top-notch cocktails and, somewhat inadvertently, as a brunch hot spot. In a sense, it became more of a restaurant than the bar-with-food they had intended to offer. Eventually, the now-owners of The Powder Room Champagne Bar approached them about taking over the space. They arranged a sub-lease agreement with the Alexanders and a kitchen-sharing setup, allowing Gilman House to downsize into the more intimate cocktail lounge through a separate entrance. But as the lease came up for renewal this year, said Alexander, they decided it was 'just time to move on.' 'It ran its five-year course,' he continued. 'We were happy. We had a good time there, learned a lot about building out, running two different spots in one space. It was a really good learning opportunity.' Business was decent, he said, but the neighborhood often seemed sleepier than a cocktail bar needs to really thrive. Their staff of about five people were informed prior to the closure and left on good terms, according to Alexander. Some had personal pursuits while others had a job lined up. The closure won't impact The Powder Room, confirmed co-owner Cameron Gilmore in an email this week. 'I am in the process of negotiating my own lease agreement for the space now,' she said Thursday. 'We plan to stay put.' That's a silver lining for the Stadium District, which in May lost daytime stalwart Art House Cafe and Moshi Ramen Bar, where new owners are planning another concept. Technically with the address of 8 N. Tacoma Ave., Gilman House Room 428 debuted in June 2024. Alexander described it as 'a dark, shadow-filled experience with no windows and no doors and maybe you'll escape and maybe you won't,' in a nod to the H.P. Lovecraft stories that inspired both this bar and Devil's Reef in Opera Alley. (That description defies the original corner space, which has lots of windows.) Like all of the Alexanders' bars over 15-plus years in Tacoma, the new one was built from the ground up, featuring custom booths adorned with pillows and furs, dim lighting and a sensation that you had tucked into a discrete haunt down a dark alley in an 18th-century port town. They shared a kitchen with The Powder Room, serving drink-friendly food with a vegetarian bent: roasted veggies with housemade hummus, salade Nicoise, a portobello burger and pudding pots. Cocktails have long been the focus for Alexander, though, and Room 428 was no exception. Some, such as the Serranian Sling (gin, cassis, spices and citrus), can still be relished at Devil's Reef. ▪ 706 Opera Alley (Court C), Tacoma, ▪ Wednesday-Thursday 5-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 5 p.m.-12 a.m. ▪ Details: tiki bar open since 2018 serves some Gilman House cocktails but focuses on carefully concocted rum drinks