Kid-Friendly Paris: Les Niçois
Les Niçois is every parent’s dream of a kid-friendly restaurant come true thanks to Luc Sananes, the owner of this cute and spacious espace in the 11th across from Square Gardette. Luc felt that children aren’t taken into consideration in Paris like they are in his home town of Nice. So he decided to introduce a welcoming and laid-back Mediterranean kid-friendly vibe to the city. The spirit of Les Niçois (meaning the inhabitants of the Southern French city Nice and not niçoise the salad) is fashioned after the places you find on holiday. You know the kind of restaurants where you start chatting with the people next to you, bounce around the tables to socialise where the spirit leads you, the kids move freely, and a game of pétanque is going on close by.
In this case the pétanque pit is on the lower level and you can occasionally hear jeers and cheers from a game going on. The space is accommodating to strollers and little scooters, with a staff who clearly love seeing happy patrons and kids. The BEST part: every Saturday and Sunday the lunch/brunch service comes with a “babysitter” who entertains the kids in the lower level with toys, drawings, and activities. Kids are free to roam up and down to share their art with their folks and maybe (just maybe?) eat their food.
The menu changes from day-to-day but always offers a meat, fish, or vegetable main course. The brunch special includes soup, salad, a poached egg with hollandaise, a hot drink, juice, and dessert. No “child minder” in the evenings, but the joint transforms into a tapas bar serving small plates to share and the convivial spirit continues into the night where the kids are still welcome to play in the lower level.
And in the spirit of sharing, Sananes has bottled up his Mediterranean vibe via rose and 12 different jars of sauces and spreads like pistou, sardinade, tartinade, sold at the restaurant, online, or at more than 150 retailers throughout France. Les Niçois is open for special events (they book birthday parties and weddings) and word on the street is Luc is opening a Les Niçois in LA pretty soon. Lucky LA.
Photos by Ajiri Aki
Les Niçois
7 Rue Lacharrière
75011 Paris
09 84 16 55 03
www.lesnicois.com
Open:
Monday – Saturday, noon – 2 am (but kitchen closed for food between 2:30 and 7pm)
Sunday, noon – 4 pm
Metro: line 3 Parmentier, line 9 Saint-Ambroise
Good To Know:
No changing tables (yes shocking!).
Space for the stroller.
Great for afternoon tea, cafe, or a drink when the kitchen is closed from 2:30- 7:00pm.
After lunch if the kids aren’t exhausted yet, you can take them across the street to the Square Gardette park.