Once again, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality of food at a Nice beach restaurant. My dining companion complained of a bad stomach after eating at our usual place (which shall remain nameless) so we decided to try Bambou Beach Restaurant in front of  Lenval Hospital.

As is now typical of beach restaurants, the waiter insisted on speaking English in spite of our best efforts to converse in French. (We’re not tourists, see!). The restaurant bills itself as Specialites de Poissons so we went with the flow and chose the special cold seafood platter. The waiter assured us all was fresh and it was. The platter teemed with mussels, coquilles St-Jacques, shrimp, mussels, octopus and several very large prawns. It was served over a bed of salad greens, tomatoes and yellow squash.

It took us about an hour to get through it all (OK, there was a lot of chatting in between bites) and we were both pleasantly surprised by the quality and the quantity. At €16, we considered it excellent value for money.

Reservations are normally not necessary at Bambou Beach restaurant (tel 04 93 86 64 15; 165 Promenade des Anglais) which is open June to September. There’s only a lunch service but drinks are served all day on the beach.