When the weather is as splendid as it has been Nice this Indian Summer, one is tempted to head to an outdoor restaurant to enjoy the burning blue sky. By opting for Don Camillo Creations we clearly prioritized the palate and we weren’t sorry. The €24 lunch menu offered excellent value as it included three courses.

Regular readers of this blog know that one of my pet peeves is snobby chefs that refuse to provide a filling meal. Oh, everything is artfully arranged, but where’s the food?

There was no problem with that at Don Camillo. The entreé was foie gras de canard, a real luxury item. OK, I don’t eat foie gras but the side salad of teeny veggies and small greens was delicious and the waiter was nice enough to give me extra as I sent the foie gras over to John. He did an excellent job of masking his dismay at my rejection and I was careful to extravagantly praise the salad dressing which hinted at sesame and citrus. The main course was chunks of St Pierre fish, another luxury item, served over humble but elegant fresh coco beans. The fish had a thin glaze on one side and was meltingly tender underneath. The light sauce was buttery and herb-scented. Dessert was a poached pear over an ice cream of very intense chocolate and something the waiter said was “macchia”. What is it? Help me out!

Washed down with a glass of excellent white wine and accompanied by amazing little rosemary rolls, the lunch was light but intensely satisfying. I liked that chef Marc Laville decided to offer three courses on his lunch menu rather than following the usual tendancy of offering two courses and an amuse-bouche.

Now, if only he would put a few tables on the beach.

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