"Nicole Rubi’s Niçoise blueprint transplanted to Palm Beach, run by chef Yiannis Kioroglou; book the terrace at sunset for a first date."
La Petite Maison began in Nice in 1988, when Nicole Rubi turned a backstreet bistro into the Riviera’s most copied table. The Cannes outpost opened in June 2020 at Palm Beach, on Place Franklin Roosevelt, with the same menu of Niçoise and Mediterranean small plates ordered to share. Chef Yiannis Kioroglou runs the pass. The famous pissaladière and the whole baked sea bass that built the name still anchor the table; a dinner here lands €80 to €150 a head before wine.
Yiannis Kioroglou cooks the canon rather than reinventing it, and that is the point: the menu has barely changed since Nicole Rubi wrote it. You order small plates to share. The truffle-scrambled eggs and the pissaladière open most tables; the burrata di Puglia, the prawns with chilli and ginger, and the whole sea bass baked with lemon are the dishes that travel from the Nice original to London, Dubai and now Cannes. Everything arrives when it is ready, not in courses.
Produce is Mediterranean and seasonal, the olive oil generous, the seasoning confident. Dinner runs €80 to €150 per person before wine, with the Palm Beach setting on Place Franklin Roosevelt pushing the upper end. The Cannes room opened in June 2020 as the group’s first French outpost outside the original. For the wider tradition, see the best French restaurants worldwide.
Palm Beach puts you on the water at the western tip of the Croisette, and the room is built to face it: glass, pale tones, low evening light, white-clothed tables set close enough to feel busy without shouting. Sound is a steady hum at dinner and louder at the weekend brunch, when a DJ plays and tables of regulars order magnums. Dress is smart Riviera, linen rather than jackets. The terrace is the seat to request; book it for sunset.
Book La Petite Maison for a first date because the sharing menu kills awkward silences, the terrace at sunset does the romance for you, and the bill is legible before you sit down. Order the pissaladière and the sea bass, point at a rosé, and let the plates arrive. See the Cannes dining guide and the best restaurants for a first date.
Not for a quiet tête-à-tête at weekend brunch, when a DJ plays and the room fills with regulars ordering magnums. Come at dinner, and ask for the terrace.
Yes, for the setting and the consistency rather than for invention. La Petite Maison serves the same Niçoise sharing menu that made the Nice original famous, executed cleanly by chef Yiannis Kioroglou, in a glass room on the water at Palm Beach. Expect €80 to €150 per person before wine. The pissaladière and whole sea bass are the orders. See the Cannes dining guide.
Moderately hard in season. La Petite Maison Cannes takes reservations by phone and online, and from June to September the terrace books one to two weeks ahead for dinner and longer for the festival weeks. Call +33 4 28 70 18 18, ask specifically for a terrace table at sunset, and expect a deposit on prime dates.
Smart Riviera. Think linen, a collared shirt, a summer dress; jackets are not required and rarely seen at Palm Beach. Swimwear and cover-ups are fine at the adjoining beach club but not in the dining room. The crowd dresses to be seen, so lean dressier at dinner than at lunch.
Start with the truffle-scrambled eggs and the pissaladière, add the burrata di Puglia and the prawns with chilli and ginger, then the whole sea bass baked with lemon to share. It is a sharing menu, so order across the table. A Provence rosé is the obvious pour.
Reserve by phone or on the restaurant site. Request the terrace.
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Where La Petite Maison sits among the Riviera tables built for a first night out.
Cannes first-date restaurants →