Pure & V par Maison Joia

Rating: 15
Author: Gault&Millau

06000 NICE

15/20
Remarkable Restaurant

BOOK

Cooking: French | Vegetarian
Style: Bistro/Brasserie | With friends

Budget (€)

Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)

89 to 275

Gault&Millau's review 2026

Laetitia and Julien Pilati's restaurant moves to a new neighborhood and a new gear. Now located opposite the Lycée Masséna, in the former Pure&V of Vanessa Massé, who has left for other adventures, the new Maison Joia now unfolds its universe in a completely redesigned setting. As soon as you arrive, the tone is set: the experience begins on the first floor, with an aperitif accompanied by chiselled appetizers, before descending to the main dining room, where the scenography, light projections and the hushed rhythm of the service create a veritable gastronomic theater. Here, nothing is left to chance, from the strong identity of the art of the table to the rigorous service provided by the owner and her team, which is as fluid as it is precise, without ostentation. In the kitchen, Chef Julien Pilati, who honed his technique for a time with Alain Ducasse, Hélène Darroze, Arnaud Lallement and, closer to home, at La Fenière in the village of Lourmarin, weaves a clear thread between his native Champagne, his wife's Brittany and his Mediterranean roots. The back-and-forth between land, sea and vegetation never telescopes, but rather supports each other. The Belon oyster from Cancale with its chouchen granita, escorted by a pickled shallot and buckwheat popcorn, the red mullet confit with salt and sugar, flame-burnt, on a bouillabaisse of Mediterranean rock fish, the ratte du Touquet and homemade bottarga, the crinière-de-lion roasted like sweetbreads, line-caught sea bass and its "tête brûlée" sauce under a sea lettuce gel, royal Anjou squab in Wellington-style Pithiviers and the bluffing lustrous sauce, with short juices, embellished with Tuma Yellow chocolate and aromas of ripe yellow fruit that we'll mop up with homemade breads. We owe them to pastry chef Matthieu Abbyad, who signs off and extends the discourse with a technical and inventive pastry, a very fresh pre-dessert based on Mentonnais fruits and citrus fruits, which opens and illuminates the gourmet journey, followed by the trompe-l'oeil with apple in puffed sugar, caramelized Grenoble walnuts like fairground scrunchies, a tangy apple gel mixed with a walnut wine sabayon in a siphon, until the perfectly mastered soufflé. In the cellar, a selection of around 75 references, with a focus on independent winemakers, and a perfectly coherent price range. Laetitia adapts her suggestions to suit each dish, with a single price per glass.