The story
Colita, at 20 rue Catherine-Ségurane in Nice, is a Mediterranean kitchen built around live fire, and Le Fooding listed it in 2026. The menu draws on Latin American and Italian traditions, cooked on the grill, in the oven or over the braise. The Michelin Guide has also recommended it for 2026.
Two young chefs, Colombian Carlos Gomez and Italian Daniele Lamboglia, run the grill and oven. Owner Armand Crespo chose a site on the port side of the castle, away from his other addresses in Vieux-Nice. The Mediterranean cooking here depends on heat control, so each dish reads differently depending on how long it spends near the flame.
Le Fooding's lunch review mentions chargrilled artichoke with lardo di Colonnata cream and duck tataki with burnt corn espuma and tom yum sauce. Flame-grilled octopus arrives with turmeric carrot purée and cherry tomatoes. Oysters come with beef fat set alight in a flambadou. The dessert, shortbread with lemon cream, jelly and Taggiasca olives, is the only item on the menu not touched by flames.
Terracotta limewashed walls and earthenware vases give the room a hacienda feel. Guests can eat indoors with air conditioning or on the terrace. A private room is available for groups, and the restaurant is wheelchair accessible.
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Ambience
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History
Vieux-Nice remains his zip code of choice (Type 55, Le Bar des Oiseaux, Bistrot Antoine), but this time Armand Crespo is getting the fire started on the other side of the castle, near the port. His latest addition to the fold oozes hacienda-style charm (terracotta limewashed walls, earthenware vases) and crackles with flame-grilled, Latin-inspired cooking. The grill and oven are in the hands of two young chefs, Colombian Carlos Gomez and Italian Daniele Lamboglia, who know exactly how to play with heat. The day we went for lunch, sparks flew over: chargrilled artichoke with lardo di Colonnata cream; a sinfully good duck tataki with burnt corn espuma and tom yum sauce; a near-Dantesque John Dory fillet with braised and smoked julienned vegetables and a Thai-inspired sauce; flame-grilled octopus cozied up to turmeric carrot purée and cherry tomatoes; and a knockout dessert of shortbread, lemon cream and jelly, and Taggiasca olives – the only item on the menu not touched by flames. Also worth checking out: the crudos (sea bream ceviche with strawberry jus, beef tiradito with passion fruit) and intriguing oysters drizzled in flaming beef fat ignited in a flambadou . And because there’s no smoke without fire… just steps away, at 38 Rue Ségurane, is where Nietzsche began writing Thus Spoke Zarathustra in December 1883 – Zarathustra, the prophet of fire! · Alban Mont
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