A few streets from where he grew up, Sélim M'Nasri opened Épicentre near the port of Nice and won a MICHELIN star within a year. Every table faces the open kitchen, and spices – sansho, timut, black lime – lead each menu.
In this story · 3 sections
Épicentre is on rue Fodéré, in the busy streets just back from Port Lympia, and it is Sélim M'Nasri's home ground: the chef grew up a few streets away. The restaurant had been open for about a year when the MICHELIN Guide gave it a star at the 2026 ceremony, held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 16 March.
"Welcome to my home," as the chef puts it. Épicentre, the house says, was never conceived as a restaurant but as an invitation into his own home. The room is intimate and calm – natural materials, contemporary furniture, a fluted wall and soft light – and every table faces the open kitchen.
Épicentre
Restaurant · Le Port, Nice
© OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap
- Address
- 8 rue Fodéré, 06300 Nice
- Menu Seven Spices
- €99
- Menu Nine Spices
- €139
- Chef's Table in the kitchen – Grand Menu Shingenchi (whole table)
- €169
- Open
- Thursday to Monday, dinner from 19.30; closed Tuesday and Wednesday
- Source
- Official website restaurant-epicentre.com, checked 25 October 2026; VAT and service included, drinks extra
Sélim M'Nasri's restaurant near Port Lympia: menus of seven or nine spices, local fish and vegetables, every table facing the open kitchen and a Chef's Table in the kitchen itself.
01Eight years with Marcel Ravin
M'Nasri trained in starred kitchens and spent eight years with Marcel Ravin at Blue Bay, the two-star restaurant at the Monte-Carlo Bay hotel, rising from commis to sous-chef. The MICHELIN inspectors see the mentor's influence in his cooking. M'Nasri speaks of his own world and cultural influences, gathered, in the restaurant's words, from the East to the West of the globe.
02Seven spices or nine
The cooking is built on spices that, the house says, never mask the product but reveal and extend it. The menus are named for their number: Seven Spices or Nine Spices. During the meal guests are invited to the counter to discover the spices that form the backbone of their dinner – sansho, timut pepper, green cardamom, black lime – and the jars fill an entire wall, labelled with the restaurant's name.
Insider tipDinner Thursday to Monday from 19.30; book online.
Local fish and vegetables take centre stage, and the inspectors praise spot-on seasoning that brings out their natural depth of flavour. The products come from farmers, fishermen and artisans the chef has chosen himself, and the restaurant lists sustainable fishing among its commitments.
For the closest view of the work there is the Chef's Table in the kitchen itself, where the Grand Menu Shingenchi is served to the whole table.
03Near the port
Rue Fodéré is a few minutes' walk from the quays of Port Lympia, and there is parking at the harbour. The dining room is air-conditioned and accessible to wheelchair users – useful details for a long dinner on a summer night.
