Restaurant in Nice, France
Nice's most ambitious kitchen. Book it.
Les Agitateurs is the most technically ambitious restaurant in Nice right now, with Michelin stars in both 2024 and 2025 under chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips. At €€€€, it is a serious commitment, but a 4.8 Google rating across 1,100-plus reviews backs the spend. Book three to four weeks ahead minimum — this is not a walk-in venue.
Book Les Agitateurs if you want the most technically ambitious cooking in Nice right now. Chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips have held a Michelin star consecutively in 2024 and 2025, which in a city better known for Niçoise tradition than creative fine dining is a meaningful signal. At €€€€ pricing, this is not a casual dinner, but among Nice's top-tier restaurants it makes a credible case for being the kitchen pushing hardest against convention. If creative cuisine from a duo with clear technical command is what you're after, this is your table.
Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips run a creative programme that sits outside the French classical tradition dominating much of the Côte d'Azur's fine dining. The Michelin recognition, sustained across two consecutive years, reflects consistency rather than a single strong season — that matters when you're spending at this price point. The cuisine type is listed simply as Creative, which in practice means a menu built around technique and invention rather than regional loyalty. For context, Mirazur in Menton — one of the most decorated restaurants in southern France , operates within a broadly similar Mediterranean-creative register but with three stars and correspondingly higher demand and price. Les Agitateurs sits below that tier in recognition but represents a genuine alternative for diners who want serious cooking without the full Mirazur booking gauntlet.
The Creative designation also distinguishes this kitchen sharply from Nice's Provençal and Niçoise stalwarts. Where a restaurant like Flaveur works within a Modern French idiom rooted in regional produce, Les Agitateurs appears to use the Côte d'Azur as a backdrop rather than a rulebook. That's neither better nor worse, but it tells you something important about what to expect: don't come here for a definitive pissaladière or socca moment. Come for cooking that treats the Mediterranean as an ingredient list, not a mandate.
For explorers who benchmark against France's broader creative fine dining tier, the closest reference points are kitchens like Arpège in Paris or the seasonal precision of Flocons de Sel in Megève, though Les Agitateurs operates at a different scale. Internationally, the creative rigour of Quique Dacosta in Dénia or Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona offers a useful framing: these are kitchens where technique is the story, and where the dining experience is structured around a sequence of courses that build on each other. If that format appeals to you, Les Agitateurs belongs in the same conversation.
The address is 24 Rue Bonaparte, 06300 Nice , in the city proper rather than the port or beachfront tourist corridor. That positioning matters: this is not a restaurant serving summer walk-in traffic. It is a destination booking, and you should treat it as one.
Booking difficulty is rated Hard. With a Michelin star, sustained Google ratings of 4.8 across 1,119 reviews, and a format that almost certainly runs on a set tasting menu with limited covers, lead time matters. Plan for a minimum of three to four weeks out; during summer on the Côte d'Azur, longer is safer. There is no booking link or phone number available in our current data, so check the restaurant's own website directly for reservations.
See the full comparison section below for how Les Agitateurs positions against Flaveur, L'Aromate, JAN, and others in Nice's top tier.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Agitateurs | Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 1 Star (2025); Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Flaveur | Modern French, Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| L'Aromate | Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Pure & V | Neobistro - Nordic, Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown | — | |
| JAN | Modern French, Modern European, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown | — | |
| La Merenda | Niçoise, Provençal | €€ | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
The tasting menu is the format this kitchen is built around — Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips run a creative programme, so ordering à la carte, if available, would work against what makes the restaurant worth the €€€€ price point. Go with the full menu and let the chefs set the pace. Specific dishes are not published in advance, which is part of the point.
This is not a classical French restaurant. Hsu and Phillips cook outside the Provençal and French fine dining tradition that dominates the Côte d'Azur, so arrive expecting something more experimental than the region's typical luxury offering. The address — 24 Rue Bonaparte, in the city proper — puts you away from the tourist beachfront, which is a signal about what the restaurant is going for. Michelin has given it a star in both 2024 and 2025, so the ambition is substantiated.
check the venue's official channels before booking if you have dietary requirements — this is standard practice for any Michelin-starred tasting menu format, where the kitchen constructs a fixed progression in advance. Creative tasting menus at this price point (€€€€) typically accommodate restrictions with advance notice, but no specific policy is publicly documented for Les Agitateurs.
At €€€€ pricing, Les Agitateurs is one of the more expensive meals you will have in Nice — but it is also the most technically ambitious, backed by consecutive Michelin stars in 2024 and 2025. Compared to Flaveur or JAN, which offer strong value at lower price points, Les Agitateurs asks you to pay for a genuinely distinct creative vision. Worth it if that format is what you are after; less so if you want something more relaxed or regional.
A Michelin-starred creative restaurant at €€€€ in Nice warrants smart, considered dress — think contemporary and neat rather than formal black-tie. The kitchen's non-classical ethos suggests the room is unlikely to be stiff, but underdressing would be out of place. No dress code is formally published, so when in doubt, treat it as you would any serious one-star dinner.
No bar seating or walk-in counter option is documented for Les Agitateurs. At this format and price level, the expectation is a reserved table for the full tasting menu experience. If bar dining or drop-in flexibility matters to you, La Merenda or a more casual Nice option would be a better fit.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
