Restaurant Spotlight: Doña Brings Flavors of West Africa to Heart of Old Nice

I started my dinner with the homemade hibiscus tea (bissap), Bambara peas (pois bambara), and jollof rice (riz de wollof). Not pictured: the plantains (alloco cheri) I added later in the evening.

On the quiet end of a narrow corridor in the oldest part of Nice, you will find Doña, a bistro & tapas-style restaurant inspired by sub-Saharan Africa's bold colors and flavors. According to the website, Dōna is pronounced doonan and means “Grace” in Goun, the mother tongue of the owner who descends from southern Benin. She opened the restaurant in 2021 out of a desire to share her passion for the cuisine of sub-Saharan Africa. If you’re craving jollof, plantains, or mouth-filling spices in a convivial atmosphere that invites you to linger, or if you simply need a break from the repetitive offerings of salade césar, moules frites, pasta, and pizza found on hundreds of cartes all over Nice, I encourage you to wander just slightly off the beaten path and sample from Doña’s menu.

Useful information:

-While the menu isn’t explicitly labeled, the staff should be able to provide you with information regarding dietary restrictions. Everything I ate was gluten-free.

-To take advantage of the tapas offerings it’s best to eat here for dinner rather than lunch