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Finding La Niçoise Cafe snuggled in the Northern Shenandoah Valley may be something of a surprise to restaurant connoisseurs who would never expect an authentic French restaurant in Winchester, Virginia anyway; and certainly not one with a menu straight off of the Riviera.

Chef Frederic Boukaia, a native of Nice, has always wanted a place of his own. “I’ve been looking to open my own place for the last 25 years,” the chef reveals. “Every day I have my routine: a cup of coffee and read The Washington Post. Every Sunday I look in the business opportunities and I see there’s a place for me to look at. I drove in from Leesburg and when I came in, I saw the bricks, the red bricks, and the size of the place and said ‘this is mine,’ this is what I wanted for so many years. I was tired to work for somebody,” he said. “If I had to work hard for 15 hours a day, I wanted to do it for myself.”

The proprietor describes his restaurant’s cuisine as different from that found in northern France with heavy, cream-based sauces. In the restaurants of southern France, you get more olive oil, herbs and fresh vegetables. Many of the menu items are family recipes that Chef Frederic brought from home and that had been passed down from this parents.

Chef Frederic says, “A neighborhood cafe is what I want it to be. Nothing pretentious. I want people to be comfortable in my place. If people want to come, have a look, eat a Salade Niçoise, drink a glass of wine and enjoy the afternoon. That’s what I want, like we do in France.”

La Niçoise Café

12 South Braddock Street

Winchester, VA 22601

Phone: (540) 722-4557

Click the Chef to go to La Niçoise web site