The salade lyonnaise is a warm salad of frisee dressed with lardons, croutons and a poached egg on top, dressed with a mustard-and-vinegar vinaigrette that wilts the leaves slightly from the heat of the bacon fat.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The salade lyonnaise is the starter that separates a bouchon from a restaurant: frisee was the cheap green of the Lyonnais working table, bacon fat the luxury the weaver's kitchen could afford in modest quantity. The warm format, with a poached egg releasing its yolk into the vinaigrette, appeared in Lyon bouchon recipes from the 19th century. It travels poorly to other cities because the frisee needs to be dressed at the last second with the hot fat, which is why the best versions are always eaten two minutes after leaving the kitchen.
Common allergens: Eggs, Gluten
Tip from the editors. The dressing goes on at the last second, not ahead; the frisee should wilt only slightly from the heat of the bacon fat, not steam.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Cafe-Comptoir Abel in Lyon's 2e is the 1928 bouchon on Rue Guynemer where the wood-panelled dining room and Label Bouchons Lyonnais menu survive unchanged.
Signature: Salade lyonnaise, Tablier de sapeur
Order: Salade lyonnaise with a poached egg, then the chicken vinaigrette.
Tip: Closed Sunday; cash and card. The pichet of cotes-du-rhone is the order.
Le Garet on Rue du Garet in Lyon's 1er is the canonical bouchon, four blocks from the Opera, with a chalkboard menu that hasn't really changed in 30 years.
Signature: Tablier de sapeur, Quenelle de brochet
Order: Tablier de sapeur to start, then the quenelle de brochet with sauce Nantua.
Tip: Closed Sunday-Monday; book a fortnight ahead for the dinner service.
Le Bouchon des Filles in Lyon's 1er is the all-woman-run bouchon on Rue Sergent Blandan, where a fixed-price set lunch runs the dining room and the kitchen.
Signature: Saucisson chaud, Cervelle de canut
Order: The set menu with saucisson chaud and cervelle de canut for dessert.
Tip: Open evenings only Wed-Sat plus Sunday lunch; book a fortnight ahead.
More cities are in research. Want salade lyonnaise covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.