Eat well in Lille without overpaying: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in Lille for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Bernard et Léon on Rue de la Clef in Lille is a bowl canteen named for the founders' two grandfathers, open at lunch only and priced under 16 euros.
Try: Bowl formule
Tip: Lunch only. The bowls take their names from the two grandfathers who gave the place its name.
Le Petit Bouillon Alcide on Rue des Débris Saint-Etienne in Lille keeps the bouillon model alive, a plat du jour formula at 12.90 euros off the Grand-Place.
Try: Formule plat du jour
Tip: Dinner runs Thursday to Saturday only. Lunch is the reliable service.
L'Estaminet du Welsh on Rue de Gand in Lille runs a lunch menu at 12.90 euros and a plat du jour from 9.90, built around a dozen welsh variations.
Try: Welsh au maroilles
Tip: The plat du jour starts at 9.90 euros, which is the cheapest sit-down welsh in Vieux-Lille.
Au Vieux de la Vieille on Rue des Vieux Murs in Lille runs its plat du jour at 9.90 or 14.90 euros, maroilles gratin included in the cheaper price.
Try: Gratin de la Vieille
Tip: The 9.90 euro plate is a full meal. The terrace on Place aux Oignons costs nothing extra.
L'Estaminet Lillois on Rue de la Barre in Lille prices its regional card from 13 euros, carbonade and potjevleesch with twenty local beers to drink alongside.
Try: Carbonade flamande
Tip: It opens five days only, closed Monday and Tuesday, so check the day before you plan around it.
Kousbi on Rue Brûle-Maison in Lille runs a short Levantine card built on falafel, five euros more turns any dish into a meal with a drink and dessert.
Try: Falafel in pita
Tip: It was built to feed the Wazemmes Sunday market crowd, and Sunday is still its best service.
GONG Cafétéria feeds the EuraTechnologies campus on Avenue de Bretagne in Lille, a weekday canteen of burgers and plates priced for the office crowd.
Try: Burger and fries
Tip: Weekdays only, and it shuts at 17:30 every day except Thursday, when it runs on to 20:00.
Estaminet La Vieille France on Rue de Gand in Lille feeds 65 covers of carbonade, poulet au maroilles and potjevleesch at neighbourhood prices.
Try: Poulet au maroilles
Tip: Closed Tuesday and Wednesday at lunch, which catches out a lot of visitors.
Aspendos on Rue des Sarrazins in Lille sells a basic kebab with fries for six euros and keeps serving until one in the morning six days a week.
Try: Kebab with fries
Tip: Six euros for a kebab and frites is the cheapest full plate on this list.
UNIK Kebab in Lille Moulins sells a complete kebab menu at 8.90 euros and keeps its counter open until midnight every single night of the week.
Try: Menu kebab complet
Tip: The full menu at 8.90 euros includes the drink, which most Lille kebab counters charge separately.
Nomás on Rue Nationale in Lille sells Mexican tacos and burritos at street-food prices, open every day of the week for two full services a day.
Try: Tacos
Tip: Two services daily, seven days a week, which is rare for a kitchen this small.
Smokey Banh Mi on Avenue du Peuple Belge in Lille sells a pork banh mi at 11.50 euros, meat smoked on site and bread from a Vieux-Lille bakery.
Try: Banh mi au porc
Tip: At 11.50 euros this is the best value sandwich in Vieux-Lille.
Arancini Lovers on Rue Saint-André in Lille fries Sicilian rice balls to order, a cheap and filling walk-up lunch in the middle of Vieux-Lille.
Try: Arancini
Tip: Two arancini and a coffee makes a lunch for well under 10 euros.
Friterie des Lilas on Rue Saint-Gabriel in Lille cuts its own potatoes and prices its student menus low enough that Wazemmes queues for them.
Try: Frites and fricadelle
Tip: Ask for the student menu if you have a card. Sunday is evening service only.
La Friterie du Splendid on Place du Mont de Terre in Lille is a working baraque à frites, cheap plates of frites with sauces made on the premises.
Try: Frites with house sauce
Tip: Closed Monday, and both weekend days run an evening service only, from 18:30.
Friterie Meunier beside Lille Flandres station sells frites, croquettes and fricadelle from 11:00 to 22:30 daily, the cheapest fill near the trains.
Try: Frites and croquettes
Tip: It runs to 22:30 every day, so it covers the gap after most kitchens close.
Costaud on Place du Vieux Marché aux Chevaux in Lille builds sandwiches to order by day and turns to shared plates at night, across three floors.
Try: Sandwich Costaud
Tip: The garlic and cheese bread at 9.50 euros is the order to add if you are two.