40 editor picks in Lille.
40 cheap eats places in Lille, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Lille: the places editors actually return to. All Lille food.
Boulangerie Mathieu on Rue du Molinel in Lille bakes everything on site, classic and organic breads under a counter of tartes au sucre and framboisier.
TipThe tarte au sucre is the northern one to try, not the lemon meringue everyone photographs.
Smokey Banh Mi on Avenue du Peuple Belge in Lille smokes its own meat and buys its bread from the Degruson bakery up the road in Vieux-Lille.
OrderBanh mi au porc, €11.50
TipEverything is made in house except the bread, which comes from a named Lille bakery.
Smokey Banh Mi on Avenue du Peuple Belge in Lille smokes its own meat and buys its bread from the Degruson bakery up the road in Vieux-Lille.
TipAsk what has been in the smoker that day. The pork is the constant, the rest rotates.
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.
OrderBanh mi au porc
TipAt 11.50 euros this is the best value sandwich in Vieux-Lille.
Le Bistrot de St-So sits inside the old Gare Saint-Sauveur in Lille, a bar with a stage running free concerts and DJ sets from Wednesday to Saturday.
TipProgramming gives priority to local artists and entry is free, so turn up rather than book.
Friterie des Lilas on Rue Saint-Gabriel in Lille cuts and fries its potatoes on the premises, with fricadelle, sandwiches chauds and burgers alongside.
OrderFrites cut and fried on site
TipNothing here is frozen or vacuum-packed. Sunday is dinner service only.
Salon UBU on Rue Pierre Mauroy in Lille makes onigiri and onigirazu to order, a lunchtime-only counter that most visitors walk straight past.
OrderOnigiri and onigirazu
TipSaturday is the only day it stays open into the afternoon.
Costaud on Place du Vieux Marché aux Chevaux in Lille runs to 01:00 from Thursday to Saturday, shared plates replacing the daytime sandwich card.
OrderSandwich Costaud
TipEvenings turn to sharing plates. The sandwich card is a daytime thing.
Kousbi on Rue Brûle-Maison in Lille runs a short Levantine card built on falafel, and five euros more turns any dish into a full sit-down meal.
TipSunday is the day to come, when the Wazemmes market crowd fills the room.
Salon UBU on Rue Pierre Mauroy in Lille makes onigiri and onigirazu to order, a lunchtime-only counter that most visitors walk straight past.
TipSaturday is the only day it stays open past 15:00, and it closes entirely on Sunday.
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.
TipThe square it sits on is one street off the tourist route, which is why it stays a local room.
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.
OrderFalafel in pita
TipIt was built to feed the Wazemmes Sunday market crowd, and Sunday is still its best service.
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.
OrderFrites and fricadelle
TipAsk for the student menu if you have a card. Sunday is evening service only.
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.
OrderSandwich Costaud
TipThe garlic and cheese bread at 9.50 euros is the order to add if you are two.
Lokarria on Rue des Postes in Lille is a Wazemmes cafe-concert with live music, open mics and jam sessions, and an inclusive queer-friendly room.
TipCheck the programme before you go. The room changes character completely on a gig night.
La Broche on Rue de Gand in Lille marinates its chicken for a full day and confits it on the spit for three hours before it ever reaches the bread.
OrderKebab from the spit
TipThe kitchen runs to 00:30 on Thursday and Friday, which is late for Rue de Gand.
Arancini Lovers on Rue Saint-André in Lille fries Sicilian rice balls to order, with a different filling promoted every month alongside the regulars.
OrderArancini
TipAsk what the monthly special is. Cacio e pepe has been one of them.
La Broche on Rue de Gand in Lille keeps its spit turning to 00:30 on Thursday and Friday, chicken marinated a day and confited for three hours.
OrderKebab from the spit
TipSaturday runs non-stop from 11:30 to midnight, which is the longest service on Rue de Gand.
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.
TipLunch only, and it shuts at 14:30 on weekdays. Saturday runs half an hour later.
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.
OrderBowl formule
TipLunch only. The bowls take their names from the two grandfathers who gave the place its name.
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.
OrderArancini
TipTwo arancini and a coffee makes a lunch for well under 10 euros.
Boulangerie Papillon on Rue Nationale in Lille runs a bakery, a snack counter and a juice bar together, open seven days from 07:00 to 20:00.
TipGluten-free breads sit alongside the regional viennoiserie, which is rare in a Lille bakery.
La Planque hides down a staircase off Rue des Trois Mollettes in Lille, a vintage-dressed cellar where cocktails and half-litre beers both cost 5 euros.
TipThere is no sign worth looking for. Find the staircase, then keep going down.
Nomás on Rue Nationale in Lille runs Mexican street food seven days a week, tacos and burritos built to order across two services every day.
OrderTacos and burritos
TipOpen every day of the week, which is unusual for a small kitchen in Lille.
La Pépite on Place Sébastopol in Lille is a bar canteen of five euro bowls, the cornflake-crusted fried chicken among them, open until 02:00 on Saturday.
OrderBowls at €5, including cornflake-crusted fried chicken
TipThe bowls change weekly and all cost five euros, which is the whole idea.
La Pépite on Place Sébastopol in Lille is a bar canteen of five euro bowls, the cornflake-crusted fried chicken among them, open late at weekends.
TipEvery bowl costs five euros and the list changes weekly, so ask what is on rather than reading an old menu.
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.
OrderFormule plat du jour
TipDinner runs Thursday to Saturday only. Lunch is the reliable service.
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.
OrderTacos
TipTwo services daily, seven days a week, which is rare for a kitchen this small.
The Rue Jacquemars Giélée branch of Boulangerie Papillon in Lille keeps the same seven-day 07:00 to 20:00 service as the Rue Nationale shop.
TipContinuous service means you can get a proper lunch here at 15:00 when kitchens have shut.
Boulangerie Myrtilles on Rue de la Bassée in Lille is a working neighbourhood bakery, croissants and pain au chocolat with sandwiches and coffee to go.
TipClosed on Saturday and open Sunday morning, which is the opposite of most Lille bakeries.
La Friterie du Splendid on Place du Mont de Terre in Lille is a neighbourhood baraque, frites cooked properly and served with sauces made in house.
OrderFrites with house sauces
TipWeekends are evening service only, and the queue builds fast after 19:00.
Kitchen Market fills a floor of the Tanneurs centre in Lille with sixteen stalls, Greek souvlaki, ramen, Neapolitan pizza and northern frites side by side.
OrderSixteen stalls, from souvlaki to ramen
TipIndividual stalls shut an hour before the hall does, so order by 22:00.
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.
OrderFrites with house sauce
TipClosed Monday, and both weekend days run an evening service only, from 18:30.
Friterie Meunier works the square outside Lille Flandres station, the regional frites chain serving croquettes, burgers and fish and chips to order.
OrderFrites with fricadelle
TipIt runs straight through to 22:30 every day, which makes it the reliable pre-train plate.
Friterie Meunier beside Lille Flandres station sells frites, croquettes and fricadelle from 11:00 to 22:30 daily, the cheapest fill near the trains.
OrderFrites and croquettes
TipIt runs to 22:30 every day, so it covers the gap after most kitchens close.
Boulangerie Mosin on Rue Colbert in Lille is a weekday-only bakery of tradition baguettes, croissants and apple turnovers, with cakes made to order.
TipWeekdays only. This is a workers' bakery, not a weekend destination.
UNIK Kebab on Rue de Thumesnil in Lille Moulins runs to midnight every night, with a complete kebab menu at 8.90 euros that feeds the whole quarter.
OrderMenu kebab complet, €8.90
TipMidnight closing seven nights a week makes this the Moulins answer to a late finish.
UNIK Kebab in Lille Moulins keeps its counter open until midnight every night, with a complete kebab menu priced at 8.90 euros including a drink.
OrderMenu kebab complet
TipMidnight closing seven nights a week, which is longer than most Moulins kitchens.
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.
OrderMenu kebab complet
TipThe full menu at 8.90 euros includes the drink, which most Lille kebab counters charge separately.
The Vieux-Lille branch of UNIK Kebab on Rue Royale serves until midnight every night, a few doors from the busiest bar strip in the quarter.
OrderKebab
TipIt sits on the same street as the brewpub, which is exactly why it stays open until midnight.
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