Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
Belgian endives braised until bitter-sweet, wrapped in ham, laid in bechamel and baked under cheese until the top blisters. Called chicons here, never endives.
The endive is the winter vegetable of the Nord, grown in the dark so it stays pale and tight. Lille calls it a chicon, and the gratin is what the region does with it: braised, wrapped in ham, buried in bechamel and finished with cheese. Maroilles turns up in place of gruyere in the estaminets, which makes the dish considerably more assertive. It is a household dish before it is a restaurant one, and it sits on the estaminet card in Lille all winter alongside carbonade.
2 editor picks for Chicons au gratin in Lille, ranked by editorial score. All Lille signature dishes · Chicons au gratin across every city.
Also in: Brussels.
Au Vieux de la Vieille spills onto the cobbles of Rue des Vieux Murs in Lille, the terrace estaminet locals send visitors to for carbonade and welsh.
OrderGratin de la Vieille, a pancake baked with endive, ham and maroilles.
TipThe courtyard terrace fills first on a warm evening. Plat du jour runs at 9.90 or 14.90 euros.
Chez Raoul on Rue de Gand in Lille is named for the singer Raoul de Godewarsvelde, an estaminet of chicken in maroilles, fricadelle and charcuterie boards.
OrderGratin de chicons, endives baked in ham and béchamel.
TipClosed Monday and Wednesday lunch. Saturday runs a long afternoon service then reopens late.
Chicons au gratin makes more sense with someone from Lille explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
Guided tour · 2.5 hours
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A guided zythological walk that will take you from specialized bars and wine merchants to micro-breweries to discover the know-how and the brewing revival that is shak...