Bintje potatoes fried twice, the second time in beef fat, served in a paper cone with a fricadelle, the long skinless sausage of the northern friterie.
The friterie is its own institution in the Nord, a wooden hut or a shopfront doing one thing properly. Frites are cut fresh, blanched at low heat and finished hot, traditionally in beef fat rather than oil, which is what gives them their flavour and their reputation. The fricadelle is the standard partner, a mixed-meat sausage with no skin, fried until dark. Sauces run to andalouse, samourai and, in Lille, a maroilles sauce that no other region attempts.
4 editor picks for Frites et fricadelle in Lille, ranked by editorial score. All Lille signature dishes · Frites et fricadelle across every city.
Bierbuik ★ 4.4
Vieux-Lille · 19 Rue Royale, 59000 Lille
Bierbuik is Florent Ladeyn's brewpub on Rue Royale in Lille, wood-fired Flemish street food downstairs and the Bloemeke estaminet menu upstairs.
Friterie des Lilas ★ 4.2
Wazemmes · 40 Rue Saint-Gabriel, 59800 Lille
Friterie des Lilas on Rue Saint-Gabriel in Lille cuts and fries its potatoes on the premises, with fricadelle, sandwiches chauds and burgers alongside.
La Friterie du Splendid ★ 3.9
Fives · 14 Place du Mont de Terre, 59800 Lille
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.
Friterie Meunier ★ 3.8
Lille-Centre · 14 Place de la Gare, 59000 Lille
Friterie Meunier works the square outside Lille Flandres station, the regional frites chain serving croquettes, burgers and fish and chips to order.