The restaurants worth a reservation in Lille, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
The restaurants worth the trip in Lille. bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
Bouillant took over the old Café de la Paix on Rue Léon Gambetta in Lille, seventies furniture and orange paint over a sharp, unnostalgic market card.
Signature: Boudin with marinated apples, Teriyaki pork terrine
Order: Boudin with marinated apples and almond granola.
Tip: Wine by the glass starts at 4 euros and a 50cl pitcher runs 13 euros, which is why the room stays full late.
Bleu Canard is a long narrow canteen on Rue Pierre Mauroy in Lille, floral wallpaper and moleskine banquettes around Ryo Nakamura's market cooking.
Signature: Crispy pork breast, Sesame mille-feuille
Order: Crispy pork breast with white peach.
Tip: Children get adapted portions and something to draw on, which is rare in a room cooking at this level.
Café Bellot on Rue Jeanne d'Arc in Lille is a neighbourhood bar and bistro in one, chalkboard plates at lunch and natural wine into the small hours.
Signature: Potato croquettes with smoked trout, Pork meatballs with cheddar
Order: Potato croquettes stuffed with smoked trout, in trout roe cream.
Tip: Lunch runs on reservation only. A Burgundy red starts around 7 euros a glass.
Beatriz brought contemporary Mexican cooking to Boulevard Jean-Baptiste Lebas in Lille, brick walls and zellige behind a counter of ceviche and tacos.
Signature: Dorade ceviche, Grilled mushroom taco
Order: The dorade ceviche, for its tiger's milk.
Tip: The lunch menu is 24 euros. The tequila list is longer than the wine list, so ask for a recommendation.
Brigand on Rue de l'Hôpital Militaire in Lille is blond wood and brick, a bistro of comfort cooking and natural wine run by a chef and sommelier pair.
Signature: Mussels in haddock cream, Red cabbage tatin
Order: Mussels in haddock cream, from the evening sharing plates.
Tip: Lunch is a weekly menu at 25 to 30 euros. Evenings switch to plates built for sharing.
Café Augustin on Rue de Valenciennes in Lille is retro-chic, a long counter and wooden banquettes serving simple lunches and generous evening plates.
Signature: Duck breast with blackberry pickles, Caesar-dressed kale salad
Order: Duck breast with sautéed courgette and blackberry pickles.
Tip: Weekdays only. Mains sit between 14 and 17 euros, and the room hosts poetry nights.
Coup de Main on Rue Saint-André in Lille is a small kitchen and wine shop in one, a short card of small-producer cooking with a sommelier on the floor.
Signature: Sharing starters, Vendanges tasting menu
Order: The six-course Vendanges menu at dinner.
Tip: Lunch menus run 22 and 25 euros, dinner 70 euros. The wine shop keeps longer hours than the restaurant.
Le 49R occupies a restored 17th-century mansion on Rue Royale in Lille, Antoine Coutier's tasting menu upstairs and a dining bar for a glass downstairs.
Signature: Single seasonal tasting menu
Order: The single menu, which is the only option in the evening.
Tip: The evening runs one menu only. The dining bar takes walk-ins for a glass and a snack.
Michel on Rue Pierre Mauroy in Lille is named for a Lebanese grandfather, a small Levantine kitchen of mezze and falafel that rewrites its card monthly.
Signature: Mezze platters, Falafel
Order: A spread of mezze, ordered for the table.
Tip: Street-food plates at lunch, longer cooking in the evening. The vegetarian half of the card is substantial.
La Brasserie du Cerisier is the ground-floor room under the starred kitchen on Avenue du Peuple Belge in Lille, a weekly market card and a cocktail list.
Signature: Weekly market menu, Signature cocktails
Order: The market menu, rewritten every week.
Tip: It shares an address and a phone line with the starred dining room upstairs, so specify which one you want.
La Chicorée has run on Place Rihour in Lille since 1903, three floors of regional brasserie cooking that keep serving long after the bars close.
Signature: Moules-frites, Carbonade flamande
Order: Moules-frites, at whatever hour you arrive.
Tip: This is the room that solves a 03:00 hunger in Lille. The south-facing terrace is heated in winter.
De Rode Koe on Rue des Trois-Mollettes in Lille cooks a fresh-produce card that leans vegetarian and vegan, with fish, meat and house burgers alongside.
Signature: Ravioles, House burgers
Order: The ravioles, from the vegetarian half of the card.
Tip: Plates land around 15 euros. Saturday runs non-stop from 11:30, which is unusual in Vieux-Lille.
Pickles on Rue Solférino in Lille is a small bistro and wine bar cooking a mostly vegetarian card that changes weekly, with everything made in house.
Signature: Weekly vegetable plates, Natural wine pairings
Order: Whatever vegetable plate leads the week's short card.
Tip: Menus run 25 to 35 euros and a la carte from 14. The natural wine list is the other reason to come.
Restaurant NŪ sits on Avenue Le Corbusier in Euralille with the widest rooftop view in Lille, a panoramic dining room and an indoor cocktail bar.
Signature: Set menus from €29, Signature cocktails
Order: A cocktail on the terrace before you sit down to eat.
Tip: The kitchen runs until late but the rooftop terrace is the point. Set menus start at 29 euros.
Le Lys occupies a historic cafe facing the Grand-Place in Lille, a brasserie of carbonade, moules-frites and waterzoï with regional beer to match.
Signature: Carbonade flamande, Waterzoï
Order: Waterzoï, the creamy Flemish stew you rarely see on Grand-Place cards.
Tip: Waffles and pancakes run all afternoon, which makes the terrace useful between services.
Le Broc on Place de Béthune in Lille builds its whole card on cheese, melted on toast, roasted, folded into sauces or scraped over potatoes as raclette.
Signature: Raclette, Tartiflette
Order: Raclette, scraped at the table.
Tip: Menus start at 16.90 euros and the kids' menu is 9.90. It runs seven days a week.
The Vieux-Lille branch of Le Broc sits on Place Louise de Bettignies, the same cheese-led card of fondue, raclette and tartiflette in a wood-lined room.
Signature: Fondue, Tartiflette
Order: Fondue, if there are at least two of you.
Tip: Both Lille branches keep the same hours and the same card, so pick on location alone.
Les Sales Mômes on Quai de l'Ouest in Lille keeps more than 800 board games beside a kitchen of burgers, boards and pastries, on the Deûle waterfront.
Signature: Burgers, Aperitif boards
Order: An aperitif board, ordered while you learn a new game.
Tip: Lunch service is 12:00 to 14:00 from Tuesday to Saturday, and sharing plates start again at 17:00.
Bacio Divino on Rue Saint-André in Lille cooks a dinner card of Italian classics six nights a week, and turns the room over to brunch every Sunday.
Signature: Lasagne, Antipasti
Order: Traditional lasagne, from the standing card.
Tip: Dinner runs Monday to Saturday. Sunday belongs entirely to the all-you-can-eat brunch.
Le Barbier qui Fume on Rue de la Monnaie in Lille smokes its own meat, onglet and Quebec-style brisket, and runs a weekday lunch formula at 18.50 euros.
Signature: Beef onglet with shallots, Quebec-style brisket
Order: Beef onglet with shallots, from the smoker.
Tip: Weekend service runs non-stop from 10:00, which is unusual for a smokehouse.
The Place Rihour branch of Le Barbier qui Fume in Lille runs non-stop from 10:00 to midnight, and puts smoked ham and Galloway cheddar into its welsh.
Signature: Welsh with smoked ham, Smoked brisket
Order: The welsh, made with smoked ham and Galloway cheddar.
Tip: Non-stop service all day means it solves the 16:00 problem in central Lille.
Le Porthos on Rue de la Monnaie in Lille is a brick-walled estaminet cooking the regional card: carbonade, potjevleesch and welsh, served all day at weekends.
Signature: Carbonade flamande, Potjevleesch
Order: Carbonade flamande, with the house frites.
Tip: The kitchen runs 12:00 to 14:00 and 19:00 to 22:00 on weekdays, then straight through from 12:00 to 22:30 on Saturday and to 22:00 on Sunday.