Cassoulet de Toulouse
Cassoulet de Toulouse is the city's signature slow-cooked bean dish with confit duck, Toulouse sausage and pork belly. Reservations recommended in season.
Where: Restaurant Emile, Le Genty Magre, Le Colombier, Le Bibent
Toulouse eats like the southwest's loud, brick-built capital, with cassoulet at the centre of the table and a Toulouse-sausage coil tied at one end of it. Lunch starts at 12:00 in the bouchons and bistros around Place Saint-Georges and Rue du Taur, often a plat du jour for around fifteen euros, followed by an espresso at the counter. The covered Marché Victor Hugo is the city's belly: the ground-floor butchers shape sausage and confit duck before dawn, and the upstairs restaurants serve magret and tripoux until 13:30 to a noisy room of producers and office workers. Saint-Aubin's Sunday market wraps round the brick neo-Romanesque church with farmers from the Lauragais and the Pyrenees, and the Saint-Cyprien left bank pours natural wine into glasses at the Marché des Carmes. Sweet finishes are the violet candies of Maison Pillon, the croustade aux pommes from the Lauragais bakers, and the Saint-Sernin biscuits dunked into cold milk between Capitole and the basilica.
Where to eat in Toulouse: editor-picked starting points
5 institutional venues to anchor a Toulouse food trip
- Py-R, chef Pierre Lambinon
- Acte 2 Yannick Delpech, chef Yannick Delpech
- Sept, chef Guillaume Momboisse
- Les Jardins de l'Opera, chef Stephane Tournie
- Michel Sarran, chef Michel Sarran
Must-try Toulouse dishes
- Cassoulet de Toulouse - Cassoulet de Toulouse is the city's signature slow-cooked bean dish with confit duck, Toulouse sausage and pork belly
- Saucisse de Toulouse - The saucisse de Toulouse is the city's coiled pork sausage, made from coarsely chopped pork shoulder seasoned with garlic, white wine and black pepper
- Foie gras du Sud-Ouest - Foie gras du Sud-Ouest is the canonical southwestern French fattened duck or goose liver, sold raw, mi-cuit or torchon
- Magret de canard - Magret de canard is the southwestern French duck breast, traditionally grilled with the skin scored, served pink with potato sarladaise and a red-wine redu
- Confit de canard - Confit de canard is the southwestern French duck leg slow-cooked in its own fat, the canonical Lauragais preserve preparation served with potatoes sarladaise
Best Toulouse neighborhoods for food
- Capitole - The brick-and-marble heart of Toulouse, with the pink-stone Capitole de Toulouse anchoring an arcaded square ringed by Belle Epoque brasseries and cafes
- Carmes - The old-town quarter south of the Capitole, where antique shops, natural-wine bars and the covered Marche des Carmes feed a knowing local crowd
- Saint-Cyprien - The left bank across Pont Neuf, traditionally working-class and immigrant, with the Hopital la Grave dome and a Tuesday-Sunday covered market on Place Roguet
- Saint-Aubin - The bohemian quarter east of the Canal du Midi, anchored by the neo-Romanesque Saint-Aubin church and the Sunday farmers market that wraps around it
Eat your way through Toulouse
Map of Toulouse
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Toulouse, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Must-try dishes in Toulouse
The plates that define eating in Toulouse.
Saucisse de Toulouse
The saucisse de Toulouse is the city's coiled pork sausage, made from coarsely chopped pork shoulder seasoned with garlic, white wine and black pepper.
Where: Restaurant Emile, Le Genty Magre, Le J'Go Restaurant, Le Bibent
Foie gras du Sud-Ouest
Foie gras du Sud-Ouest is the canonical southwestern French fattened duck or goose liver, sold raw, mi-cuit or torchon. Reservations recommended in season.
Where: Chez Navarre, Restaurant Emile, Le Genty Magre
Magret de canard
Magret de canard is the southwestern French duck breast, traditionally grilled with the skin scored, served pink with potato sarladaise and a red-wine redu.
Where: Chez Navarre, Restaurant Le Magret, Le J'Go Restaurant, L'Oncle Pom
Confit de canard
Confit de canard is the southwestern French duck leg slow-cooked in its own fat, the canonical Lauragais preserve preparation served with potatoes sarladaise.
Where: Chez Navarre, Restaurant Emile, Le Colombier, La Cave au Cassoulet
Violet candy of Toulouse
The violet candy of Toulouse is a crystallised Parma violet petal, sugar-coated to preserve the flower's perfume and colour. Booking essential at peak times.
Where: Maison Pillon, Violettes et Pastels
Restaurants to know in Toulouse
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Toulouse.
Restaurant Emile
Restaurant Emile on Toulouse's pedestrian Place Saint-Georges has been the canonical cassoulet address since 1947, with chef Christophe Fasan in charge.
Signature: Cassoulet de Toulouse with confit duck, Magret de canard, Foie gras maison
Le Bibent
Le Bibent on Toulouse's Place du Capitole is the 1861 Napoleon III brasserie revived in 2009 with chef Christian Constant, a national monument.
Signature: Cassoulet de Toulouse, Plateau de fruits de mer, Souffle au Grand Marnier
Le Genty Magre
Le Genty Magre between Esquirol and Capitole is chef Romain Brard's southwestern dining room, winner of the 2023 Toulouse Cassoulet Championship.
Signature: Cassoulet de Toulouse, Bourgeois southwestern menu, Foie gras
Le Colombier
Le Colombier on Rue de Bayard near Capitole is the cassoulet institution opened in 1874 as a bourgeois boarding house, recipe unchanged for a century.
Signature: Cassoulet de Castelnaudary, Confit de canard, Pieces of beef
Une Table a Deux
Une Table a Deux in Toulouse's Carmes is Morgane and Nicolas's Bib Gourmand bistronomic room with French cuisine threaded with Korean and Malaysian.
Signature: Line-caught hake, Grilled octopus, Beef with cherries and Madagascar pepper
Solides
Solides on Rue des Polinaires opposite the Carmes market is the short-supply-chain bistro praised by Michelin, with a chef-led natural wine list.
Signature: Daily market menu, Short supply chain plates, Natural wine pairings
Where to eat by neighborhood
Capitole (capitole)
The brick-and-marble heart of Toulouse, with the pink-stone Capitole de Toulouse anchoring an arcaded square ringed by Belle Epoque brasseries and cafes.
Best for: Brasseries, Cafes, Cassoulet
Carmes (carmes)
The old-town quarter south of the Capitole, where antique shops, natural-wine bars and the covered Marche des Carmes feed a knowing local crowd.
Best for: Wine bars, Bistros, Markets
Saint-Cyprien (saint-cyprien)
The left bank across Pont Neuf, traditionally working-class and immigrant, with the Hopital la Grave dome and a Tuesday-Sunday covered market on Place Roguet.
Best for: Markets, Tapas, World cuisine
Saint-Aubin (saint-aubin)
The bohemian quarter east of the Canal du Midi, anchored by the neo-Romanesque Saint-Aubin church and the Sunday farmers market that wraps around it.
Best for: Sunday market, Brunch, Bakeries
Saint-Georges (saint-georges)
A pedestrian-only square between Capitole and Carmes, lined with bistros, terraces and the original Restaurant Emile, the canonical cassoulet address since 1947.
Best for: Cassoulet, Bistros, Terraces
Saint-Sernin (saint-sernin)
The student and pilgrim quarter wrapped around the Romanesque basilica, with cheap eats along Rue du Taur and a young, late-night crowd around Place Saint-Sernin.
Best for: Budget eats, Student bars, Bakeries
When to come hungry in Toulouse
Peak food season: October to February for cassoulet, confit duck, foie gras and the gibier game season; April to June for asparagus, strawberries and Pyrenean lamb. August: many small kitchens close for vacances.
Local dining hours: Lunch 12:00-14:00, dinner 19:30-22:00. The brasseries off Place du Capitole and the bars on Place Saint-Pierre push later on weekends.
Tipping: Service is included by law. A few coins for genuinely good service is welcome, never expected.
Toulouse food, FAQ
What food is Toulouse known for?
Toulouse's signature dishes include Cassoulet de Toulouse, Saucisse de Toulouse, Foie gras du Sud-Ouest, Magret de canard, Confit de canard. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
What are the best food neighborhoods in Toulouse?
TableJourney editors map Toulouse by district. Capitole, Carmes, Saint-Cyprien, Saint-Aubin are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Where should I eat fine dining in Toulouse?
Editor picks in Toulouse include Py-R, Acte 2 Yannick Delpech, Sept, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
Are there food tours in Toulouse?
TableJourney covers 2 editor-picked food tours in Toulouse, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
Does Toulouse have good vegetarian or vegan food?
TableJourney's Toulouse dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal, kosher venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.