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French regionalVieux Lille
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.
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French regionalVieux Lille
Chez la Vieille on Rue de Gand in Lille is the maroilles house of the strip, a cluttered estaminet where the cheese turns up in almost every course.
OrderMaroilles croquettes first, then the chicken in maroilles sauce.
TipSame family runs four estaminets in Lille. This is the one to pick if maroilles is the point of the meal.
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French regionalVieux Lille
L'Estaminet du Welsh on Rue de Gand in Lille builds its whole card around welsh, a dozen versions of cheddar melted in beer over bread and frites.
OrderThe welsh au maroilles, if you want the northern version rather than the cheddar one.
TipClosed Wednesday and Thursday at lunch. A vegetarian welsh is on the card.
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French regionalVieux Lille
La Petite Table has run on Rue de la Monnaie in Lille since 2003, a small estaminet doing carbonade, welsh and potjevleesch properly by hand.
OrderPotjevleesch with the house frites.
TipFinish with the spéculoos mousse rather than the café gourmand.
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FrenchVieux Lille
Les Compagnons de la Grappe hides down a corridor off Rue Lepelletier in Lille, a courtyard terrace serving welsh, carbonade and grilled meat non-stop.
OrderOnglet frites, cooked over the grill.
TipThe kitchen runs straight through the afternoon, which makes this the answer to a 16:00 arrival.
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French regionalVieux Lille
La Ch'tite Brigitte on Rue des Bouchers in Lille is Clément Richevaux's estaminet, built on the northern dishes his grandmother Brigitte cooked.
OrderThe maroilles croque-monsieur, or the mixed northern platter.
TipThe room takes bookings only, and it spreads across two shopfronts on Rue des Bouchers.
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French regionalVieux LilleChef Florent Ladeyn
Bierbuik is Florent Ladeyn's brewpub on Rue Royale in Lille, wood-fired Flemish street food downstairs and the Bloemeke estaminet menu upstairs.
OrderFrites with maroilles sauce, from the ground-floor brewpub counter.
TipThe upstairs Bloemeke runs a three-course estaminet menu at 30 euros. Beers use Mont des Cats hops.
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French regionalVieux Lille
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.
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French regionalVieux Lille
Au Soyeux on Rue de Gand in Lille runs 44 covers of ch'ti cooking, potjevleesch and carbonade with maroilles croquettes and roasted bone marrow.
OrderPotjevleesch, the jellied terrine of four white meats.
TipOnly 24 seats indoors plus a 20-seat terrace, so book for a weekend evening.
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French regionalVieux Lille
Chez Ronny on Rue de Gand in Lille is a 1970s-dressed estaminet named for the northern artist Ronny Coutteure, cooking northern French and Belgian plates.
OrderBoulets à la liégeoise, the Belgian meatballs in sirop de Liège.
TipSunday is lunch only, and it runs on bookings. It is the newest estaminet on this stretch of Vieux-Lille.
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French regionalVieux Lille
L'Estaminet Lillois on Rue de la Barre in Lille pours around twenty regional beers and cooks carbonade, potjevleesch and chicken in maroilles.
OrderThe welsh made with pain d'épices instead of plain bread.
TipClosed Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is dinner only and Sunday is lunch only.
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FrenchVieux Lille
L'Arrière Pays on Rue Basse in Lille builds open-faced sourdough tartines and regional plates, with a lunch formula that still lands under 14 euros.
OrderThe tartine en boîte, cured ham under melted camembert with walnuts and raisins.
TipTwo tartines run 10.90 euros and three run 12.90, which is about the cheapest sit-down lunch on this stretch of Vieux-Lille.
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ItalianVieux Lille
La Piazzetta opened on Rue de la Barre in Lille as a fresh-pasta counter and Italian grocery, run by a chef who came from Big Mamma's La Bellezza.
OrderWhatever ravioli is rolled that morning.
TipLunch only, five days a week. There are very few seats, so come early or take the pasta away.
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French regionalVieux Lille
Estaminet La Vieille France on Rue de Gand in Lille seats 65 and cooks the northern canon, carbonade, blanquette de veau, potjevleesch and pot au feu.
OrderCarbonade flamande, cooked long in brown beer.
TipClosed Tuesday and Wednesday at lunch. Sixty-five covers fill up, so a weekend evening needs booking.