Restaurants and northern specialities

Lille's cooking is served in estaminets, small Flemish restaurants with old-fashioned interiors, generous plates and a long beer list. Here's what to order, and where.

What to try

Carbonnade flamande: beef slow-cooked in dark beer
Welsh: a slice of bread, ham and melted cheddar, sometimes maroilles depending on the place, usually with fries
Potjevleesch: a cold terrine of several meats set in jelly
Poulet au maroilles: chicken in a creamy sauce made with the region's strong cheese
Meert waffle: filled with Madagascar vanilla, a Lille institution since 1761

Where to go

Au Vieux de la Vieille

2 rue des Vieux Murs · place aux Oignons · see on the map

The best-known estaminet in the city, on one of the prettiest squares in Vieux-Lille. All the northern classics are on the menu, along with a good twenty beers.

Place aux Oignons in Vieux-Lille, with its brick façades and café terraces — Place aux Oignons in the early evening. Au Vieux de la Vieille is on the left.

La Ch'tite Brigitte

10 rue des Bouchers · see on the map

Small room, rustic decor, nothing fussy. The house is known for its maroilles gratin. Book ahead, the place is small and often full.

Les Ptiots

35 rue de Gand · see on the map

Traditional home cooking. Rue de Gand is a little less touristy than the heart of Vieux-Lille, and the prices show it.

Rue de Gand and its terraces, in Vieux-Lille — Rue de Gand in the early evening: the restaurant street of Vieux-Lille.

Le Barbier qui fume

69 rue de la Monnaie · see on the map

Red brick and industrial fittings, wood-fired cooking with local produce. More modern than the classic estaminet, if you fancy a change.

Les Compagnons de la Grappe

26 rue Lepelletier · see on the map

A cobbled courtyard a couple of minutes from the Grand'Place, with a terrace you'd never guess at from the street. Northern cooking and a good wine list. People come here for the setting above all. Book in good weather, the terrace fills fast.

Tripletta

43 rue de Gand · Italian · see on the map

For a break from northern food. The pizzas are very good and the room is pleasant, brick and wood. It isn't the cheapest address on the street, worth knowing before you go.

Oasis Lille Citadelle

1 avenue Mathias Delobel · Citadelle park · see on the map

At the entrance to the park, facing the Deûle and shaded by trees. More of a garden café than a restaurant: you come for a simple lunch, or just a drink after a walk. The terrace is what brings people here, and it's full as soon as the sun comes out.

The terrace of Oasis Lille Citadelle under the trees, with its string lights — The Oasis terrace in the early evening, under the park's trees.

Practical notes

Booking: Advisable at weekends in Vieux-Lille, where places are often full
Budget: Rue de Gand costs less than the heart of Vieux-Lille
To take home: A Meert waffle travels well and makes a good present