On the hunt for the best restaurants in Lille? Visiting or living in Lille and at a complete loss of where to eat? Or are you just really hungry and just need a quick recommendation on where to eat? Whether you’re a visitor or a local, finding a place to eat can be incredibly overwhelming.
If this sounds like you, don’t worry – I’ve been there too. You can use this list of the best restaurants in Lille to help narrow down your search. After living in Lille for the past two years, I’ve discovered some incredible restaurants that quickly became my all-time favorites. So much so that I’ve shared them visiting friends and family. I must say, this was a fun article to research!
Read on to find a list of 10 restaurants to give you some inspiration for your next meal out in and around Lille! Sorry in advance if you are insanely hungry after reading this article!
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Best restaurants in Lille
If you want to try northern food…
PRO TIP: To fully experience northern French cuisine, head to an estaminet— a traditional restaurant that offer local dishes.
1) Estaminet du Chemin Vert
📍Address: 102 Rue du Dronckaert, 59960 Neuville-en-Ferrain
For an authentic northern French dining experience, you can’t miss Estaminet du Chemin Vert – its as authentic as it gets! Located near the Belgian border, this cozy estaminet feels like stepping into a grandmother’s home, complete with family photos and memorabilia on the walls. It’s a bit outside Lille’s city center, but the traditional food and atmosphere make it worth the trip.
The menu is written in Ch’ti, a local dialect found in the north of France and Belgium. Northerns typically have a very strong accent (and often add “ch” or “sh” sounds to “c” sounds, for example, “ça va” will become “ch va”) and you can find language jokes all throughout the menu. While the dialect might be tricky to understand, the food needs no translation. All in all, a great restaurant to check out if you really want an authentic experience!
✨Why not take a day trip to Belgium while you’re at it! Lille is incredibly close to the Belgian border, making day trips to popular cities like Bruges, Brussels and Ghent super simple. I detail the best day trips to Belgium from Lille in the post below!
READ MORE: Best day TRAIN-FRIENDLY day trips from Lille to Belgium
2) Les Ptiots
📍Address: 35 Rue de Gand, 59800 Lille
If you want another traditional estaminet that is closer to the centre of Lille, there are tonnes located on the Rue de Gand and this one is one of my personal favourites. Located in the center of Lille, Les Ptiots is another great estaminet to sample traditional northern cuisine.
This spot is especially unique because they offer a sampler meal that lets you try four of the region’s most iconic dishes in miniature sizes: chicken with maroilles sauce, welsh, potjevleesch, and carbonade flamande. This is a perfect choice if you want to experience a variety of flavors in one sitting. The friendly atmosphere and hearty portions make it a local favorite – its definitely a favourite of ours!
✨ Fan of food tours? The No Diet Club offers fun food tours across multiple cities in France, and visitors always give rave reviews! Something to check out if you’re a foodie visiting Lille.
3) Chez Raoul
📍Address: 56 Rue de Gand, 59800 Lille
If you’re craving moules frites (mussels with fries – another classic northern meal), Chez Raoul is the place to go. This estaminet features a cozy, nautical-themed interior, perfect for seafood lovers. Their mussels come in three delicious sauces: marinières, crème, or maroilles. They also have their own beer which was very tasty and quite inexpensive! But the fries were a highlight of my visit (and you can even ask for refills!). This is one of the top spots in Lille to try moules frites and is very highly rated on Google!
PRO TIP: Visit in September to experience the most iconic festival in the north of France. Braderie is a HUGE festival in Lille that is dedicated to bargain shopping and moules frites.
READ MORE: 7 things you need to know about the Braderie de Lille
If you want to try a friterie…
4) La Frite A Dorer A Wambrechies
📍Address: 59 Rue Obert, 59118 Wambrechies
When in northern France, visiting a friterie is something you must do at least once in Lille. And for the best of the best, head to La Frite A Dorer in Wambrechies, rated as the top friterie in the entire country.
Despite its humble appearance, this spot serves incredibly high-quality fries with a fun 1950s American diner theme. You would never guess just by looking at it that it has the best french fries in France, but if you want to try the best, be sure to pay them a visit!
PRO TIP: An authentic friterie almost without fail will only accept cash – keep that in mind when visiting!
✨ Pair this with a visit to Hall U Need. Less than a 5 minute drive away you’ll find Hall U Need, the perfect playground for children and adults alike. Inside, you’ll find everything from arcade games, a trampoline park, a bowling alley and more! This was one of our go-to favourite fun night out! For other fun activities to try out in Lille, check out my FREE Rainy Day Guide to Lille!
If you’re in the mood for crêpes…
5) Crêperie Saint Georges
📍Address: 19 Rue Bartholomé Masurel, 59800 Lille
Of course, when you’re visiting France, it’s nice to have crêpes at least once (or maybe more)! And you’re in luck because Crêperie Saint Georges is all about crêpes! This has to be one of the best restaurants in Lille! I have been here so many times and have taken every visitor here!
This stylish restaurant offering a wide selection of both sweet and savory crêpes. Each crêpe on the menu is named after a famous George, adding a unique touch to the experience. With its chic, intimate atmosphere and reasonable prices (between €10-19), it’s an ideal spot for both a casual meal and a delicious dessert. Be sure to save room for dessert —you won’t regret it!
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: A Sweet Tooth’s Guide to Lille
If you’re craving a burger…
6) Be Burger
📍Address: 39 Rue de Gand, 59800 Lille
Be Burger is another one of our go-to restaurants when we have friends and family come to visit us in Lille. The atmosphere is warm and friendly and the burgers are incredible (they even have a maroilles burger —really keeping the spirit of the north alive)!
My suggestion is, if you can’t decide what to eat because all of the burgers are just so inviting, why not split one with a friend so you can try two different recipes? It’s a great way to get the most out of your meal. Also, their sweet potato fries are *chefs kiss*!
✨ Pair this with a tour of Vieux Lille! There a few ways you can take a tour of Lille’s beautiful old town – the coolest I’ve seen is in a vintage Citoren convertible but there are also plenty of bus or walking tours available to get the most out of your time in Lille!
If you’re a meat-lover …
7) Le Barbier qui fume
📍Address (Vieux-Lille): 69 rue de la Monnaie 59800 Lille
This restaurant’s specialty is meat. Smoked meat to be exact! So if you’re coming here, have your inner carnivore ready for a large selection of various types of meats all slow-cooked on beech wood. You’ll have a choice between fish, duck, ribs, beef, pork … you name it, they’ve smoked it! With two locations in Lille, you can enjoy their offerings whether you’re in the city center or near the train station.
✨ Add a stop to the Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille Cathedral on your way! Only a two minute walk away, stands one of Lille’s most well known Cathedrals. However, its not well-known for the best reasons – its known as being one of the ugliest buildings in France. Head over on your visit to Lille and you’ll see why!
8) La Taverne du Petit Wasquehal
📍Address: 2 Rue Faidherbe, 59290 Wasquehal
This restaurant is a little outside of Lille in Wasquehal but if you can make the journey out there it is worth the trip. The restaurant, at first, looks like a small pub but it expands into a lodge-style restaurant or tavern in the back.
Their specialty is ‘la jambette’, a pork leg whose tender meat just falls right off the bone. It is so incredibly tasty and congrats if you can finish the entire thing! If you’re not in the mood for pork, they also offer a selection of northern specialties as well.
✨ If you’re going outside of Lille, don’t forget to visit Roubaix! This town just outside of Lille, not only is where we lived when we lived in the north of France, but it has a very interesting history. From being the centre of fashion for decades to housing mansions and villas, there is surprisingly quite a few options to spend your time here.
READ MORE: Top 5 things to do in Roubaix
If you really don’t know what you want to eat…
9) Grand Scène
📍Address: 31 Rue de Béthune, 59800 Lille
Fun fact: ‘food courts’ are a relatively new concept in France and they aren’t as I know them to be in North America. In the centre of Lille, they have something similar! The Grand Scène is filled with many 10 small street-food booths, similar to a food court, all offering a different type of cuisine. You have a selection of Greek food, Mexican food, Pizza, Burgers and so much more!
But what’s great about Grand Scène is that the food isn’t crummy fast food like most food courts. Your selection is from different actual restaurants so the quality is amazing, and the price is very reasonable. So if you’re with a group that can’t really agree on what to eat, this is the place for you!
✨ Add a visit to the Palais Beaux Arts while you’re there. Lille’s art museum, only a seven minute walk away, is one of the largest collections in France and you’ll recognize some important names in art history including works by Rubens, Rodin, Delacroix, Millet, Goya and Monet. The museum also houses many antiques from the Middle Ages, Ancient Greece and Egypt.
10) La Friche Gourmande
📍Address: 26 Rue Félix Faure, 59350 Saint-André-lez-Lille
This is another food court-style place to eat however, it felt more like a food truck-style as this former industrial area now has several booths serving a choice between Thai food, burgers, tacos or Indian food! It is also equipped with a bar, an apero station and a dessert booth!
The best part was the vibe (and the pint-size cocktails). It reminded me a lot of Boxpark in London (if you know what that is) with various shipping containers spread around! It is partially covered and is filled with picnic tables, private igloos and plenty of other places to sit with twinkle lights scattered around and a fashionable disco ball hanging in the centre.
Best restaurants in Lille: MOBILE-FRIENDLY GUIDE
Looking for a mobile-friendly version of this list? Check out my frequently updated FREE Thatch guide!
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Tips for visiting Lille
📆 Lille is the perfect weekend getaway. Lille is compact, and most major attractions can be seen within 1-2 days, making it perfect for short visits. Whenever I had guests, our itinerary usually covered all the must-see spots in Lille, plus some time exploring the nearby area of Roubaix.
☔️ Be prepared for rain. The north of France is known for its cloudy skies and unpredictable rain. While it may not rain constantly, the weather can often be overcast. To stay prepared, make sure to pack an umbrella or raincoat. If you find yourself needing indoor activities, check out my FREE Rainy Day Guide to Lille filled with ideas for every interest—from museums to cozy cafés!
🇧🇪 Take some day trips. While 1-2 days might be enough to experience Lille, you can extend your stay by taking some incredible day trips – this is how we did it whenever we had visitors! Head across the border to Belgium, or visit nearby historical sites like the Vimy Ridge war memorial for a memorable, educational experience.
READ MORE: Vimy Ridge: informative day trip from Lille
Know what you want to eat yet?
These restaurants in Lille never fail to put a smile on my face, and I hope you find them just as delicious as I do! If you’re eager for more recommendations, check out my FREE Local Foodie Guide to Lille. Over my two years in Lille, I’ve continually updated this list, so make sure to save it for future updates and insider tips on the best places to eat.
For those with a sweet tooth, I’ve created a special guide just for you! My Sweet Tooths Guide to Lille features a walking tour of Lille’s Old Town, packed with the best dessert and sweet shops the city has to offer. Trust me, the only challenge will be choosing what to try first!
READ MORE: Sweet Tooths Guide to Lille
