We keep coming back to Lille for short weekends, largely because eating and drinking here is so easy to build a day around. Vieux-Lille is filled with independent cafés, bakeries and wine bars, while some of our favourite restaurants sit just beyond the historic centre. After several visits, these are the places we still recommend — from specialty coffee and pastries to Japanese food and intimate wine bars.
Best Restaurants in Lille
L’Annexe
L’Annexe is the place we would choose when looking for a more refined dinner in Lille. Anne-Sophie and Alex run this small bistronomic restaurant with a strong focus on seasonal produce and local farmers and producers. The cooking is creative but never feels unnecessarily complicated, while the regularly changing menu keeps ingredients at the centre. It feels considered and personal without becoming overly formal.
Café Augustin
Café Augustin sits outside the busiest part of central Lille and feels much more like a neighbourhood restaurant. The concept is described simply as a bistrot vivant, with a changing menu and an easygoing atmosphere that made us enjoy the place immediately. We particularly liked the sharing style of eating here — a relaxed alternative to the more polished restaurants in the city centre.
Aoyama
Aoyama is a small Japanese restaurant in Vieux-Lille with a focus on ramen and other dishes from Japanese cuisine rather than the usual sushi menu. The concept was inspired by founder Florian Rousies’ travels through Japan, and the restaurant has remained deliberately compact. We liked it precisely because it feels straightforward and focused — a very good option for a casual dinner in Rue de Gand.
La Luck
La Luck is easily the most playful restaurant on this list. Inspired by board-game cafés in Montreal, it combines homemade seasonal food with an enormous collection of games and dedicated ‘game sommeliers’ who help you choose and explain the rules. It is busy, colourful and slightly chaotic in the best possible way. We came for dinner, but the experience around it is really what makes the place memorable.
Breakfast, Lunch & Coffee in Lille
Coffee Makers
Coffee Makers has been part of Lille’s specialty coffee scene since 2013 and combines its own roastery with breakfast, lunch and a popular Saturday brunch. We originally came here specifically for that brunch and understood why it had become such a fixture. Coffee remains at the heart of the place, making it equally good for a full meal or simply a properly made cup.
Tamper!
Tamper! is a specialty coffee shop tucked into one of the pedestrian streets of Vieux-Lille. Alongside carefully made coffee, they serve a seasonal breakfast, lunch and brunch menu, so it works as much as a daytime restaurant as a coffee stop. We particularly like the setting — the cobbled Rue des Vieux Murs gives the whole place a distinctly Lille feel.
Paddo Café
Paddo brings an Australian all-day café style to Lille, with breakfast and lunch alongside a serious specialty coffee offering. The original location opposite the cathedral in Vieux-Lille was the one we visited and remains our favourite setting, although Paddo has since expanded to a second Lille address. It is relaxed, bright and particularly good when you want something more substantial than coffee and a pastry.
Bloom Café
Bloom is part specialty coffee shop, part florist, which gives it an identity entirely of its own. Coffee is served alongside homemade food and floral-inspired pastries, while plants and flowers are woven throughout the space rather than simply added as decoration. We originally came for the unusual drinks and pastries, but it is the combination of coffee, baking and flowers that makes Bloom memorable.
Best Bakeries & Pastries in Lille
Meert
Meert is much more than a pastry stop — it is part of Lille’s food history. The house has been making its famous thin, brioche-style waffles filled with Madagascar vanilla since 1849, and we still stop by almost every time we return to the city. The beautiful historic shop is part of the experience, but the classic vanilla waffle is the reason we keep coming back.
The French Bastards
The French Bastards started in Paris and has since expanded to Lille, bringing its particularly indulgent approach to French baking with it. Expect a combination of traditional bread and viennoiserie with much more playful pastry creations. This remains one of Lous’ favourite bakery stops in the city — the difficult part is usually deciding what to choose.
The Delambre Bakery
The Delambre Bakery has a very specific specialty: generous New York-style cookies, handmade with a crisp exterior and soft centre. The concept started in Lille in 2021 before expanding to Paris, and it is still refreshingly focused rather than trying to become a full bakery. Definitely one for the moments when a delicate French pastry is not quite what you are craving.
Wine Bars & Drinks in Lille
Monsieur Jacques
Monsieur Jacques is our favourite wine bar in Lille. It has the intimate, slightly old-school atmosphere we look for in a wine bar, with bottles lining the space and a knowledgeable team who are happy to guide you through the selection. Wine is accompanied by simple things such as cheese and charcuterie, and the cellar downstairs only adds to the character of the place.
La Cave du Présentoir
La Cave du Présentoir combines a wine shop with a small bar, with a particular focus on natural and living wines. Bottles are chosen directly from the shelves, which makes the experience feel more like visiting a good caviste than ordering from a conventional wine list. We loved how personal it felt — the kind of place where a conversation about what you normally drink can easily lead to something completely different.
La Biche & Le Renard
For something other than wine, La Biche & Le Renard is one of the more alternative places we found in Vieux-Lille. The bar has a particular love for craft beer, music and a slightly eclectic cultural atmosphere, with DJ sets and events regularly forming part of the programme. It feels much less polished than many nearby bars — and that is precisely part of its appeal.
