TRAVEL

6 of the best places to eat and drink in Lyon

From Michelin-starred restaurants to cosy bistros, discover Lyon's superb gastronomy by eating your way around the city.

A new generation of passionate chefs are establishing exciting culinary offerings in Lyon. To sample some of their cuisine, head to La Commune, in the heart of the city.

Photograph by La Commune

ByCarolyn Boyd

March 4, 2025

Positioned at the crossroads of Burgundy and the Rhone Valley, Lyon has long occupied a position of culinary privilege. Its chefs are spoiled by superior produce drawn from the local area, including wines from the vineyards of Beaujolais and cheeses and meats from the foothills of the Alps. In the city, restaurant offerings range from high-level classic French cuisine to international fusion concepts brought here by creative chefs from around the world. Whatever you fancy eating, you’ll find it in Lyon — just be sure to bring a big appetite.

View of the Saône River in Lyon. — Cour des Loges Lyon is a fine-dining restaurant looking on the Saône River in Lyon.
Photograph by Radisson Hotel Group

1. Les Loges

The narrow streets of Vieux Lyon are a maze of Renaissance buildings, secret passageways and beautiful courtyards. Here, you’ll find Les Loges, a fine-dining restaurant — Michelin-starred from 2012 to 2022 — located in the five-star Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel. The hotel and restaurant will be reopening in spring 2025 following a period of renovations, with chef Anthony Bonnet returning to the kitchen to create ambitious dishes, made from seasonal ingredients, reflecting his love of the surrounding land. Dinners will be served in a majestic Florentine-style courtyard, gently lit by a striking glass roof that covers the central dining area.

2. Le Bouchon des Filles

Traditional bistros, known as bouchons, are a culinary staple in Lyon. Their existence stems from the city’s rich history as a centre for silk-making and trading, when workers needed somewhere cheap to eat. There are dozens around Lyon, and one of the best is Le Bouchon des Filles, in the Croix-Rousse district. It’s run by Laura Vildi and Isabelle Comerro, who had worked in bouchons across the city for years before setting up on their own. Their menu is lighter and more modern than other bouchons, with dishes such as slow-cooked beef with rice noodles or kidneys in a cream sauce with spinach. The cosy dining room is decorated with beautiful wallpaper and simple wooden tables and chairs that keep the food the star of the show.

3. La Commune

Though there are plenty of restaurants to enjoy in Lyon, La Commune gives visitors a taste of its up-and-coming establishments. This vibrant food hall is a testing ground for new restaurateurs to try out their dining concepts before launching on their own in the city. The result is an enticing array of global cuisines in a lively food hall, much loved by the city’s students and younger gastronomes. Current residents include Bochi Bochi, which is run by a Japanese chef who’s passionate about sharing flavours from his home country, such as ama-kara udon (noodles with thinly sliced pork). Elsewhere, Cholita serves dishes from Bolivia, including beef stewed in South American spices and peanuts.

An exterior shot of Brasserie Georges — Brasserie Georges has been open since 1836 and occupies a prime location in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon.
Photograph by Alan Rico

4. Brasserie Georges

For a traditional Lyonnais experience, booking a table at Brasserie Georges is a must. Established in 1836, this huge dining room has a wonderful sense of history and tradition thanks to its white table linen, red banquettes and waiters dressed in iconic black and white uniforms. Its menu is a greatest hits of French and Lyonnais cuisine, with daily specials such as Burgundy chicken roasted with thyme or skate a la Grenobloise with capers, lemon and croutons. There are also brasserie classics like snails and steak tartare, while the dessert menu includes rum baba and îles flottantes — soft meringue ‘floating islands’ served atop a light custard.

5. Chez Pimousse

Just a short walk from Vieux Lyon via a footbridge that crosses the River Saône,His menu draws on the classics, and is fresh and light with dishes such as pan-fried venison with steamed aubergine and berries, or monkfish in foaming butter with green and chilli peppers. His menu draws on the classics, and is fresh and light with dishes such as pan-fried venison with steamed aubergine and berries, and monkfish in foaming butter with green and chilli peppers.

6. Restaurant Paul Bocuse

The late chef Paul Bocuse is a legend throughout the culinary world, but nowhere more so than in Lyon, his home town. Not only are there statues and murals of him around the city, but the vast indoor market, Les Halles Paul Bocuse, even bears his name. His two-Michelin-starred, eponymous restaurant is found just outside the city, in the village of Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or, where the chef was born and died. Today, chefs Gilles Reinhardt, Olivier Couvin and Benoît Charvet are safeguarding the restaurant’s legacy by adapting to contemporary tastes while staying true to tradition. The menu features such dishes as truffle soup, Bresse chicken cooked in a pig’s bladder and sea bass en croûte.

Chefs preparing dishes at Restaurant Paul Bocuse — Sample some of the city's best dishes at Restaurant Paul Bocuse, run by three inspiring chefs who balance traditional French cuisine with contemporary tastes.
Photograph by Aurelio Rodriguez

This paid content article was created for the Radisson Hotel Group. It does not necessarily reflect the views of National Geographic, National Geographic Traveller (UK) or their editorial staffs.

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