The Lyonnaise cuisine is not for the faint-hearted, I said to myself, when I glanced over the menu, in a traditional bouchon, in the heart of Vieux Lyon. As I am always up for a gastronomic challenge, the menu excited me instead of scaring me. I was up for the challenge. After all, this is France, so everything will be cooked to perfection.
In this article, I am going to tell you what to eat in Lyon, traditional dishes which are unique to this part of France. Did you know that Lyon has over 4000 restaurants, out of which 91 are present in the Michelin guide? Neither have I, before arriving here. And let me tell you, Lyon is not a big city, so this is a very impressive number. For the purpose of this article, I dined in traditional Lyonnaise restaurants called bouchons, which focus on basic local gastronomy. I also explored a few farmers markets, as well as the famous Paul Bocuse Halles, where I found some exquisite gourmet specialities.
The Traditional Lyonnaise Cuisine
Lyon is known as the gastronomic capital of France because of the high number of exceptional restaurants in the city, but also for the rich, flavoursome taste of the local cuisine. The hearty dishes are made with fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, which, as a tourist, you can find in the local markets.
Due to its geographical location, Lyon has always been an important centre of trade and commerce, which has influenced its culinary heritage. Whilst olive oil was coming to the city from the south of France, butter and cream were coming from the north. In the 15th century, Lyon was a distribution centre for spices brought over from the east by the Italians. All these trades have influenced the local cuisine.
Beef, pork, chicken, and game meats such as rabbit and venison are commonly used in Lyonnaise dishes. Lyon is known for its use of offal, including tripe, liver, and other organ meats, which are often prepared in traditional dishes like andouillette and tablier de sapeur. Often, to end a meal, instead of a sweet dessert you can opt for one of the local cheeses such as Saint-Marcellin and Bleu d’Auvergne.
What is a Bouchon?
A bouchon is a typical no-frills restaurant in Lyon that focuses on serving hearty, home-style dishes that are typical to the city. They are usually small and cosy, often decorated with rustic elements such as wooden beams or exposed brickwork. They were born in the 19th century as a convenient place to eat for the silk workers, to have a quick and hearty meal on their break.
Originally, the bouchons were run only by middle-class women referred to as “mothers”, who would prepare the home-cooked dishes in small kitchens, using affordable ingredients available in the region, such as pork and offal from the mountains, fish from Saone River, vegetables from the Rhone Valley.
Bouchons have a lively atmosphere in a relaxed environment, encouraging guests to enjoy their meals and spend as much time as they want doing so. Water and bread are always complimentary. Of course, the food is washed down with glasses of Cote du Rhone or Beaujolais wines, which are local to Lyon.
Many bouchons have set menus, in which you can choose an appetiser, main and dessert for no more than 20 euros.
What to Eat in Lyon
Lyonnaise Salad
The traditional Lyonnaise Salad is the first thing you will see on every menu in a bouchon. It’s an interesting combination of crisp curly endive, salty lardons, crunchy croutons, and a poached egg on top, dressed in a hot bacon vinaigrette.
The egg is poached to perfection, so when I cut it with my fork, the runny yolk poured over the salad, balancing the acidity of the vinegar mustard dressing. What I found interesting was that whilst the dressing was hot, the egg was cold but still runny.
Frisee Aux Lardons
Frisee Aux Lardons is a simpler version of the Lyonnaise salad. It only contains two ingredients, besides the dressing: curly endive and crispy lardons. The dressing is just some of the hot oil in which the lardons are cooked and drizzled over the greens.
Cervelle de Canuts
Cervelle de Canuts is a funny one because of its name, but it’s one of the must-try dishes in Lyon. The name translates to “silk worker’s brain,” reflecting its humble origins as a dish enjoyed by the silk workers of Lyon during the 19th century. But don’t worry, Cervelle de Canuts is an entirely vegetarian dish and doesn’t contain any brain in it. Instead, it is made primarily from fromage blanc, a fresh and tangy French cheese similar to cottage cheese, which serves as the base for the spread. To this, various aromatic ingredients are added, such as finely chopped shallots, garlic, chives, parsley, and sometimes a hint of vinegar or lemon juice, imparting a vibrant and herbaceous flavour to the dish.
Cervelle de Canuts is typically served as a starter or appetizer in Lyonnaise cuisine, often accompanied by crusty bread or toasted baguette slices for spreading. I had it as part of a small platter highlighting some of the local appetisers, along with cow brawn and veal trotters – which, despite what they actually are, were delicious.
Saucisson Brioche
Saucisson Brioche is a traditional Lyonnaise dish that combines saucisson, a type of dry-cured sausage, with a rich buttery brioche dough. To prepare Saucisson Brioche, a whole saucisson is coated in crushed pistachios and encased in a soft and fluffy brioche dough, which is then baked in a bread tin until golden brown.
Saucisson Brioche is typically served as an appetizer, either warm or at room temperature. It is often sliced into thick rounds so you can see the sausage inside the soft brioche.
Pate en Croute
Pate en Croute is a delicacy in Lyon. You can order it in restaurants or you can buy it by the slice, in the market. As the name suggests, this dish consists of pate encrusted inside a golden pastry crust. There are many different types of pate, made from the classic chicken liver all the way to foie gras. In the Paul Bocuse market, I’ve seen pate en croute made with Bressan chicken, turkey and pork, chicken and mustard, duck and foie gras, and even pork and pistachio.
Pate en croute pairs well with a variety of accompaniments, such as cornichons, mustard, and chutney, which add a tangy contrast to the richness of the dish.
Oeuf Meurette
If you are looking for a more unique appetiser, then you should order oeuf meurette. This is a classic French dish of the Burgundian cuisine, featuring poached eggs served atop a rich meurette sauce.
The sauce meurette is typically prepared by sautéing shallots, mushrooms, and bacon in butter until tender and fragrant, then deglazing the pan with red wine and reducing it to create a velvety sauce. The dish is often garnished with fresh herbs such as parsley or chives.
Oeufs Meurette is traditionally served as a starter, though it can also be enjoyed as a main course for brunch or lunch.
Saint-Marcellin Cheese
The most famous diary product in Lyon is the Saint-Marcellin Cheese. It is a soft, creamy cheese made from cow’s milk that originates from the Rhone-Alpes region. It has a very soft texture, similar to a warmed up Camembert – but with a very different taste.
Because I was in France, I forfeited on dessert in favour of half of Saint-Marcellin Cheese. It arrived accompanied by a simple salad dressed with a light vinaigrette. The cheese was indeed very, very soft and creamy, with an earthy taste with a nutty finish. Definitely one to remember.
Rosette de Lyon
When it comes to charcuterie, Lyon has plenty of cured meats to satisfy even the most exigent taste. Above all, sits the Rosette de Lyon, a cured sausage with a beautiful distinctive shape when cut. The name of the saucisson comes from its casing, which
The Rosette de Lyon is made from the noble parts of pork meat such as shoulder, fat, and seasoned with garlic and pepper.
Gratinee Lyonnaise
You have probably heard of the classic French onion soup. Well, Lyon has its own version, the gratinee a l’Oignon a la Lyonnaise. There are very few ingredients in this soup, but each of them shines in this delightful dish. The onions are caramelised very slowly, alongside garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper. The soup is made with rich beef stock and dry white wine, simmered for a long time. It takes at least two hours to make this soup!
The Lyonnaise onion soup is served with a slice of toast topped with Comte cheese, which is grilled until the cheese is bubbling and melting.
Andouillette
Andouillette is one of the most peculiar traditional Lyonnaise dishes. It was part of my first meal in Lyon and I’m not going to lie, it made an impression. Thinking about it now, I can still feel its unique taste on my tongue.
Many people say that Andouillette smells bad, like a farm – to put it elegantly. However, I didn’t think so. In Lyon, the Andouillette is served in a rich mustard and white wine sauce, and maybe that is overtaking the foul smell of the sausage.
The Andouillette is a sausage filled with pork intestine and tripe. The moment I cut into it and everything spilt into the mustard sauce took me by surprise. I didn’t expect that! But, despite that initial introduction, I had the first bite and it tasted rather delightful.
Quenelle de Brochet
Quenelle de brochet is another must-eat dish in Lyon, one of the classics of the city. The dish is composed out of light and airy dumplings made from a mixture of finely ground pike fish, eggs, flour, and butter. The mixture is seasoned with salt, pepper, and sometimes nutmeg, then shaped into oval or elongated shapes resembling quenelles before being poached in a flavourful broth until cooked through. Once cooked, the quenelles are typically served with Nantua, a creamy sauce made from crayfish butter, cream, and white wine.
The origins of Quenelle de Brochet can be traced back to the 19th century when it is believed that it was created by pastry chef Charles Morateur. Legend has it that there were so many pike fish in the Saone River that the balance of the river was threatened. Intensive fishing was trying to regulate the population of pike, which led to an abundance of fish in the markets. The chef thought about mixing the flesh of the fish with choux pastry, and he created the first version of the Lyon quenelle. Later on, another famous chef in Lyon, Joseph Moyne, modified the recipe to the one we enjoy today.
I loved how light this dish was. The flavour of the quenelle was very delicate, whilst the texture was extremely soft. I enjoyed the sauce so much and appreciated how the flavours worked together without overpowering each other.
Saucisson Chaud in Beaujolais Sauce
Saucisson Chaud in Beaujolais Sauce is another typical dish of Lyon, and could easily translate as wine sausage. This is because it is cooked in red wine infused with bouquet garni herbs, for a good half an hour.
The sausage is served sliced, topped with a demi-glaze made in the same pan and cooked with onions and mushrooms. It is served with simple, boiled potatoes.
Tripes a la Lyonnaise
Tripes à la Lyonnaise is another possible controversial dish, which doesn’t sound very appetising but turns out to be delicious. It is practically a tripe stew, cooked with onions, carrots, celery, herbs, wine and butter. This is another typical food in Lyon that was born within the city’s working-class population. Tripe, being an inexpensive and readily available ingredient, was often used in the traditional Lyonnaise cuisine.
Tripes à la Lyonnaise is often served with boiled potatoes, which soak the delicious sauce.
Tablier de Sapeur
Tablier de sapeur is another way to cook tripe in Lyon. In this recipe, the tripe is first marinated in white wine, then passed through breadcrumbs and fried, just like a schnitzel.
The name “sapper’s apron” refers to the shape of the tripe slices, which resemble an apron worn by sappers, or military engineers, during the 19th century. More specifically, this dish takes its name from the military governor of Lyon under Napoleon, Marshal de Castellane, who was a former engineer sapper.
Tablier de Sapeur is served hot, accompanied by gribiche sauce which is egg and mustard based, and a side of boiled potatoes or a fresh green salad.
Tarte Aux Pralines
When I did my research on what to eat in Lyon, I made the mistake of omitting desserts. I imagined that they would be the typical French staples such as Crème Brule, Tarte Tatin, or chocolate souffle. Little did I know what a gem Lyon was hiding: the tarte aux pralines. Now, pralines are usually made out of chocolate. And are brown. Not in Lyon! In Lyon, the pralines are bright pink, and they go in a lot of local desserts, tarte aux pralines being one of them.
I really didn’t know what to expect, but, I had to try one. The tart has a buttery almond shortcrust that almost melted in my mouth. But the filling… the filling is so intriguing. To this day I can’t really explain what it is or how exactly it tastes like. It has a rather chewy and sticky texture and is very sweet. Heavenly sweet I may add. Did I bring some tarts with me home, on the plane? Yes, I did!
Besides the tarte aux pralines there are several other desserts made with the same pink praline. I’ve seen brioche covered with a pink spread, pink slices of cake filled with almonds, as well as pogne – a sweet bread infused with orange blossom water and, the pink praline.
Conclusion
You will not go hungry in Lyon! I hope that my guide on what to eat in Lyon has given you a few suggestions and that now you are even more excited about your upcoming trip to the gastronomic capital of France.
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