Favorite restaurants in Lyon and Nice

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I may be a little curt, but both the spots you list are basically tourist traps. --

As someone once explained succinctly to me at a transit desk in Lyon, if you eat in Vieux Lyon you will be getting tourist-quality food and paying tourist prices for it. Compare, for instance, this : https://www.bouchonlatetedelard.fr/menus-carte/

In Nice, it's hard to go wrong b/c there are so many French visitors coming down from their own homes, and their taste and standards are more demanding than foreign tourists. An easy rule-of-thumb is listen for people speaking French or Occitan and head towards them, and imho when you hear spoken German (or Russian), head away.

Yes! Haha, that's good insight. I have done the same thing in other countries by seeing where the older, local men were hanging out. And avoiding the places where the obvious tourists are.

When I searched the first time, many of the posts were from 3, 5, 11 years ago. Bouchon Les Lyonnais was recommended twice in past posts, but I can change that reservation.

I did find these recommendations:
- Lyon – Daniel et Denise; L’Ebullition (another local recommendation that we really enjoyed); Nardone Rene Glacier for ice cream

• We had our best meal at Le Vivarais.

• A better and more lively experience is to eat with the locals on Rue Merciere on Presque Isle.

Would you agree with any of these recommendations? Thanks for any and all help.

We never plan for restaurants any longer. Every time we'd spend time researching restaurants, we'd go and either we didn't like the menu and items offered or they were too expensive.

We often will ask our hotels where the best places to eat are close by. And we're not above eating Chinese or Vietnamese or even KFC in Europe.

My first go-to is the Michelin recommendations online. They aren't necessarily starred restaurants but solid quality
If I look at Trip Advisor, I look at the French reviews--tougher crowd to please since people have more experience with the particular ingredients and cooking.

In Lyon, I recommend looking on Rue Merciere as well

. I had dinner one night at Le Merciere on Rue Merceriere. Very good and there were a few solo diners including me. Make a reservation. It was recommended by a receptionist at my hotel as she had eaten there a few days prior.

In good weather, rue Mercière in Lyon can be a treat, as the closely-spaced outside dining areas, restaurant next to restaurant, create a convivial atmosphere. The restaurants, however, tend toward the tourist trade.

Some places we used to visit when we lived in Lyon's 6th arrondissement include the following:

• La Mère Brazier or La Gargotte, two places across the street from one another in the northern part of the Presqu'île, just south of Pont de Lattre de Tassigny.

• Arsenic, a few blocks east of Pont Wilson, serves modern style French food

• Brasserie de Brotteaux, pretty good food and beautiful tile work in the classic old-style dining room, across from the former Gare de Brotteaux

• Le Florentin, a small place in the 6th run by a couple where we consistently got very good food and very good service; we would often see single people dining there, at least early in the evening (19H)

• If you want to try a Michelin-starred place, Le Gourmet de Sèze a block south of Cours Vitton on rue du Sèze delivers that experience with terrific food and service (a bit overdone for me, but I prefer more casual places)

• In the same vein, Cazenove in the 6th has a very solid menu and a beautiful art nouveau dining room

• Pierre Orsi's restaurant, located off of pretty Place Kleber in the 6th is a Lyon institution. You can't go wrong with that if you want a fine dining experience.

• Lastly, and as a change of pace, if you're looking to visit a place that doesn't look as if it has been remodeled since the French Revolution, with OK (not great but not bad) food, give Café Comptoir Abel in the south Presqu'île a try. It's located along the Saône River west and a little north of Place Carnot. It's like eating in a museum exhibit.

No expert. We spent two nights there a year ago and we didn't have reservations the first night and wandered around Rue Mercier and ended up at Le Mercier where we had the rudest waiter in France. We have traveled in France for what adds up to months and can count on one hand the unpleasant interactions we have had with merchants, waiters etc. Outside of CDG, we have found French people lovely and waiters etc easy to deal with and we understand the norms. The guy at le Mercier was just a tool. e.g I have ordered quenelles half a dozen times in France including at La Tour d'Argent. They were invented in Lyon and I wanted to have them there. Although this was one of 4 menu items listed on their blackboard, he COULD NOT understand this request. Yeah, my French is self taught and terrible but no one else ever had a problem understanding quenelle. Then my husband ordered the veloute which again he COULD NOT with much drama UNDERSTAND. And he switched to English and my husband said 'the potato soup' and he spent the next 2 minutes waxing on about how the restaurant had no such thing. So my husband pointed at the menu and said 'that, bring that.' A few minutes later lovely quenelles and an excellent crock of potato soup arrive. The food was okay but I could do without a waiter who deals with patrons with contempt.

Our second night we reserved at Les Lyonnaise which is a bouchon just across the foot bridge across the Soane. They were booked up the first night and those without reservations were turned away the night we were there. Traditional bouchon foods which was what we were looking for. We had duck parmentier, quenelles, eggs meurette. It was all excellent and the waiter was lovely and made an excellent wine recommendation. Didn't have any problem understanding quenelles, eggs meurette or parmentier either.

One thing we found at restaurants in Lyon that differed from Paris is that you go to the till to pay the bill; usually in Paris this is at the table, but the pay at the till method seems common in Lyon.

Two recommendations in Lyon: Restaurant le Gourmet de Séze (high end but delicious -- went twice) and the oyster purveyor at Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse.

In Nice we enjoyed the paella at Chez Mireille. Also, they are huge servings so we were able to take away leftovers for lunch the next day!

I am overwhelmed with your kindness and thoughtfulness taking the time to reply with such specifics. This is incredibly helpful and much appreciated.

We had wonderful meals at Flaveur.
A chef from another restaurant was sitting at the table next to us and raved about his meal.

I agree with Bets about looking at the Michelin online listings, but do so with a discerning eye,
and I also agree with Sammy but will speak up for the south part of Presquile and say that all the places around the small urban park Place Gailleton get a lot of local patronage.

For instance https://www.restaurant-levivarais.fr

this isn't special occasion dining, just a good example of how a long lunch break from work or part of a shopping trip is a step or two above your typical food court!

Editing to add that even though it's November when you are there you should check to see if there is a ripe Saint Marcellin available for the cheese course. This is an important part of any trip to this region and doesn't get enough attention when the discussion about organ meats overshadows the cheese. Saint Marcellin is special to the area; you want one that is starting to get a little bit runny.

We just returned from a week in Lyon, and though I noted the same recommendations as others, we found that there were so many restaurants of all kinds right in our neighborhood on rue de l’arbre sec. We took a stroll with a Lyon City Greeter and he showed us some “good addresses” of where to eat. The bouchon we chose was Le Garet just off the above street. I stopped in at lunch to see about a table and when we returned at 7:30 the owner showed us to the best spot so we could take in all the action. More food than I thought I could possibly eat but it was all so light and delicious! We were the only English speakers there and it was a lively scene. Truly a local spot and definitely recommend! Closed Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy!
Edit to add: L’arbre Sec on rue de l’arbre sec especially if you are a beef lover. The meat is on display and you can choose your cut. One man single handed the 20 or so folks that filled the restaurant.

I would highly recommend La Buvette du Pont Wilson. For an outdoor lunch with a view in Lyon. Singles are welcome.
Its an unlikely setting for excellent food, yet everything we ever ordered there was fantastic. Not sure about the outdoor seating in November. We were there in September.

Avirosemail, thank you for the recommendation with Saint Marcellin cheese. I appreciate you understanding the nuances and I'll report back after the trip!

Deb S, thank you for sharing your recent experience. This is now becoming an adventure to me. When I get off the train, I am going to wander down these side streets looking for places like Le Garet...and in doing so, discover parts of Lyon I would have otherwise missed.

Francis, I like unlikely settings. I think I am actually going to enjoy La Buvette du Pont Wilson for lunch the first day. And here's where this gets fun for me. In looking at their menu, they feature the Saint Marcellin cheese Avirosemail mentioned above. I love when things come together like this.

Thanks again to everyone. I do savor and appreciate the care with which the French create their meals and sauces, not to mention the wine and desserts. The anticipation of these kinds of meals adds to the trip immensely.

Do not, under any circumstance, miss the Notre-Dame de Fourvière, roof tour in Lyon. :)
I also have to agree with Avirosemail about eateries in Vieux Lyon. We tried to find a good place in Vieux, cause it was close by, and the travel guides all said, "gotta go here, or there." We are both not foodies, yet nothing really stood out as impressive, or memorable. The food gets better, the farther away you are from Vieux. :)

In Nice, we got street vendor food, to walk with, as a day trip, which was cheese, and mix, filled crepes and they were excellent.

The Pont Wilson spot might not be open during your dates there:

"Nous sommes ouvert de Mars à Octobre, selon la méteo. "
on their accueil page!

Fortunately there are so many great options, including a couple I will probably literally stumble upon, that will work! Thanks again for taking the time to help me enjoy this part of my trip!