Les Boulistes

The story

Les Boulistes – Modern Bistro Fare in Lyon’s Croix-Rousse, Michelin Recommended

Passing through the door of Les Boulistes on the Croix-Rousse plateau is like stepping into the late 1950s: a Formica bar, vintage advertisements, mismatched crockery. The setting is deliberately nostalgic, but the cooking is anything but dated. This Lyon restaurant serves a modern bistro cuisine, 100% homemade, rooted in fresh produce and a desire to revisit tradition.

The kitchen works with the seasons – early summer might bring slices of Serrano ham with the first melons, or a terrine of chicken livers, smoked bacon and hazelnuts. Mains include a roasted blackspot sea bream with a Moroccan-style vegetable confit cooked in rockfish broth, or a vegetable crumble from the Alpilles topped with goat’s cheese. The house tartare, cut with a knife and prepared in the kitchen, comes with capers, egg yolk, gherkins, three mustards and Tabasco, served with roasted potatoes. For larger appetites, there is a spice-rubbed côte de boeuf for two or three, cooked over coals.

Les Boulistes has earned a Michelin recommendation for its honest, confident cooking. When the weather permits, the terrace under the plane trees of Place Tabareau is one of the most pleasant spots in the neighbourhood.