The best restaurants in Lyon for 2025

What is it? Refined, artistic cooking is an assuming setting. 

Why we love it: The ‘workbench’, as l’établi translates, is far fancier than the name would suggest. Décor is modern and stripped back, with tables designed to look like carpenter’s benches, artistically scored with ruler-straight lines. Customers choose their own bread knives when they arrive, before tucking into one of three fixed menus for lunch (three, six or seven courses). In the evening it’s the full seven or à la carte. While every dish is served with exquisite artistry, it's in the simple things that you truly appreciate the quality of their produce. It’s impossible not to cut another slice of the crusty cob served with black sesame butter, even when you’re on course five.

Time Out tip: There are surprise ‘extra’ courses, but if we told you which, we’d have to kill you.

Address: 22 rue Remparts d’Ainay 69002

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturdays 12-1.30pm, 7.30-9.30pm, closed Sundays and Mondays

Expect to pay: From €42 per head for lunch

What is it? Franco-Lebanese fusion cuisine in a beige (okay, concrete) building. The food is anything but beige. 

Why we love it: Small plates are often expensive and leave you hungry. Not at Ayla, where the generous dishes of fresh, seasonal produce make you want to share, so that you can all wax lyrical together. Most of the dishes change regularly, but the tempura vine leaves on a bed of labneh, and the squid with parsley and shitake mushrooms, are so popular that they’ve become mainstays. Dips feature heavily, often elaborately garnished, like garlicky yoghurt topped with spiced, roasted carrots. Run by a Franco-Lebanese couple and their tiny team, the open plan kitchen invites nosiness. There’s a vast choice of both French and Lebanese wine, and plenty of veggie options.

Time Out tip: Ask for a table away from the door, it can be a little draughty. Book in advance, it’s one of Lyon’s hottest new addresses. 

Address: 11 Pl de l’Europe, 69006 Lyon

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 12-2pm, 7.30-9.30pm, closed Sundays and Mondays

Expect to pay: From €27 per head for lunch (starter-main-dessert)

What is it? A jack of all trades, in the form of a restaurant, coffee shop and after work drinks spot.

Why we love it: Unlike a scarily long restaurant menu, where you know everything will be average at best, La Maison Cobalte juggles its many faces with ease. Dishes are often classic with a twist, like an œuf parfait with a spicy kick to the sauce, or a vegetarian take on traditional French favourites. The exterior is a vivid cobalt, with tables primely placed for people watching, looking over the honey-coloured façade of Saint-Polycarpe Parish Church in the pentes de la Croix-Rousse (the hill leading up to Croix-Rousse). Save room for dessert, half the menu is a sweet tooth’s sugary dream.

Time Out tip: Keep the evening going: there’s a cracking wine bar over the road. Odessa Comptoir serves largely natural wines.

Address: 23 rue René Leynaud 69001

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 12-11pm, Sunday 12-6pm, closed on Mondays

Expect to pay: From €27 for lunch (starter-main-dessert)

What is it? A buzzing, casual Croix-Rousse pizza spot where they pull fresh pizzas from a giant turquoise mosaic oven

Why we love it: Maria’s menu comprises eight wood-fired pizzas, all of which pack a serious Neopolitan punch. There are classics like the La Sanita – San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte, grana Padano, fresh basil, and extra virgin olive oil – or more adventurous blends like the Mergellina: Provola cheese, fior di latte, fennel sausage, cream of broccoli with ricotta and walnuts. Each week, staff design a new pizza, so come with a group and try as many as you can.

Time Out tip: If it’s full (as often happens), get your pizza to go to enjoy on the piazza at the foot of the road, with a view of the whole city.

Address: 1-3 Rue des Pierres Plantées, 69001 Lyon

Opening hours: Thursday-Monday 12-2pm, 7.30-11pm, closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

Expect to pay: From €9 a pizza.

What is it? Chef Arnaud Laverdin’s casual Asian-fusion bistro, located in the 1st arrondissement between the Halles de la Martinière and the Mural of Lyonnais

Why we love it: Meaning ‘dream’ in Hindi, the globe-trotting menu at Sapnà will certainly transport you away from southeastern France. Mix up small plates like smoked trout gyoza, lamb satay bao burger and Okonomiyaki with Katsuobushi and bacon. Always leave room for dessert though - pastry chef Rémy Havetz works on a regularly changing selection for the patisserie bar. With exposed brick walls, mauve velour banquettes and touches of pine green, it’s the kind of space you’ll want to linger in long after your last forkful. 

Time Out tip: help yourself to the complimentary spice sachets at the till to recreate the Sapnà experience at home.

Address: 7, rue de la Martinière, 69001 Lyon

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 7-11.30pm, Saturday 12-2pm, 7-11.30pm, closed on Sundays and Mondays

Expect to pay: Around €40 per person for two small plates, a dessert and side

What is it? A Franco-Middle Eastern fusion restaurant with a seasonal menu that champions local produce. 

Why we love it: Shortly after opening in February 2024, Söma was already the talk of the town. Chef Sarah Hamza grew up cooking with vegetables from her father’s vegetable garden and fresh, local produce from markets in Condrieu, just south of Lyon. On her menu? Dishes like tempura medjool dates with wild garlic pesto and cauliflower tabbouleh, all served in a clean-looking minimalistic restaurant in Vieux Lyon. It’s quite the contrast from the red checked tablecloths of the bouchons that fight for space here, and it’s a refreshing change to see a restaurant in Vieux Lyon that doesn’t just serve offal.

Time Out tip: It’s tiny with odd opening hours, so book as far in advance as possible. 

Address: 9 Place Saint-Paul 69005

Opening hours: Wednesday and Thursday 7-9.30pm, Friday-Saturday 12-2.30pm, 7-9.30pm, Sunday 12-2.30pm, closed Mondays

Expect to pay: From €26 for lunch (starter-main-dessert).

What is it? Within spitting distance of Louis Lumière and Jean Moulin Universities, Le Kitchen is a daytime spot favoured by students, locals, and out-of-towners alike.

Why we love it: Choose between its sunny terrace or Art Decor-meets-Scandi dining room to enjoy generous helpings of Connie Zagora and Laurent Ozan’s ultra-fresh, seasonal fare. Both graduates from Ferrandi, the French school of Gastronomy, flavours are gourmet, but reasonably priced. The menu changes daily, but expect dishes like tuna tartare, beans and preserved lemon, and for afters, a spectacular dessert and patisserie bar. We’re still dreaming about Kitchen Café’s cinnamon and cardamom brioche. 

Time Out tip: The daily brunch is the best meal at Le Kitchen, served from 8am-11.30am on weekdays, and from 8.30am at weekends.

Address: 34 rue Chevreul, 69007 Lyon

Opening hours: Friday-Monday 8.30am-6.30pm, closed Tuesday-Thursday

Expect to pay: From €31 per person for lunch (starter-main-dessert)

What is it? Formerly a butchers and sauerkraut shop, Daniel et Denise has been a typical bouchon since 1968, with copper warming-pans, wood panelling, and gingham tablecloths.

Why we love it: Chef Joseph Viola’s cooking straddles tradition and modernity, with signature dishes including calf head with ravigote sauce, Bresse chicken with morel mushrooms and pike quenelle in crayfish sauce. Unlikely to be a hit with vegans and vegetarians, it’s a veritable carnivore’s heaven – the award-winning foie and sweetbread pastry has no less than 20 ingredients. Dishes are quite literally to die for, while the service, under the watchful eye of wife Françoise, is both attentive and thorough.

Time Out tip: It’s been such a hit that there are now four restaurants in Lyon (including Part Dieu station), but the original and most atmospheric is on Rue de Créqui.

Address: 156 rue de Créqui, 69003 Lyon

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 12-2pm, 7-10pm, closed Saturdays and Sundays

Expect to pay: from €45 for lunch (starter-main-dessert)

What is it? A Sino-Indian mamak street food spot serving up Malaysian dishes that are perfect for sharing with a big group

Why we love it: While living in Kuala Lumpur, friends Amélie, Caroline and Paul discovered the incredible mix of Indian, Chinese and Malay cultures that make up Malaysian cuisine, and Boleh Lah is the realisation of that dream. Under purple neon lights, the open kitchen bustles to a hip hop soundtrack as diners perch on stools to enjoy a short but perfectly formed menu of dishes like beef rendang, char siu pork and vegetarian nasi goreng. Start off with a flaky, buttery roti flatbread – plain, cheese-filled or garlic – to dip in dhal curry sauce, then order as many plates as you can. Even better, come with a group to try everything. Try the teh tarik, a sweet and frothy pulled milk tea.

Time Out tip: Flemme to go out to eat? Boleh Lah also delivers. Grab a sweet roti for dessert.

Address: 11 Rue Salomon-Reinach, 69007 Lyon

Opening hours: Monday-Saturday, 12-2pm, 7-9.30pm, closed Sundays

Expect to pay: Mains start from €14

What is it? There’s no mistaking the theme at Canard de Rue: a homage to culinary specialities in Carcassonne, hometown of owner Christelle, this is a duck restaurant, and the décor and menu alike are a duck fest.

Why we love it: We told you, didn’t we? There are rubber ducks all over the bar. Brash murals of ducks in baseball caps all over the wall. Duck burgers and hot dogs all over the menu.  The food is hearty, with no frills attached; vegetarians can swap out duck patties for vegetable galettes or cheese platters. On the corner of a very unassuming-looking street, the real reason you leave the Presqu’île to come here is to drink. It’s the kind of place that’s reliably busy and warm, even if you come for a pint in the middle of the afternoon, where opening hours are fluid according to the owner’s whim and the customers that evening, and where you already feel like it’s ‘the local’ the second time you go.

Time Out tip: French speakers, see how many duck puns you can spot. We’ll get you started, the bathroom is ‘le petit coin coin’.

Address: 2bis Rue Saint Maximin 69003

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 12-1.30pm, 6.30-11.30pm, closed Saturdays and Sundays

Expect to pay: Burgers start from €15.50

What is it? A basement cocktail den hosting an excellent line-up of bands and DJs throughout the week, from swing and indie rock to funk and jazz.

Why we love it: Groom’s ’80s-style neon bar is well-stocked with an exciting array of spirits, wines and beers on draught (like Orbital’s Archi IPA and the sake-infused B7 Panda Bear). On the cocktail side, expect concoctions like Groom Libre, comprising Dark plantation rum, pear brand, ginger ale and cocoa bitters, or Papillon, with bourbon, bitter floral, lemon and sugar syrup, and Empirical Spirits’ Ayuuk (based around Pasilla Mixe, a smoke-dried chili pepper). There’s plenty of non-alcoholic choices too: think Leamo mate, Chilled CBD and several alcohol-free cocktails. You won’t go hungry either, as there’s a bar menu of chips and dips, charcuterie and cheeses.

Time Out tip: Events are typically Weds-Sat evenings. You can pay on the door, but bigger names often sell out.

Address: 6 Rue Roger Violi, 69001 Lyon

Expect to pay: Cocktails €11-13, charcuterie from €11

What is it? Snacks, characuterie, beer and excellent cocktails in a former rectory in La Croix-Rousse (hence the Biblical name). 

Why we love it: With its checkerboard floor, modernist furniture and brass chandeliers, La Madone could easily have dropped straight out of a David Lynch film. The main event is booze: beers from the Georges brewery and stunning cocktails based around forgotten spirits like Lillet and Byrrh. But it’s worth a visit even for non-drinkers thanks to the atmosphere and its platters of cheese, Italian charcuterie, and grilled vegetables, best enjoyed on the top terrace. With the owners being former DJs, La Madone’s soundtrack is always on point, from early doors to late in the night.

Time Out tip: Go early, no-one judges you for a 5pm Apérol here. It’s perfectly placed for watching whatever characters go in and out of the Scientology church next door.

Address: 1-3 Place des Capucins, 69001 Lyon

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 4pm-1am, Sunday-Monday 4pm-12am