When I found out I was going to be in Lille, France for my nephew’s Christening ceremony, making time to discover one or two restaurants in this northern city was A MUST!
After a little bit of research, I discovered that Lille is known for Moules + Frites, which reflects his Franco-Flemish heritage.
This northern hub, filled with culture, was once an important merchant center of French Flanders while the Flemish influences have remained over the course of time.
Furthermore, this city also shares borders with Belgium: Brussels is literally 30 minutes away by car and about an hour and half to Antwerpen.
If you love the countryside, in about an hour and half or less, you’ll find yourself surrounded with acres of farmers’ land in Caudry.
Now, back to Moules + Frites.
My sister-in-law (Aurore), myself and our 2 boys had a late lunch at La Chicorée, which was recommended as one of the best places to eat French and Flemish cuisine.
This brasserie is located not far from La Grande Place, which is a gathering place for all the Lillois. Surrounded with shops, libraries, museums, restaurants and more, it’s something to explore if you find yourself in this self-rising city.
La Chicorée is open from 10am – 6am: Food and drinks ALL DAY & ALL NIGHT LONG.
I love it!
We were seated in the covered outdoor patio area of the restaurant, perfect for people watching.
Elijah (my toddler) would not stop screaming “buuuuus” every time he saw one drive by.
We were served a Bread Basket, which the boys loved and destroyed, literally.
La Chicorée offered a price fix menu for 13,80 euros (about $16.20), which had mussels included.
Bingo!
I went for the Assiettes de Moules a la Creme with French Fries.
I was going for water when Aurore said:
“Oh no, you CANNOT eat Mussels with water. We need a bottle of wine!”
We requested a bottle of Muscadet, her selection.
Here come my moules, here come my moules! A huge serving at that and enough for 2 to share.
I was expecting a smaller portion due the price fix menu and also because portions are typically smaller in France but hey, I am not complaining!
First look, I thought there was no broth and that they would taste dry.
On the contrary, they were perfect, well seasoned and very tasty.
And the more I dug into the bowl, I noticed the yummy broth at the bottom.
I did not even need the creme.
They were simply marvelous.
The French Fries were good too.
Elijah ate most of them.
What a delightful and fresh seafood meal!
Can you imagine we needed to make room for dessert?
I went for the Creme Caramel (which reminded me of Flan) and Aurore went for the Mousse au Chocolat.
To be honest, I was not too crazy about this dessert.
One thing was for sure, we were ALL crazy about Aurore’s Mousse au Chocolat!
It was so good and I wish that is what I had gotten instead.
Even Carl was super excited and in love with this dessert.
Bottom line, we ALL ate the Mousse au Chocolat!
The service was a bit slow but our waitress was very nice.
If you’re ever in Lille and love mussels, don’t hesitate to stop by La Chicorée!
Ahhhh la cuisine FRANCAISE.
Oui en effet, c’etait tres bon!