Lille takes its food seriously, which is saying something in France. The local cuisine is Flemish by heritage: Welsh (a baked rarebit of toast, ham, and melted cheese), carbonade flamande (beef braised in beer with pain d'épice), moules-frites, chicon gratin (endive in ham and béchamel), and maroilles cheese — pungent, washed-rind, essential. These dishes are everywhere in the brasseries and estaminets (traditional Flemish pub-restaurants) of Vieux-Lille.
The restaurant streets to focus on are Rue de Gand and Rue Esquermoise in Vieux-Lille. Estaminets serve the local specialities in warm, wood-panelled rooms with serious beer lists — the L'Estaminet du Vieux-Lille is the archetype. For the best moules-frites, any brasserie with a terrace on the Grand'Place will do, though the price premium for the location is significant. Wazemmes has the best cheap ethnic restaurants: Moroccan tagines, Senegalese rice dishes, and Vietnamese pho are all excellent and inexpensive.