The Ultimate Lyon Food Guide | What to Eat in France’s Food Capital

Lyon is often called the food capital of France, but what did you actually eat when you get here? We spent three full days eating across the city, from traditional Bouchon dishes to modern cafes and restaurants, and some of the best bakeries we could find. This is your ultimate three-day guide to eating in Lyon, one meal at a time. And the first day is all about finding the traditional Lyonnais dishes you have to try and where to eat them. We figured the best way to start a day in Lyon was like a local, with a Michon. It's basically a late-morning feast of wine, charcuterie, and rich dishes. Breakfast stop one down, but it's France, so we gotta get something to go with it. But since we didn't have a proper Bouchon at 10am, we had to improvise. France baby. Breakfast wine. DIY breakfast today. Now if you're in Paris, you can be starting your day with a croissant and a cafe and coffee, but it's like, you're in Lyon now. So it's insides and unofficial breakfast wine. It may not be wine if I screw up this cork. Okay, we're getting it. I think. It's like you've never opened a bottle of wine in your life. It's a little crouton, because I'm basic. Isn't it one of those ones where you go like this? No, it's definitely... Okay, I messed up. Okay, yay. Saved by Caleb. It's pretty good. It's not bad. It's fruity. It's delicious. I can tell you really like it. So what are we eating for our fake French kind of breakfast? This is a pâté en crout, which is basically like a mixture of meat and usually there's liver. The shopkeeper said it's mostly meat, question mark on sure, with some mustard. And then because they're French and they can't resist butter, they bake it in a crispy, crunchy pastry. And they add a little bit of jelly. So it's kind of like a meat brick wrapped in buttery pastry. And you eat it cold. It feels very French, especially with our breakfast wine. Ladies first. This is the one time where I'm like, I'm unsure if I like being the first to eat, but when in France, baby. Let's do it. Cold, pasty meat with butter. Is it good? You know, I'm still thinking about it. It's kind of like a croissant. So you get that Paris feeling because there's a croissant, but then you remember you're in Lyon because you have mustard meat. Honestly, it's not really pasty. It's like very like meaty and there's a lot of flavor in there. I don't know how I feel about it cold. I think it'd be better warm. I like it. It's not bad. I like it. Wine and organ meat for breakfast. 9am baby. France, you know how to cook. Duh. We're starting our day in Croix Rousse or the city's old silk working district. The canoe were the old silk workers. They didn't get the best cuts of meat. They were left to the rich bourgeoisie, so they had to figure out how to make it good. So that's really where the food history that we'll be tasting today came from. Turning scraps into something delicious and beautiful. For lunch, we're going to a... For lunch, we're going to a bouchon, the most traditional restaurant style in all of the city. Back in the day, these started as kind of eateries for the working class. They served simple, rustic, deeply local food. And they were run mostly by women called the Merleonees, who are said to have really shaped the culture and the history of the food in the city. We started the day with meat wrapped in butter croissant. So we had to keep that energy going with a salad that you use dredgy fats for. This is a Leanna's style salad. Literally a drippy egg, thick creamy mustard sauce, and just a heap of crunchy thick bacon bits. And this is part of the Leanna's style menu that we're trying here at Restaurant Café du Soleil. The three course set menu is really traditional to how the locals eat. You get a starter, a main, and dessert for a really good price. This is a lot of bacon for a salad. I feel like they might be trying to kill me. I don't think I've ever seen bacon that thick in my life. Oh my gosh, that bacon is so thick. Leave it to France. This is not a salad. This is a meal. As a starter. This is going to be so much food today if this was the beginning course. But holy smokes, literally smoke. That bacon is like so smoky. It is fatty, but it's somehow crispy. It's like the perfect combination. So much ham to get through. Like it's that thick. Runny egg, like a spicy mustard sauce, and then some lettuce. So you don't feel like you're going to have a heart attack, but you might. If you thought souffles were only for dessert, well, you're wrong. Wow, that is huge. Bon appetit. Thank you. Oh my gosh, it's simmering. This is a quenelle. This is the star of the show. It was a dish invented here in Lyon, and it shows up in every single Bouchon menu. You have to try this when you get here. Essentially, it is a fluffy fish souffle dumpling-esque thing. It's not a bread dumpling even, that's what it looks like. It's literally made of fish all combined together with egg and cream because France. And maybe some flour. And then it's literally swimming because it's a fish dumpling in a rich nantouille sauce, which is basically just a super savory crayfish sauce. We're having the gamut here. Bacon and egg salad, buttery breakfast with wine, and now crayfish dumpling. Look at that. It's literally like a marshmallow texture. This is probably way too big of a bite. It's literally smoking. It may burn my face. Doing it for you. Okay, no. No, we gotta wait. Cool down, fish dumpling. It smells amazing. I thought it was swimming in sauce. Apparently, it's swimming in lava. I think we're there. Don't take me anywhere. Licking something in France. It was a small lick. Let's try again. Why is there cinnamon in there? I'm getting like cinnamon oil spice, but it's actually fantastic. It's literally like... Maybe that's why it's in there. That would make sense. It's in there because it's good. Yes, that would make sense. But it's literally like kind of like a marshmallow. It's not really fishy. It's kind of like spice, and that rich crayfish sauce is super rich, like tomato-y, salty. It honestly doesn't really look like much, but it tastes like a lot. I see why that is the iconic dish. So good. All right. Taylor told me how to pronounce this dish here. Okay, I'm going to try really hard. So, Sauce Sausage au Lyon. Close enough. It's a sausage from Lyon, okay? And it's in a red wine sauce and has this cute little potato circle with some carrots. Let's get into it. It's like a really meaty sausage. It has zero grease. And the red wine, it's like a little bit kind of like sweet. Let's go for the potatoes. Oh, okay. This with the sausage, this is the magic. This is what it's all about. The third course was a choice of like regular dessert or cheese. And we're in France. So we got cheese, which seems strange for a dessert. But then he came and put the cheese down and brought a thing of sugar. And I was like, why? He's like, you put the sugar on the cheese. Therefore, it is now dessert. This is France. So this is a white cheese. I think it's called fraiselle a la creme. Local, it's kind of like in a yogurt. And I think it's like a goat cheese. It looks fantastic. It looks like it would kill Caleb since he can't eat dairy. Good thing I can. You'll just have to make the sacrifice. Someone's got to do it. Okay. It doesn't taste like cheese. It tastes like yogurt with sugar on top. I don't hate it, but I wouldn't call it dessert if you know what I mean. Well, I think we're kind of starting to see how the food in Lyon is so different than other places in France. In Paris, it leans a little bit more upscale. And then in Marseille, it's seafood and sunshine. But here, just local, simple comfort food but deep culinary roots. That's really our favorite kind of thing to eat because the goal of our channel is to help you eat like a local and avoid the tourist traps. So that's your vibe. Hit subscribe. But about that cheese for dessert. I don't think it's dessert. I think that we can do better. Let's go find something a little more sweet. Lyon is both delicious and beautiful. Well, Lyon is not just about rich food and bouchons. It's also a city of master artisans. And the best place to see that up close is Les Halles. If bouchons are the soul of Lyon, this is the craft. Let's go explore. Come on, let's check it out. So we're here to try two sweet things. And the first stop is Maison Sevres. This place is not just a chocolate factory. It's actually a living heritage company which means it's officially recognized for their work that is part of the cultural history of France. So this chocolate has got some big chocolatey boots to fill. Oh my gosh. I literally walked up and it just smells like chocolate. It smells so good. Is it very sweet? Super sweet. Okay. Perfect. All right. Dessert one procured. And now we gotta find number two. Chocolate mission engaged. A mini sausage calendar. This is so cool. I love it all. Only in France would you find a sausage calendar. Well, we thought we were gonna get two sweet treats inside Les Halles because Google told us the place we wanted to go to was inside. Turns out, Google lied. But luckily, it's close to our next stop so it's still coming up. But until then, we have to settle for something bright pink. This is a tart au praline, which is made of coating almonds and like a red natural colored sugar. And then they fill the short crust pastry with a pink caramel, which is made of the same nuts, with, of course, butter and cream. Because it's France. And every single thing has butter and cream. We got the single size, and she was very sad that we didn't get two, but we're sharing, so. She said it was absolutely perfect. Perfect. All right. We'll see if she's right. I expected it to be filled, but it's not. So all that melted pink caramel is what you see on top with the crunchy almonds and then that short crust. It's honestly, it just tastes very, very buttery. Like the butteriest shortbread that you've ever had, but also somehow chewy. And you just get like a little bit of sweet nuts. I thought it was gonna be really, really sweet, but it's absolutely not. If you like buttery shortbread deliciousness, you will love a tart au praline. We have found the second sweet treat. And it's very green. Radioactive. So this is the Cuisine de Lyon. It is a little chocolate filled with chocolate, almond, and apparently a little curacao look here. So we're just preparing for happy hour. It's perfect. And Boisin, where we got them, invented this back in 1960. They have over 120 years of chocolate making under their belt, and they're one of the most respected chocolate places in all of France. This is very green. Holy Moses. That is sweet. Ooh. I kind of expected it to be liquidy on the center, like, you know, like those like brandy truffles. It's not. It doesn't taste boozy. It kind of tastes like cherries. Apparently it's almond. I could see I could get the two confused. Yeah, they're the same thing, right? Cherry, almond, booze, it's all the same thing. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. Taylor has one of these in her mouth right now, so... Hi. That's Taylor. Tastes like a chocolate-covered cherry. Right? Like, I don't know how. There's no almond. I think they got confused. They accidentally put cherry in there. Look, look. Now they're bouncing off the walls all night. It is now the socially acceptable time to drink wine, which doesn't matter because we had it at 9.30 a.m. So who cares? But we're going to need a little bit of wine in our stomach for the dinner that we're going to eat later. So I think we should go get some liquid courage. Are you ready? Why are you doing that? Because I'm scared of what we're going to eat later. Wine. Maison du Quilty is the kind of place that you would miss if you didn't look. It's a good thing for you. We looked and we found it. This is a seriously artisanal sausage shop. Yes, I know. Only in France would you have an artisanal sausage shop. They make all of their own sausage right here in-house, and they bring in local cheeses and local wines from around the region. They have all kinds of awards all around France. They've been around since 1816, and there's five generations making sausage here, and they have that living heritage, which means France has awarded them for being part of the serious cultural and culinary history of the country. Cheers to that. Wow, so what do we got? So you have, here you have the rosettes. Rosettes, which is the very famous, they have awards for sausage. It's named that way because when you slice it, it looks like a rose. Oh, I can see it. Normally, I don't like salami, but they have awards, and it's fantastic. For a reason. For the cheese, you have the chèvre. I don't know how to say chèvre. Chèvre, like goat? Goat cheese? Chèvre? The thing that's a... Goat, yes. I'm going to go with the goat cheese. This one also smells funky. I don't like that one either. This is called the morbier. This is morbier, and it has something that looks like mold in it. What is mold? I learned about it, but I'm scared of it now, so I just forgot. I don't know how I feel about that one. I'm just going to put that one down. And this one is called the compte. Very famous cheese in all of France. You'll see this everywhere. Oh my gosh. I think I just blacked out. Wow, wow. Okay. Okay, fine. How much? I like. I like you, France. Well, Lyon might not have the sparkle of Paris, but you know it has amazing handcrafted sausage with roots, and I am more impressed by that, to be honest. And he said, it's interesting. You have to experience it. And then walked away. Let's do this. Where's the door? Which one? This is Le Musée. This is a local bouchon, and when I was doing our research, everyone said you have to come here for the cozy vibe. And the food is unapologetically, I'm so scared I can't even talk. Lyonnais. Awful. Onions. And a recipe that hasn't changed in centuries. I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing. So we're starting less intense, because there has to be varying levels of the dinner, with a sausage on a brioche, which is exactly what it sounds. It's a sausage with pistachios, because fancy, and they bake it in bread, because France. So the sausage, fantastic. Very meaty, almost like a Christmas ham texture, with some nice little nutty, crispy pistachios in there. The bread? I don't know if it needs to be there. I have some questions. It's like a really big pigs-in-a-blanket. The French kind. Do you think it needs the bread? Everything's better with bread. You know it's true. YouTube, vote in. Everything's better with bread, right? Settle the debate. When I planned our visit here, we were going to get fried tripe, cow stomach, because it's very traditional to Lyon. But alas, they took it off the menu. So sad. So instead, we got something that sounds a lot better before the main event. This is jus de pork a la Lyonnaise, which is pork cheeks a la Lyonnaise. Pro tip, when you see that on the menu, it does not mean that it's from Lyon. A la Lyonnaise refers to the really rich, savory, really flavorful base that really defines the cooking here. So when you see it on the menu, it basically means you're getting something soft and swimming in onion-y, rich gravy. So yes, you should get it. See all that onion-y a la Lyonnaise gravy? It's gonna be fantastic. I don't know why I have two forks. Do not need a knife. Check this out. No knife needed. That thing has literally probably been cooking for as long as I've lived on this earth. It's rich, it's onion-y. I think it literally like melted on my mouth before I even chewed. It's like salty. That is absolute pork cheek perfection. I think we can just stop there. No, you got more coming. We don't need the next dish. This... Like it's coming very soon. Angels are singing. Pork cheeks are in my mouth. I'm happy. I'm cozy. I'm comfy. Done. Are you ready? No. Alright. So earlier we said the canoe, the silk workers, got the lowest quality of meat and they had to make things delicious. And this dish, the Andiette, this is a dish that proved that Leon's food reputation was not built on luxury, but technique. This is pork intestine sausage. And unfortunately for my eyeballs, it is not all ground up intestines inside. It's intestine in their intestine form. And it's a very divisive dish. Some people love it. Some people say it smells like barnyard, but one thing for sure, people say you are not a true person from Leon until you've tried it or survived it. This is the one day I don't want to be the first to eat. Alright. The outside does look crispy. That's a pro. And the inside looks like intestine, so that's a con. I can barely cut it. Oh my god. I don't know if like... I need a blindfold. Bon appetit. So my brain knows that it's intestine, so it says nope. But if I get past my brain, and the very chewy texture, it's very chewy. The flavor is actually pretty good. It just tastes like really rich mayonnaise. The side of meaty, chewy... It's edible. You're going to order it on the regular, right? Every day. I'm going to have a breakfast tomorrow with my wine. Oh boy. They don't hide it, do they? No. I kind of wish they did. It's not looking... I'm just going to cover it in sauce. That's the pro move. That's why it's literally swimming in it. It just looks like spaghetti. Don't say that. Sausage should not look like spaghetti. Oh my gosh. Your face. Is your face your reaction? I got some stuck in my teeth. Oh no. Oh my gosh. No. Okay. That dish was playing some mind games on me. Like Taylor said. It's like once you can get past the mind games, it's okay. And the chewy spaghetti. So does Lyon deserve the title of France's best food city? Honestly, it just might. It's rich, hearty, deeply rooted in tradition and it's really shaped the French cuisine that we know today. But tomorrow we're doing something completely different. We're eating our way through Lyon in just 24 hours trying to experience the whole food scene beyond just the traditional classics. We have got the cultural sugar and it's still warm. I can't wait to eat it. But we've got to find somewhere to eat it like a local. We're going to show you two breakfast spots today and we have more of a sit down, very French breakfast coming later. But if you're on the go and you want something to grab and go you've got to get a praline brioche. Every local, every food guide said you have to go to Pralice. It's where these were invented in 1955 by a local legend. And it looks like Barbie made it. Which is kind of wild. It's literally just a brioche bread studded with praline which is coated in kind of like a pink sugar which are usually a mix of almonds and hazelnuts. I believe it's all almonds here. And it's still served warm which is why everybody goes to Pralice. It's made there and you get them fresh every single day. You ready for this? I mean I'm ready for any kind of bakery, let's be honest. This is the small and I feel like it could feed a family of four. This is nuts. Here. Oh, it's warm. I know, it's still warm. Fresh baked every morning. I just need to show you this up close. This just looks so good. Oh my gosh. I didn't expect it to be that good. It's amazing actually. I didn't expect it to be gooey. The brioche is so buttery and soft. It's gooey like a cinnamon roll. It's basically a gooey cinnamon roll but with sugar. Oh my gosh, I wasn't going to eat all of this but... I'll take your half. We always like to venture a little bit outside of the main tourist centre so we arrived at Dandelion Cafe. A super chill cafe for breakfast or brunch and they do a very typical French way to start the day, the petite déjeuner. Now France loves a formula which is a meal for a set price with different components and at breakfast it looks like the petite déjeuner which is normally a coffee and a juice and a pastry which we got a little lemon cake. The reason we chose Dandelion Cafe is because in all the reviews that I saw on Reddit as a hidden gem, they also serve fromage blanc which is essentially like a really thick and tangy yogurt but it's France so it's not yogurt. It's technically a cheese because we always have to have cheese even at breakfast and they put a little homemade granola on top with some fruit and that makes their extra special Dandelion petite déjeuner. It literally looks so thick. I don't know how this is cheese but I'll take it. It looks like yogurt. It tastes kind of like yogurt. It's like the texture of the sour cream, like so thick and rich and creamy because French kind of the taste of cream cheese, like very light. It's not sour at all so I guess it is kind of like cheese but like yogurt. Leave it to the French to even make yogurt better. I can't. I wish Caleb could try it but he can't have dairy so it's all for me. Pastry man. Of course I had to get something so I got a pastry because I'm the pastry man. That's the most moist, I know that's a conflicting word, but it's the most moist lemon cake I've ever had. It's like they just like took a lemon and a bunch of sugar and infused it in this cake. So not every cozy looking restaurant in Lyon is a bouchon even if it says that. They actually have an association to protect them and there's only like 20 or so of them that have this protection and where we are at, I'm sorry France. I'm sorry. I'm going to butcher this. Le Poulain d'Or is one of them, which is why we chose it for our sit down lunch plot. And we got some wine. This is a Beaujolais which is very light red from the region, very local. And we're going to the Beaujolais festival next week. Stay tuned. So for our starter we got a egg but it's a French egg So it's poached egg, bread, wine, obviously with bacon, obviously fried bread and some mushrooms. I think France is trying to kill me because they're like here's a healthy egg. And then we're going to add bacon and wine. I am okay with it. This is how I die. So be it. This egg. I wish you could smell this sauce. It smells so savory. Oh, crunchy bread, runny egg, wine, garlic, mushroom. That is literally the flavor bombiest egg I've ever had in my life. Because France. Better yogurt, better eggs. I think we should always add wine to eggs. Like forever. Let's sign a petition. Hit like if you agree. Wine and eggs needs to be the nutrient. That is fantastic. It's so flavorful. Doesn't need salt. It's rich, it's deep, it's umami. Somehow it's fresh. You're just throwing all the words at it. Because it is. Like it's an egg. But it's phenomenal. It's a French egg. Delicious. Of course they also serve quinoa because they're iconic. So we had to try another one. And the texture is like a cloud. And champagne is popping behind. This is fantastic. Did you see the cream that it was swimming in? Hashtag no regrets. I have no regrets but you might because dairy. No regrets? I have no regrets. Right now. Ask them later. This is delicious. For lunch number two, it was time for another visit to Les Halles. Well our sit down stop is not the cheapest. But this is France. So if you're good at splurge on oysters and champagne at noon, this is the city to do it in. And it is like the most French thing to do, have oysters and champagne. I normally don't even like champagne. But you gotta do it. So she asked us what oysters we wanted. And we were like, I don't know. And she was like, okay, I'll decide. I just walked away. And so we got two different kinds. There's one from Normandy and one from Porto. Oh and we also got French butter. Which is gonna be the real star. It's for the bread, but. Okay, so I think you take an oyster. And then you put, why did I pick the biggest one? That was aggressive. Put the little, I don't know, spicy stuff on top. And then it's like a one biter, right? One slurper. I'm scared. That didn't work. I just got juice. You have to detach it first. You didn't tell me that. You said it's a slurp. Why'd you do that to me? Okay, that was embarrassing. The spicy sauce is good. I can tell you that. Round two. You're right. I don't love champagne myself. With salty, briny oyster. Why don't you do it the right way? I see you, France. And your wonderful flavor combinations. As I'm laughing at you, I don't know how to get this thing loose. Exactly. Loosen up, baby. That's what you always tell me. I'm going straight up. Come on. It's good. It's like the ocean, but in a tasty way. Well, 63 euros later, and I'm still thinking about the free butter it came with. They were delicious. Butter. It's French. Get out of here. It's French butter. Leave. Well, we're full, and we still have dinner coming. But you know what calls? Charcuterie. Because meat, cheese, and wine. There's no better excuse than France. There's a lot of wine bars in Lyon. It's in the Côte d'Azur region. But everyone said to come to Au Point de Vignes, because they have this huge list of local French wine, which you can see on the wall. We're here for apéro hour, which is kind of like aperitivo hour. It's a good chance to have something small for dinner if you're not feeling like a big sit-down, or if you just want an excuse to drink wine and eat cheese, like we do, and just slow down and be French about it. So Lyon is a city of reinvention, from its old-school, silk-working days to how it's kind of being more modern now, but still traditional. So we wanted to reflect that history in our food stop for dinner. So we found Leverie on Le Foodin, which is like France's Michelin guide, but for more fun, modern places with vibes. And this place is what happens when two chefs take over that old-school bouchon, but then bring it into the 21st century. And now it's a neo-bistro. So that's a traditional French bistro, still with the same seasonal focus and pride. It's a little more modern, a little less white tablecloth, a little bit more creative freedom, and less rules. Well, I thought our mad scientist stop was gonna be drinks after. It's a cliffhanger, spoiler alert. But apparently, it's dinner, because check this out. This is an open ravioli, which looks like no ravioli that I've ever eaten in my life. It's huge, and it's in a swimming, in this like bubbly green watercress sauce, filled with mushrooms, watercress, watercress bubbles, and apparently, there's a slow-cooked runny yolk on the bottom. I almost don't want to eat it, but emphasis on the almost. I don't know how they did that magical egg yolk on the bottom. Like I said, French wizards. Ooh, mushroom. Oh, I did not expect there to be a side. It's so good. I think my taste buds are clapping. It's literally like... Clapping? They definitely are clapping. They are clapping. They're like this. They stood up, they clapped, they gave us a standing ovation. That's like, it's the runny, rich egg. It's the perfectly tender al dente pasta. The combination, it is poppin'. I'm a huge fan. That's my taste buds. For our main course, we got another piece of art. Looks very different than that homey, cozy, traditional Bouchon lunch that we had. This is a pressed lamb, the fanciest lamb I've ever seen. Then we put it back in the, in a square container in the fridge. And with the fat, everything kind of presses together. Then we, we grill them again. With some kind of like date and lemon, like kind of sauce on top. Again, continuing to prove that Lyon invents itself from traditional French food to now French aged fusion. On top, it's a gel made with a date and lemon. Oh, yum. Has a coriander vibe to it. It's quite nice. And a little bit of Spain because we got pepper and peppers. And then it's doused in Dijon since we're close to the Dijon, the capital of mustard. And some lamb juice. Sounds fantastic. Oh, you gotta see this. Check that. That looks tender. It is pulled. Look at that texture. You don't, oh, it's smoking. You know, it's fresh when it's literally still on fire. I am going to sign another petition to have pulled lamb be the new pulled meat that we eat on everything. Cause that is fantastic. It is like so flavorful. Like melting before I even chewed it. And you got this like zingy citrus dressing and it's like a little bit spicy and sweet with the dates. And then just like that little pop of mustard swimming in lamb juice. Maybe one of the best lambs I've ever had. Maybe. France, baby. Are you surprised? Well, that was absolutely fran- frantastic. I keep saying frantastic. It was frantastic. Cause we're in France. But the next stop, I teased a little bit, is less French Bistro and more French Mad Scientist. But with alcohol. Where are we going? This feels like it might end like a horror movie. Well, we started the day with praline studded brioche and super traditional eats. And now we're ending the day with cocktails made in the lab. Welcome to Abstract. I feel like I'm in some old retro like diner. This place is such a vibe. And this is one of the only bars in the entire world that doesn't buy any spirits. They make their own in a lab. All right, this is Nico, the founder of Abstract. So tell us about the bar and the concept. Our point was to try to challenge the way the people are dealing with spirits. It started with the lab. Then we said, okay, let's open a cocktail bar. So this thing they do here, they call them monochrome. Each and every spirit we do here is always only based on one single ingredient. You will try it and say, oh, that reminds me this moment in my life when I first tried a strawberry. They try to actually distill that ingredient into an alcohol that tastes like just that one thing. And then they take traditional cocktail recipes with their ingredients to give them a new spin. It's crazy. I don't understand how they do it. But I'm not here to understand. I'm here to drink. So this is a chrysanthemum cocktail. It's like water. This could be a very dangerous night. It's literally so flavorful. Like it looks like nothing, but it's so floral. It's so herby. It's like perfectly sweet and balanced. I don't know what they're doing back there at that lab, but they should keep doing it and keep bringing it to me. All right, folks. I got a Martini. He made fun of me because I couldn't say this. Martini Patisserie. I don't think that's right. I don't know. All right. It has butter, vermouth, rice syrup, and orange blossom. And he said, it's the booziest one out there. Look at this cocktail. Which is why I got it. I love that glass. Don't be deceived by the polka dot glass. This thing packs a punch in a very good way. Can I try it? Well, it turns out you can taste the entire city in 24 hours. And in Leon, it tastes like the past, the present, and the future all in one. But tomorrow, it's all about bakeries. We're spending the entire day chasing down some of Leon's top rated pastries, and moderation is definitely not part of the plan. No one needs this much pastry in one day, but we didn't come to France to make healthy choices. We're starting our day before sunrise because we have so many places to hit today, and we're committing to this bakery crawl. We're starting in the Croix Rue area, which is kind of up a hill, but people say a partisan baker is worth the trek. Some people say it's the best boulangerie in town. And it's this new generation bakery known for natural, organic flours and leaven. And in order to be called a boulangerie, they have to bake the bread on site, and that is legally protected in France. So we got two traditional things that people say are delicious. A croissant, because it's France and we have to start our day with a croissant. And then a raisin roll. I think it's like a croissant dough, but with raisins. Normally I don't like raisins, so let's try this one first. Where do I start? Do I bite it or do I rip it? Uh, I would bite it. Okay. It's buttery. Wow. And like so crispy on the outside. Like really soft and chewy. I actually like the raisins, because they add just like kind of like that gummy, sweet texture. The tops are like caramelized. I mean, I do think I'd prefer without raisins, because I'm like a croissant purist. But that is fantastic. Chewy, crispy, crunchy, caramelized-y. I feel like the real test of a bakery is their croissant. Maybe that's the American in me who just thinks that France is all about croissants. But... Did you hear that crunch? It's like snowing croissant flakes all over me. But like, you don't get like buttery on the front note. It's like in the back note and then it's like a little bit salty. And that is like the crispiest, crackliest croissant. Ooh. Look at that. You can see the layers. Oh my gosh. Starting strong. Oh my gosh. It's so good. Why, France? Oh, hi. Happy. All right, bakery boy. I'm so excited for this day. Like, you have no idea. Okay, I'm striving. Like, this is like Christmas. Is it croissant or croissant? Croissant. Yeah. I don't even have words. It's good. Amazing. It's gonna be a good day. The sun is up, which is our cue for round two. Well, Paris' bakery scene might be a little bit more sleek and stylized and geared towards tourists. Lyon is a bit different. It's really more local-driven for commuters, families, and chefs, like you can see at this bakery right here. This is Boulangerie Le Copaine Saint-Antoine, a teeny-tiny bakery that won the award for the best pain au chocolat in the whole region. And the name means to the friend that you break bread with, which is just so wholesome and sweet. You know it's good when there's a line. Well, it's raining, so we're standing. I don't really know how to film and eat with bags that I put on the ground. Is that an abomination? Here, give it to me. Oh, gosh. Don't drop the cuts. We got some typical things, and then Caleb threw a wild card at me and last minute was like, get an eclair, which I don't like eclairs. I don't know, but this is the beautiful, very French eclair. Choux pastry, chocolate, filled with cream. One thing I will give points to this eclair, you can see where they put the fillings in, so you know where to bite. Oh. It's also chocolate filling, which I didn't expect. What's a chocolate eclair? Well, I thought they meant the top. I thought eclairs were always cream on the inside. You just threw me a wild card and I got like, ah! Oh, I love it. Are you a convert? No. Oh, you should be. Look at that. It's not terrible, though. There's filled, and then there's this. There's like some sugar granules inside this like chocolate pudding filling, so it has kind of this like little crispy crackly, a little bit like really creamy and rich. I'm still going to give this to Caleb because it's not my favorite, but I am half converted. It's like hot chocolate in like cold pastry form. All right, the award-winning pain au chocolat, the normal size test. It's as big as my face. This is a big pain au chocolat, and it like feels kind of like pillowy. You can see the little chocolate on the inside. I think it's going to explode on my face. Just a little bit of chocolate. Just like a smidge. Yeah, it's just like right in the center. Just enough to keep you wanting to come back for more, you know? This thing is buttery and salty. Like I'm getting salt, butter, and just a little bit of dark chocolate. I mean, it did win the best in the region, and based off this one bite alone, I can see why. I'm excited for every pastry. Can't tell by my figure, but... Ooh, sexy. What are you doing? Mix your figure. Alright. You know when you're biting into something and it just makes you happy? I think that's what this is. Of course we've got to get a control croissant at all the boulangeries, and I didn't know when we walked in they had an award for like their all-butter croissants, so it was anywhere near as good as the pain au chocolat we were in for a treat. Mmm. Oh my gosh. Like you don't even need to tell me that it's all butter. You taste it. You smell it. The outside's like crispy. The inside is like so pillowy and chewy. And the whole thing is a problem if we have to have more stops today because I want to eat all of this. You must be just loving it because there's croissant on your face. Is there? I don't want to share with Caleb. You got the eclair. That was mine. Now we're at a patisserie. Different than a boulangerie. Patisserie. A patisserie. That means they specialize in sweets and desserts and it actually requires formal training because it's a little bit more specialized, artisan, and delicate. So this is Alma. And they do kind of more creative patisserie and it changes seasonally but they have a couple things that are always in stock so we wanted to try the OGs. The most popular things. So we got a Sicily. Sicil. I literally like live for lemon. And we love Sicily and it's called Sicil. Oh my gosh. It's like a marshmallow. Check this out. It's like this vanilla explosion marshmallow top and that lemon, it's like the perfect amount. It's not too zingy and sour. And you have this like really crispy cookie crust. I very much understand why it's always there. It's fantastic. I don't really want to share this one but in the name of more pastries today I will allow you a bite. I will accept your humble gift. Namaste. Babe. There's like a pistachio inside. Or something. You have a discovery. I have a treasure. I actually don't know what it is. But there's something green inside. I bet you it's pistachio because it's called Sicily. And on top we didn't get whatever that is. This? Yeah. I can fix that. Alright. Oh my gosh. I don't even care it's all over my face right now. Wow. That's phenomenal. It's literally lemon and there's just two layers of pistachio. Oh my gosh. Are you a dead man? I am a dead man. Sugar coma. You died and went to heaven. Butter coma. Happy coma. Coma trifecta. And then they actually have the award for the best flan in all of France which I didn't know when we came here. And this is the flan. It looks like cheesecake. Yeah it's crazy. Like I was expecting that like overturned circle that's kind of like jiggly. This is not that. Your flan dance? That's my flan minko. Okay. Alright. That is the best flan in France. That is not any kind of flan I've ever had. Like I said cheesecake can be flan so custardy. It is really bouncy. It's delicious. I don't know. I want more of it. I know. So I will have more of it. Before we could check out what locals say is the best bakery in Lyon there was something very important we had to take care of. Clearly our butter to blood ratio was not high enough because we got cold. I can't do that. Frozen. Had suit up. But I think we can remedy that with more croissants. Model for us. Boom baby. Okay we're going somewhere a little different now. This is Antoinette. This is a rising star in Lyon's bread scene. They are really known for their brioche bread and their sourdough bread. They don't do like more the patisserie sweets. So we got a couple different variations of both regular bread and brioche to try. I saw Antoinette on every best bakery list and everyone on Reddit loved it. And you know Reddit wouldn't have to lie. We trusted the shopkeeper and she said the most popular one is their chocolate bread basically. And it's got three kinds of chocolate in it. Apparently it's not super sweet but also not savory. This is like a chocolate brick. It's like literally so heavy. Wow. I've never had chocolate bread. This literally tastes like hot chocolate but in like really chewy bread form. I'm actually I didn't think I was gonna like this one. Oh my gosh. That's so look at this. It's like air. It's like so airy. It's that perfect like when you get that perfect addictive chew. Wow. It's just like bread meets brownie. This is one of the most delicious things I've ever had. You have chocolate on your front teeth. I don't care. Well they're known for bread and brioche so we wanted to get both. Chocolate bread life changing. And then we got a white chocolate cranberry brioche. Which is always a fantastic flavor and this is the one that I was most excited for. Now I'm worried I'm gonna be let down. You might be let down. Because chocolate brownie hot chocolate bread is that was like the best thing I've ever had. Game changing. The best thing I've ever eaten in my life. Alright. Oh my gosh. This one's a lot sweeter but it has that same like cloud-like airy but a little more buttery. They're known for their bread and I understand the hype now. I think I know the chocolate one better but this one still rivals it. Like you have to come here just to try it because words can't describe how good this this bread is. Poor bakery. Shucks. Onward. Well Miss Madeline specializes in you guessed it Madelines. So we got a couple to try. Why do you have a baby bump? Well she said the fridge was too cold inside so we had to warm them up but it's like basically a fridge outside. So before we eat them I'm protecting them and warming them up. Miss Madeline is a patisserie that's a really great example of Leon's new wave of bakery. Bakering? Baking? Because we're taking very classic simple treats like the Madeline just a soft spongy sponge cake and doing it in modern flavors. So we had to get the traditional version first as a control although we did get one that's like a bit of like a lemon orange poppy seed. Looks very like dome-y and light and springy. It's fantastic. If you had like the lemon poppy seed cake you know exactly what this tastes like. This one is literally loaded with blueberries. Like blueberry explosion. This one's like a little bit fluffier somehow. It's like a French blueberry muffin. Onward. There's more. There's four. It's like an infomercial. No way. There's more. If you order now this is where we go more modern. We have Speculoos. Literally the best flavor of anything. If you don't know what that is it's kind of like that gingerbread-y cookie that you have with your coffee. And there's a filling. So we'll have to inspect more. Mm-hmm. Oh yeah. Look. That is fantastic. This one is like really dense almost more like pound cake-y not light and airy like the first ones but it's filled with like just the richest cookiest filling and a crunchy top. It looks like nothing. Tastes like heaven. Onwards. Pistachio. The best flavor of all things. And I think it's also filled. We have an audience. Yeah, these birds want my madeleines. That bird is like a little bird that took the whole piece. My madeleines. I can hear the crunch. It's like so crunchy. I'm really glad we didn't warm up. I can't imagine what it would be like if we didn't let them warm up. Oh wow. Whoa. It's stuffed. What's it stuffed with? Like pistachio butter but like it's literally like pistachio. Like it's super salty. It's super rich. All fantastic. If I had to pick a favorite though I think it might be the traditional. You can't go wrong with lemon poppy seed. You can't. Our next stop is Le Maison Tarrison which actually won a TV championship for the best bakery in all of France. So we were hoping their butter content is as high as our expectations to keep these bodies warm. That's the kind of bakery that you go all in confident knowing what you're going to get and then you get anxiety and get it all. So we're back in boulangerie country so we had to get the control croissant. If you want to be fancy in France this is technically a gannoiserie which is basically the bridge between bread and patisserie. So on first look I'm not super impressed. Blonde ends looks kind of squished doesn't feel like pillowy. It looks kind of flat. And the underside is like a little dark. You're very judgmental right now. They won the best bakery award in all of France so stakes are high. So the croissant itself it's pretty good. It's got a good butter flavor. The texture it's not crispy. It's a little dense. I don't hate it but it's definitely not my favorite. I concur. We haven't started strong but I mean look at this one. Amazing. This is a pistachio roll. It's like a croissant bottom and there's like pistachios and then pistachios spread on top. It's as big as my face. Very important. I was going to say you can't go wrong but the croissant was kind of wrong. So this one I like. I like that really kind of chewy texture. It's like pistachio thing is like punching you in the mouth with pistachio. It's really really crunchy and it's really really salty. I do very much like that one. I was like fan freaking tastic. Redemption. Just like the eclairs this morning Caleb threw in a last minute wild card. I mean I figured we had to do like something savory right? We did. In a macaroon. Right. Oh yeah. The wonderful gorgonzola. It's an Aperol bread so it's got like cheese and bacon. Yeah. It's not too exciting. Ah. Shucks. The butter ratio did not meet our expectations so our blood to butter ratio still needs some work. Now we're heading into Old Town to one of the most popular bakeries in the city. Because of the location it could be a tourist trip and it could be amazing. Well I learned that it's owned by Sebastien Boulet. Does Sebastien Boulet own this or no? He's a very famous French pastry chef. His expectations are again high. And our eyeballs might have been bigger than our stomachs. Classic. We're getting pastried out so we need something savory so we got don't judge us slice of pizza. A peach-a? Peach. Just kidding. This is Tarte au sucre which basically is like a brioche bread with what looks like cheese on top but I think it's some kind of sugar butter concoction. Whoa. That's really sweet. I might need to go to the dentist. The texture is kind of like a pizza. So before we dive into what they're actually known for we gotta get the control croissant. I feel like it looks like what you buy from the store. You know those pop containers? What's that brand? Pillsbury? Bread-y. Not butter-y. I don't know. This is what we really came for. There's kind of this battle of if this one's better or Pralu which is the place that actually invented it. I think Caleb agrees this one does not look nearly as good. It's not like like they were just closing so it's not fresh. I'll stop being judgemental. It's good. I really like it. But the one we had was like middle of a cinnamon bun goodie. This one is more just like dense chewy bread. It was freezing so we took a short walk home to crown our wedding bakery. Your favorite on three. Two. One. Antoinette. This is one of the most delicious things I've ever had. I was in unison it wasn't even planned. Three days in Lyon was enough to prove why this city is a food capital. But the real surprise was what's just beyond it. So next we rode to Peau Brugelée and Burgundy two of France's most famous food and wine regions and that journey completely changed how we see French food. So watch this video next to come along with us.