The lunch menu: the best way to eat out - our top 10

Less frequented at lunchtime, establishments are trying to attract consumers with temptingly priced formulas. In this way, they boost profitability by serving more customers. The offer is often shorter, and logically faster in service, but it's no less a way of identifying a chef's signature. Proof by ten.

Anona in Paris

It's a brand-new restaurant that hasn't gone unnoticed, especially since chef Thibaut Spiwack chose the very beginning of the year to inaugurate what takes the form of a plan. This former Top Chef contestant makes no secret of his intentions, and is clearly targeting gourmets anxious to defend their purchasing power. To launch a lunch menu at 49 euros, including starter, main course and dessert, the toque brandishes the argument of "the fairest price".

What's more, this formula also includes amuse-bouches at the start of the meal and mignardises after dessert, giving the impression of not sacrificing the rituals of a gastronomic experience.

Amour Blanc in Blois

Christophe Hay has chosen his second gourmet table, Amour Blanc, delightfully set in front of the Loire River, to serve up a culinary experience that's pulled out all the stops, yet promises not to put a strain on the wallet. Above all, the 39-euro lunch menu, which includes starter, main course and dessert, serves up the chef's strong commitment to artisanal production, as exemplified by his wagyu beef.

A good idea? depending on the regularly changing menu, you can try the prestigious Polynesian vanilla from the island of Taha'a, used in the Saint-Honoré, which can also be found on the menu of the Loire chef's Fleur de Loire pastry kiosk.

Freia in Nantes

You have to climb to the sixth floor of the building housing a parking lot to embrace the reality of an urban life that also knows how to conjugate with nature. This is where Sarah Mainguy has been living since February 2024. Firmly rooted in a contemporary style of cooking that respects the seasons and the work of small-scale producers, the chef, whose vegetal credentials were widely recognized in the Top Chef competition, also knows how to deal with a tense economic context for consumers. So you do what you can afford, especially at lunchtime with a four-course menu at 50 euros (compared with 70 euros for six courses, also available).

A good idea? with its binary formula for lunch and dinner, the chef and her sidekick Damien Suomi offer the possibility of adapting lunch to suit one's means.

Roots in Rennes

There's no need to deprive yourself and think only of dinner to savor the talent of Virginie Giboire. The young chef, who trained with Thierry Marx as well as Guy Martin and Alain Dutournier, never changes her approach between lunch and dinner. We plunge into her universe, just as contemporary as the decoration of the dining room, articulated around one ingredient in each dish, escorted each time by two other flavors: fir tree, for example, to surprise with mussels accompanied by potatoes, or meadowsweet to serve chocolate with almonds.

The best deal? A lunch menu offering two choices for each course, with a total bill of 45 euros for starter, main course and dessert.

585 in Bordeaux

585 is the number of kilometers separating him from Paris, and from the start of his career alongside Yannick Alléno. Adrien Pinot, winner of our 2022 young talent award, and now a well-known chef in the capital of Gironde, applies his Parisian apprenticeship in his own restaurant. Plates are always built around three elements, never more. While dinner is often the moment reserved for discovering the work of a chef, this is not the case at 585, which offers two lunch formulas, to be chosen according to your desires and the a la carte proposals.

In fact, there are not one but two lunch formulas, at 24 euros for two courses and 29 euros for three courses.

Bacôve in Saint-Omer

In his northern den, built like a standard-bearer for local heritage - Bacôve refers to the traditional barques that sail the Saint-Omer marshes - chef Camille Delcroix, assisted by his partner Carla, serves up a range of dishes that are sure to please. carla serves a lunch menu at 48 euros, including canapés, starter, main course and dessert. The menu has been dubbed "baudequin", in reference to the small wooden boats used on freshwater rivers, particularly in the Hauts-de-France region, for family outings.

The good news? with this budget, there's no compromise between traditional northern recipes and the chef's signature, which honors his terroir, even in the context of this formula, the most affordable on the menu.

Agastache in Lyon

Every two weeks, owner Mathieu L'Her and chef Alexis Lauriac change the lunch menu to suit both small and large appetites. In both cases, the menu is complete with starter, main course and dessert. The difference in price - 28 euros or 35 euros - is explained by the service of what the team describes as "interludes". In other words, little extra surprises to immerse you in the aromatic and natural world of the chef trained by the illustrious Lyonnais chef Christian Têtedoie.

The best part? Each menu includes two choices of dishes, each based on seasonal produce, making it easy to discover the chef's cuisine without feeling like you're making any compromises.

Les Singuliers in Saint-Astier

In the Périgord region of France, the young Louis Festa has come up with a whole host of good ideas to satisfy every type of gourmet, including those looking for a low-cost culinary experience. There's the menu for the under-30s, as well as the takeaway formula based on a croque revisited in the spirit of a Japanese sando. While these two initiatives only concern the evening service, the lunchtime menu is designed to suit all budgets. The winner of our 2022 young talent award also prepares a three-course lunch at 40 euros, from Wednesday to Friday.

What's on offer? Trout from Beauronne, celery from Chanterac, green lentils from Lannes... Products from the South-West are at the heart of young Louis Festa's creations, including at lunchtime.

Onyx in Paris

The chic new brasserie from the family-run Marki & Co group is also a good example of the kind of well-polished gastronomy that can accommodate tighter budgets, if not logically tight schedules at lunchtime. The full menu costs 42 euros, while the two-course menu costs 35 euros. At lunchtime, you can also travel with the cuisine of Nagasaki-born chef Tetsuya Yoshida, who retains the hallmarks of French cuisine but adds a healthy dose of exoticism with a variety of Asian culinary inspirations.

The best part? The whole point of this formula is to be able to discover part of the menu, even at lunchtime. In this case, try the smoked duck fillet, leek, red onion pickles, date and lemon condiment, or the roast guinea fowl supreme with fried wing.

Louise in Lorient

Chef Julien Corderoch serves up a real bargain at lunchtime in his restaurant. The Breton doesn't cut out the gastronomic journey just because it's lunchtime. In the heart of the Morbihan town, this former chef of L'Amphitryon (Jean-Paul Abadie) and La Pomme d'Api (Jérémie Le Calvez) honors the terroir of his childhood, while serving the memory of his great-grandmother Louise, in a score as aesthetic as it is sincere.

The good news? Julien Corderoch's service proves that you can also enjoy a gastronomic experience, with the emblematic blind menu, even if it only consists of three three-course meals. Price: 30 euros.