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Location: 18 Rue Royale, Lille

Venue Type: Art Café / Brown Café

Year of Inscription: 2024

Map

Description

Gallery

EBG Rating:	8.4/10
Choice/ Quality of Drinks	❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ A compact but well curated tap selection featuring some of Belgium’s best beers. The same applies to the bottle selection. A more than decent wine list too, the equal of its beer selection with a focus on BIO/Natural wines.
Style/ Décor	❤️❤️❤️❤️ A beautiful, compact artsy café belonging to the Nouveau era. Brown café stylings lightened with local artwork. A rickety staircase (mind your head) leads to a second level.
Atmosphere/ Character	❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Superb prime brown café atmosphere bolstered further by how vibrant the local life is. Space is at a premium but the scene is  so tangibly alive and well, it gladdens the heart. Run by a laid back, bucolic owner who evidently takes just as much pleasure from hosting.
Amenities/ Events	❤️❤️❤️❤️ Food, snacks, limited outdoor seating, occasional events, happy hour.
Value For Money	❤️❤️❤️ Fair value considering the quality of produce.
Description	Old Lille, a patchwork quilt of tall brick buildings will bring to mind the likes of Brussels or Antwerp, not to mention the beautiful brown cafés you can visit in those cities. Lille however, lost those to the ‘Estaminet’, owned by a company who insist all customers dine there, therefore disqualifying them from being seen as pubs. Thank heavens for L’illustration, that keeps the Nouveau elegant cosy café alive and well. It is no surprise to see this is the work of a bucolic eccentric, whose character is as much a part of the café as its rickety fixtures and fittings – no joke, mind your head on the staircase. With space at a premium, sashaying between chairs clutching goblets of delicious beer from the likes of De Ranke, or glasses of curated bio/natural wines is par for the course when visiting here. It will not escape your attention this is a popular place where real estate is guarded carefully by locals, but as a newcomer you will receive a genial welcome nevertheless. Take care to explore the upstairs also, and dream of a life where you get to visit this café regularly, your local home from home. If you use Lille Europe while travelling by Eurostar, then make a beeline for this place, despite the extra 5-10 minutes walk it will take you. (Added November 2024)