It's tricky to find a proper, authentic restaurant anywhere around the Grande Place of Lille. The…read moregeneral rule of thumb is to stay away from any of the main street/square restaurants that advertise regional specialties with tacky sign boards. Le Barbue d'Anvers, although situated very close to the Grande Place, is not one of those terrible tourist traps. It's hidden down a cobblestone alley and doesn't do much for advertising. I know people who have lived in this neighborhood for three, four years and have never even noticed it. We took some friends visiting from London here for lunch and were immediately blown away by the vintage hotel lodge-like interior. By far the most handsome restaurant in town, but how about the food. I took the server's recommendation for a beer (wish I had remembered what it was called, because it was strong and good) which I drank with some foie gras and a smoked salmon starter. Both elegantly prepared and perfectly delicious. For my main course I had a high quality rack of lamb which left me just a little hungry. At the moment, this is my #1 for Lille, though I'll be dining at L'assiette Marché on Saturday so we'll see.

We were a party of 8, hungry and looking forward to this restaurant by recommendation. We first…read moretried to make a reservation by phone, following the instructions on the voicemail we made a reservation by mail. Once we got there, the maitre d' apparently had no knowledge of our reservation..... And then the asshole attitude started. They were inhospitable, rude and arrogant beyond belief. Even if they did not receive the reservation (as they claimed), their behavior is a plain proof that they have no clue how to run the restaurant. Very sad..