See you in the canteen

Eating habits have changed. Though fast-food restaurants have spread like wild fire, the taste for eating well has remained. And, with it, the question of the price to pay for lunch. This is what’s driving the success of restaurant-canteens, fast-food outlets with a friendly atmosphere serving fresh, seasonal cooking. 

Their motto? Making healthy, tasty but also affordable food. This is the case at La Cantine des Voyageurs, inaugurated in Vaise last April. In the kitchen you’ll find Chef Agnès Nguyen, a former agricultural engineer, who was incubated for a time at La Commune: “We mean canteen as a good thing: a place where people enjoy meeting up to grab some good food.”In this neighbourhood surrounded by businesses, she can already point out her regulars : “People come to spend some quality time with colleagues; to get a breath of fresh air in their work-day.” With one limited weekly menu, the chef serves refined dishes inspired by global cuisines. Service is fast, it’s counter service, tray service even, almost like at school.

Good fast-food

By putting together a fast and effective menu featuring fresh, seasonal produce that’s as organic and local as possible, and salvaged from the garbage bin, La Fabuleuse Cantine takes it one step further: “Every day, we put together unique menus using unsold produce”, explains co-founder Eric Pétrotto. Behind this restaurant in the Jean-Macé neighbourhood you’ll find a vast Saint-Etienne based food resilience project and a regenerative approach: “Our strategy focuses on local networks, buying unsold organic produce from vegetable farms and integration gardens within an 80km radius to promote local distribution networks and zero waste.” 

Like Lyon’s school canteens, La Fabuleuse Cantine has a central kitchen, where meat dishes and meals in a jar sold at a variety of outlets are prepared. The rest is prepared in situ. “The term ‘canteen’ calls to mind the popular aspect, i.e., our desire to democratise this food. ‘Fabuleuse’ refers to our creativity.” Same approach for Menthe Poivrée. “We want people to indulge themselves without breaking the bank”, explains Sébastien Balas. 

© Marine Allard – Pookie Cookie Studio 3

Alongside Camille Gravez, he puts together a weekly limited menu featuring responsibly-purchased produce: “We preferred stopping serving certain products, like salmon, rather than increasing our prices.” But it was out of the question to leave the table still feeling peckish. “We really thought about it. How could we put together a streamlined menu without people feeling short-changed?” 

Answer: every dish is served on a tray with salad and a seasonal soup. “Our neighbourhood customers often have under an hour to grab lunch. Adding a starter that’s included in the price is a way of saving them time.” The concept is proving popular. As is the atmosphere, which is essential in this kind of place. Logical. A canteen is a “place you put your heart into”, explains Margaux Bombard who opened Toasté three years ago with Kevin Ivanovskoff.

Their address in Saint-Romain-au-Mont-d’Or is now the beating heart of the village, welcoming workers, locals, and visitors alike. Further proof is provided by the undisputed success of the Les Petites Cantines concept. It’s a network of neighbourhood canteens where you cook and have lunch on a pay-what-you-want basis, focusing on solidarity and living together in harmony. 

Already established in Lyon’s old town, Perrache, Félix-Faure, Vaise, Villeurbanne, and Oullins, the next Les Petites Cantines are scheduled to open in Tassin-La-Demi-Lune. Dibs

Address book

Øslow x Cantine – Café

A slow-food address in the heart of the Part-Dieu neighbourhood. Order-at-the-counter tray service, large wooden tables, etc. Everything a good canteen needs. Every lunchtime there’s a new menu and dishes made from fresh local produce. Starter/main or main/dessert 13,90€.

La Fabuleuse Cantine

The canteen that’s shaking up the catering world: fresh daily menus featuring unsold local organic produce based on a zero wastefulness / zero waste approach, and pasteurised organic meals in a jar. Starter/main or main/ dessert €15.

© La Fabuleuse Cantine

La Fabuleuse Cantine

Bistro restaurant

107 rue de Marseille - 69007 Lyon 7ème
06 76 58 00 38

lyon7.lafabuleusecantine.fr/

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Popotes, Cantine respectueuse

Designed to “provide a touch of lunchtime indulgence”, this collaborative network of entrepreneurial restaurants already has eleven neighbourhood canteens in three cities, including two in Lyon. The menu is bimonthly and seasonal, featuring pies, soups, salads, and customisable bowls. Starter/main €14.80.

Menthe Poivrée

This small cosy venue just a stone’s throw from Place Bellecour has become a regular haunt for plenty of locals. On the menu: two dishes a week (one veggie, one omnivore) served on a tray with salad and seasonal soup. Main: €16.

© Marine Allard

Menthe Poivrée

Shops

6 rue François Dauphin - 69002 Lyon 2ème
04 78 42 24 12

menthe-poivreefr-99.webself.net/

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La Cantine Toasté

The Toasté catering service inaugurated its canteen in 2021. This “no-fuss” restaurant serving generous cuisine from a menu that’s updated every six weeks is located just 15 min from Lyon and features an outdoor dining area with an uninterrupted view of Mont Thou. Approx. €15/main.

La Cantine des Voyageurs

For the last few months, Agnès has been putting together a fresh menu of simple, tasty dishes every week inspired by her travels and encounters. Starter/ main or main/dessert €16.50.

© La Cantine des Voyageurs