Le Café des Fédérations

At 8-10 rue du Major Martin, a few steps from the place des Terreaux, stands one of the most emblematic places of Lyon's culinary heritage: the Café des Fédérations. Open since 1872 — that is, for more than 150 years — this genuine institution is considered one of the oldest bouchons in Lyon, and above all one of the most authentic! It has in fact been voted Best Authentic Lyonnais Bouchon several times, including in 2019-2020 and 2024.

Welcome to the Café des Fédérations, the authentic Lyonnais bouchon of the "capital of the Gones." The moment you push the door open, you are plunged into a warm, festive atmosphere worthy of the bouchons of old: red-and-white gingham tablecloths, woodwork weathered by the decades, walls papered with posters, sausages hanging from the ceiling, the convivial hubbub of neighbouring tables… Every detail carries you instantly into the working-class Lyon of the 19th century. As the house itself puts it so well, it is a genuine "theatre of life where conviviality and flavour reign."

In the kitchen, novelty is not on the program — and that is exactly why you come! The menu is a festival of Lyonnais tradition: salade lyonnaise, herring with potatoes in oil, pike quenelle with sauce Nantua, andouillette Bobosse, tablier de sapeur, sausage cooked in wine, warm pistachio sausage… and to crown it all, the unmissable tarte à la praline rose, the absolute symbol of the city. At the helm, Jean-Luc Plasse and Bruno Boutareaud carry on the tradition with passion, revisiting the great classics with absolute respect for Lyonnais know-how.

The portions are generous (as they should be in a real bouchon!) and the service, carried by waiters with a thoroughly Lyonnais gift of the gab, never lacks flavour. A word of advice: come with an empty stomach and a smile on your face — you will need both!

The Café des Fédérations is far more than a simple restaurant: it is a living piece of Lyonnais heritage, a full immersion in the city's culinary soul. An essential address for anyone who really wants to taste Lyon at its truest. As they say up in the Croix-Rousse: "Entre une fenotte et un bon mâchon, n'hésites pas gone, n'hésites pas!"