Restaurant in Lyon, France
Honest Lyonnaise cooking at fair prices.
Daniel et Denise Créqui is a Michelin Plate-recognised bouchon in Lyon's 3rd arrondissement, delivering honest Lyonnaise cooking at a €€ price point. With a 4.5 Google rating across nearly 1,800 reviews and easy booking, it is one of the most reliable entries into Lyon's bouchon tradition — loud, convivial, and worth it for food-focused visitors who want the real thing.
Daniel et Denise Créqui is not the place to book if you want a quiet, intimate dinner for two with hushed service and white-glove formality. It is a bouchon — a working bouchon — and the room reflects that. What you get instead is honest, Michelin Plate-recognised Lyonnaise cooking at a price point (€€) that is hard to argue with anywhere in France, let alone in a city that takes this cuisine as seriously as Lyon does. If you are visiting Lyon and want to eat the food the city actually built its reputation on, this is a sound booking. If you want something more refined, [Le Neuvième Art](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-neuvieme-art) or [La Mere Brazier](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/la-mere-brazier) serve a different purpose.
The expectation that needs correcting first: this is not a special-occasion restaurant in the traditional sense. The room at 156 Rue de Créqui carries the energy of a full dining room mid-service , voices layered over each other, the clatter of plates, a convivial noise that is part of the experience rather than a flaw in it. If you arrive expecting the ambient calm of a Michelin one-star, you will be surprised. The atmosphere here is deliberately communal, rooted in the bouchon tradition where the shared loudness of a room is a sign the kitchen is working and the tables are full. Come with that expectation calibrated correctly and the energy reads as warmth rather than chaos.
The Créqui address is one of three Daniel et Denise locations in Lyon , the others being [Daniel et Denise Croix-Rousse](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/daniel-et-denise-croix-rousse-lyon-restaurant) and [Daniel et Denise Saint-Jean](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/daniel-et-denise-saint-jean-lyon-restaurant). That the brand has expanded across the city without losing its Michelin Plate recognition at each location says something meaningful about consistency. This is not a one-location operation coasting on reputation; it is a format that has been replicated and maintained to a standard that Michelin has recognised in both 2024 and 2025.
Lyonnaise kitchen is, at its foundation, a cuisine built on specific ingredients treated with precision rather than disguised with technique. The bouchon format historically existed because the leading cooking in the region came from the market: the charcuterie, the offal, the quenelles, the gratins. What made Lyon's food culture distinctive was not invention but sourcing discipline , buying the right things from the right producers and preparing them correctly. At a venue like Daniel et Denise Créqui, that sourcing logic is what justifies the menu. You are not paying for molecular technique or theatrical plating; you are paying for ingredients handled the way they are supposed to be handled in a city where the standard for those ingredients is set higher than almost anywhere in France. That is a different kind of value proposition and worth understanding before you arrive.
At the €€ price tier, Daniel et Denise Créqui sits comfortably as an accessible entry point into that tradition. For context, [Brasserie Georges](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/brasserie-georges-lyon-restaurant) offers a similar price tier with a grander, higher-volume room; [Cafe Comptoir Abel](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/cafe-comptoir-abel-lyon-restaurant) and [Le Garet](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-garet-lyon-restaurant) occupy the same classic bouchon register. Daniel et Denise's Michelin Plate recognition across multiple sites gives it a credential edge in that peer group.
Booking here is rated Easy, which in Lyon's dining context means you do not need to plan weeks in advance the way you would for a starred table at [Mirazur](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/mirazur-menton-restaurant) or [Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/allno-paris-au-pavillon-ledoyen-paris-restaurant). That said, this is a recognised venue with a loyal local following and the kind of Google rating (4.5 across 1,789 reviews) that drives consistent traffic from visitors. Book 5 to 7 days out for weekday lunch, and aim for at least 10 days ahead for Friday or Saturday dinner. Walk-ins are possible but not a strategy worth relying on if you are working around a fixed travel itinerary. The temporal window matters here: Lyon's bouchon culture is year-round, but the colder months from October through March are when the heartier elements of the Lyonnaise repertoire are at their most appropriate and when the room atmosphere peaks.
| Detail | Daniel et Denise Créqui | Cafe Comptoir Abel | Le Garet | La Mere Brazier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisine | Lyonnaise / Bouchon | Lyonnaise / Bouchon | Lyonnaise / Bouchon | French |
| Price tier | €€ | €€ | €€ | Higher |
| Michelin recognition | Plate (2024, 2025) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Starred history |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | Easy–Moderate | Easy–Moderate | Moderate |
| Atmosphere | Convivial, loud | Classic, intimate | Traditional, tight | Formal by comparison |
If you are building a Lyon itinerary around food and want to understand the city's dining culture at different levels, [our full Lyon restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/lyon) is the right starting point. For a wider sense of what Lyon offers beyond the table, [our full Lyon experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/lyon) and [our full Lyon hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/lyon) are worth reading alongside. For those interested in where Lyon's food tradition sits within the broader French canon, the comparison points are venues like [Troisgros - Le Bois sans Feuilles](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/troisgros-le-bois-sans-feuilles-ouches-restaurant), [Flocons de Sel](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/flocons-de-sel-megve-restaurant), [Auberge de l'Ill](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/auberge-de-lill-illhaeusern-restaurant), and [Bras](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/bras-laguiole-restaurant) , all French regional institutions operating at a different price tier. If you want the bouchon tradition without the flight to Lyon, [Aux Lyonnais in Paris](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/aux-lyonnais-paris-restaurant) and [Josephine Bouchon in London](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/josephine-bouchon-london-restaurant) are the closest proxies, though the context of eating this food in Lyon itself is part of what makes Daniel et Denise Créqui worth the booking.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel et Denise Créqui | €€ | — |
| Le Neuvième Art | €€€€ | — |
| Rustique | €€€€ | — |
| La Mere Brazier | — | |
| Burgundy by Matthieu | €€€ | — |
| Miraflores | €€€€ | — |
A quick look at how Daniel et Denise Créqui measures up.
Groups are manageable here given the casual bouchon format, but call ahead if you have a party of six or more. This is a neighbourhood-scale room at 156 Rue de Créqui, not a large banquet space. The €€ price point makes it an accessible option for groups who want a proper Lyonnaise meal without coordinating a high-budget dinner.
At a €€ price range, the value case is straightforward if Lyonnaise classics are what you want. This is not a multi-course chef's table experience — it is a bouchon, so expect a focused, traditional format rather than a lengthy tasting progression. If you want a full tasting menu format in Lyon, Le Neuvième Art is the more appropriate choice, though at a significantly higher price.
Come expecting a proper Lyonnaise bouchon, not a polished fine-dining room. The Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 signals consistent quality cooking, not ambition for stars. Booking is rated Easy, so you do not need to plan far in advance, but securing a reservation before arriving in Lyon is still the sensible move.
Traditional Lyonnaise cuisine is built around meat, offal, and rich preparations, which limits options for vegetarians or those avoiding animal products. This is not a venue with broad dietary flexibility by design. If dietary restrictions are a concern for your group, it is worth contacting the restaurant directly before booking.
Yes, if your idea of a special occasion is eating well in a genuine setting rather than being handled by formal service. It holds Michelin Plate recognition for 2024 and 2025, which means the cooking meets an independent quality standard. For a milestone dinner requiring ceremony and a full tasting format, La Mere Brazier or Le Neuvième Art would be more fitting.
For a step up in ambition and price, La Mere Brazier carries stronger historical weight in Lyonnaise dining. Le Neuvième Art is the choice if you want a contemporary tasting menu. Rustique is worth considering if you want a similarly priced neighbourhood option with a different register. Daniel et Denise Créqui sits in the sweet spot for traditional bouchon cooking at a price that does not require justification.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
