Restaurant in Paris, France
Michelin-noted bouchon cooking at a fair price.
Aux Lyonnais holds a Michelin Plate and three consecutive years of Opinionated About Dining recognition — at a €€ price point in central Paris. For a first-timer wanting to eat genuine Lyonnaise cuisine without committing to a starred restaurant budget, it is the clearest option in the city. Book Tuesday to Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday.
Aux Lyonnais carries a 4.4 Google rating across 940 reviews — a volume that rules out fluke results. It holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, and Opinionated About Dining has tracked it consistently since 2023, ranking it #370 in Europe for casual dining in 2024 and #403 in 2025. At a €€ price point on Rue Saint-Marc in the 2nd arrondissement, it is one of the more credentialled places in Paris at this budget. If you are visiting Paris for the first time and want to eat genuine Lyonnaise cuisine without committing to a €€€€ tasting menu, this is the clearest answer in the city.
Aux Lyonnais is a bouchon-style Lyonnaise restaurant operating under chef Marie-Victorine Manoa in central Paris. The Lyonnaise tradition is one of France's most technically demanding in the casual register: quenelles, offal preparations, slow-braised proteins, and sauces that require patience and precision rather than expensive ingredients. This is not the kind of cooking that hides behind luxury produce. The kitchen has to be technically correct, or the dish fails. The consistent OAD recognition over three consecutive years suggests Manoa's kitchen is getting the fundamentals right.
For a first-timer, this matters. You are not gambling on a trendy concept. Lyonnaise cuisine is codified — there are reference points, the tradition is documented, and a kitchen either executes it or it doesn't. The awards record here, combined with the volume of positive public reviews, gives reasonable confidence that the execution is sound. If you want to understand why Lyon is considered one of France's great food cities, Aux Lyonnais is a practical place to start in Paris. For the deeper regional context, [Le Musée in Lyon](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-muse-lyon-restaurant) and [Josephine Bouchon in London](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/josephine-bouchon-london-restaurant) offer adjacent reference points in the same tradition.
The broader French fine dining canon , [Arpège](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/arpge-paris-restaurant), [L'Ambroisie](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/lambroisie-paris-restaurant), [Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/allno-paris-au-pavillon-ledoyen-paris-restaurant) , operates at a completely different price tier and with different ambitions. Aux Lyonnais sits in a separate category: regional French cooking done with discipline, at a price that reflects the food rather than the address.
The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch (12:00–14:15) and dinner (19:00–22:30). It is closed Sunday and Monday. The address is 32 Rue Saint-Marc, 75002 Paris, in the 2nd arrondissement, close to the Grands Boulevards. Booking difficulty is rated easy , you do not need to plan weeks in advance, though booking ahead for dinner on a Friday or Saturday remains sensible. No booking method is specified in the venue record; checking directly via search or a booking platform is the practical approach.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price tier | Booking difficulty | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aux Lyonnais | Lyonnaise | €€ | Easy | Michelin Plate 2025, OAD #403 2025 |
| Kei | Contemporary French | €€€€ | Harder | Michelin starred |
| Le Cinq | French, Modern | €€€€ | Hard | Michelin starred |
| L'Ambroisie | French Classic | €€€€ | Hard | 3 Michelin stars |
Lyonnaise cooking has one of the strongest traditions in French gastronomy. The lineage runs through [Paul Bocuse](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/paul-bocuse-lauberge-du-pont-de-collonges-collonges-au-mont-dor-restaurant), [Troisgros](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), [Bras](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/bras-laguiole-restaurant), [Mirazur](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/mirazur-menton-restaurant), and [Auberge de l'Ill](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/auberge-de-lill-illhaeusern-restaurant) , names that define what French regional cooking looks like at its highest level. Aux Lyonnais is not operating at that tier, but it is working in the same tradition at an accessible price in Paris. That is a different and legitimate proposition. For a first-timer wanting to understand the category, it is a more honest entry point than a Paris brasserie with no regional identity.
Yes, if you want Lyonnaise cooking at a fair price in central Paris. The combination of a Michelin Plate, three consecutive years of OAD recognition, and a 4.4 rating across nearly a thousand reviews gives this restaurant more documented credibility than most options at the same price tier. It is not the place for a formal special occasion dinner , look at [Le Cinq](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-cinq-four-seasons-htel-george-v-paris-restaurant) or [Kei](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/kei-paris-restaurant) for that. But as a first encounter with a serious French regional tradition, at a price that makes it repeatable, Aux Lyonnais is a direct recommendation. See our [full Paris restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/paris) for broader options, or explore [Paris hotels](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/paris), [Paris bars](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/paris), [Paris wineries](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/paris), and [Paris experiences](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/paris) to plan the rest of your trip.
The database does not list specific dishes, so ordering from the menu as presented on arrival is the right approach. Lyonnaise cuisine typically centres on quenelles, offal preparations, and slow-cooked proteins , the OAD and Michelin recognition suggests the kitchen handles these well. Ask your server what the kitchen is running that day; in this tradition, daily specials often reflect what the chef is executing with most confidence.
At €€ pricing in a casual format, yes. A solo lunch here is one of the more cost-effective ways to eat well in central Paris. The 2nd arrondissement location is easy to reach and the mid-week lunch service is a practical slot for solo diners who want to avoid weekend crowds.
Contact details are not listed in the venue record. Lyonnaise cuisine is heavily meat and offal-based, so vegetarian or vegan diners may find the menu limited. Anyone with significant dietary restrictions should contact the restaurant directly before booking to confirm what can be accommodated.
For Lyonnaise cuisine at the same price tier, options are limited in Paris , this format is more naturally found in Lyon itself, where [Le Musée](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-muse-lyon-restaurant) is a useful reference. For a step up in French cuisine at higher price points, [Kei](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/kei-paris-restaurant) and [Le Cinq](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-cinq-four-seasons-htel-george-v-paris-restaurant) are the credentialled alternatives. [Arpège](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/arpge-paris-restaurant) and [Alléno Paris](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/allno-paris-au-pavillon-ledoyen-paris-restaurant) operate at the highest price tier and a very different ambition level.
Lunch is the practical recommendation for a first visit. Lyonnaise cuisine is traditionally a midday format , bouchons in Lyon built their reputation on lunch service , and the €€ pricing makes a weekday lunch an efficient use of budget. Dinner works for those who want a slower evening, but the cuisine format suits lunch well.
No tasting menu details are confirmed in the venue record. At a €€ price point with a Michelin Plate, whatever set format exists is likely to represent solid value relative to starred alternatives. The OAD consistency across three years supports the kitchen's reliability at this tier.
It depends on what the occasion requires. For a birthday or anniversary where the setting and formality matter as much as the food, [Le Cinq](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-cinq-four-seasons-htel-george-v-paris-restaurant) or [L'Ambroisie](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/lambroisie-paris-restaurant) are more appropriate. Aux Lyonnais is better suited to a celebratory lunch where the food is the point and the budget is the constraint , a credentialled, characterful meal without the €€€€ outlay.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in the venue record. Traditional Lyonnaise bouchons do not typically offer bar dining as a format , seating is generally at tables. Contact the restaurant directly to confirm options if this matters to your planning.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aux Lyonnais | €€ | Easy | — |
| Plénitude | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Kei | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
How Aux Lyonnais stacks up against the competition.
The kitchen runs a Lyonnaise menu, so focus on the regional classics: quenelles, gratins, charcuterie-forward starters, and offal-based mains are the backbone of this tradition. Specific dishes are not published in advance, so go in expecting a short, market-driven menu rather than a sprawling à la carte selection. At €€ pricing, there is little financial risk in ordering broadly.
Yes. Bouchon-style restaurants are generally well-suited to solo diners — the format is convivial rather than couples-focused, and a counter or compact table for one is standard at this price point and style. The €€ price range also means a solo meal is not a significant commitment. Lunch service (12:00–14:15, Tuesday to Saturday) is the practical choice if you want a quieter room.
Lyonnaise cooking is built around meat, offal, cream, and egg-based preparations, which makes it a poor fit for vegetarians or those avoiding dairy. The kitchen's Michelin Plate recognition and OAD ranking suggest a degree of technical seriousness, but the cuisine itself offers limited flexibility by design. If dietary restrictions are a factor, this is not the format to test them.
For casual French cooking at a similar price point, Kei offers Franco-Japanese technique in the 1st arrondissement with stronger name recognition. If you want to stay within the Lyonnaise tradition but with more ambition, note that Aux Lyonnais holds three consecutive years of OAD recognition — few casual Paris addresses can match that track record at €€. For a full fine-dining step up, Le Cinq or Alléno Paris are different propositions entirely, starting at €€€€.
Lunch is the more practical choice: the 12:00–14:15 window is compact, which keeps the room focused, and at €€ pricing a weekday lunch here is one of the more cost-efficient ways to eat well in central Paris. Dinner runs until 22:30 and suits a slower pace, but neither service has a published prix-fixe advantage over the other based on available information. Book lunch if your schedule allows.
Specific menu formats and pricing structures are not published in advance, so whether a tasting menu is offered can change from available information. What is clear is that at €€, Aux Lyonnais sits well below Paris's formal tasting-menu tier. Go in expecting a set menu or short à la carte rather than a multi-course omakase-style experience. Check the venue's official channels for the latest details.
It works for a low-key occasion where the emphasis is on good regional cooking rather than theatre or ceremony. The Michelin Plate and three years of OAD recognition give it credibility, and the €€ price point makes it accessible. For a milestone dinner where setting and service formality matter, Le Cinq or Alléno Paris would be more appropriate — Aux Lyonnais is a bistro, not a grand dining room.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
