Flon is one of central Lausanne’s busiest places to eat, drink and meet, with restaurants ranging from Italian and Japanese dining to Vietnamese food, burgers, brunch, tartare and rooftop drinks. The district grew from an industrial and warehouse area into a mixed urban quarter, and its current restaurant lineup reflects that shift. This guide focuses on places that can be verified in the current Quartier du Flon dining directory rather than treating every central-Lausanne restaurant as part of Flon.
Quick Answer
Some of the best current restaurants in Flon include Tartares & Co for tartare and ceviche, Le Tokyo for Japanese food, Wawa’s for Vietnamese dishes, Forbici and Maccaro for Italian food, Downtown for brunch, Brasserie Belleville for casual dining, and Les Jardins de PAM for rooftop drinks and tapas.
Key Takeaways
- Flon has a broad mix of Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Turkish, brasserie, burger and casual café options.
- For a longer sit-down meal, start with Tartares & Co, Forbici, Maccaro, Gran Torino, Le Tokyo or Les Jardins de PAM.
- Downtown is a useful breakfast and brunch choice, while The Green Van Company, Crrsp and Brezelkönig work better for quicker meals.
- Brasserie Belleville is particularly useful for families because its official Flon listing notes a dedicated children’s space.
- Restaurant hours, menus and dietary options change, so check the restaurant’s current page before making a special trip.
Note: Flon is a specific Lausanne district, not a general label for every restaurant in central Lausanne. For example, Café de Grancy is in the Sous-Gare area, while Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville is in Crissier. The recommendations below are focused on restaurants listed in or directly associated with Quartier du Flon.
How to Choose a Restaurant in Flon
The easiest way to narrow the choices is to decide what kind of meal you want rather than looking for a single restaurant that is “best” for everyone.
- For a special dinner: consider Tartares & Co, Le Tokyo, Forbici, Maccaro, Gran Torino or Les Jardins de PAM.
- For breakfast or brunch: Downtown is one of the clearest options in the district.
- For Japanese or Asian food: compare Le Tokyo, Wawa’s, Thaï Orchidée and TAO.
- For Italian food: look at Forbici, Maccaro, Gran Torino or Leonardo bar & food.
- For a family meal: Brasserie Belleville is worth considering because its official listing specifically mentions a children’s space.
- For burgers or a quick meal: The Green Van Company and Crrsp are useful starting points.
- For drinks with food: Street Cellar and Les Jardins de PAM offer two very different experiences, one centered on wine and the other on a rooftop setting.
Best Sit-Down Restaurants in Flon for a Special Meal
The original version of this guide treated Café de Grancy and Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville as Flon restaurants, but neither belongs in a Flon-specific shortlist. Instead, several current businesses inside Quartier du Flon provide good options when you want more than a quick takeaway.
Tartares & Co
Tartares & Co, at Rue de Genève 7, specializes in tartare variations made with ingredients such as beef and fish, along with carpaccios and ceviches. It is one of the more distinctive choices in Flon if you specifically enjoy raw or lightly prepared meat and seafood dishes.
Les Jardins de PAM
Les Jardins de PAM, at Rue des Côtes-de-Montbenon 20, combines a rooftop setting with cocktails and Mediterranean-Asian tapas. The official Flon page describes a 360-degree city view, making this a particularly useful option when atmosphere matters as much as the meal.
Forbici
Forbici, at Place de l’Europe 9, focuses on Italian cooking, including pizza, and has both indoor seating and a terrace. It works well for a full lunch or dinner when your group wants familiar Italian choices in the middle of the district.
Maccaro and Gran Torino
Maccaro, at Rue du Port-Franc 11, is another current Italian restaurant with a strong pizza focus. Gran Torino, at Voie du Chariot 6, offers a broader Italian restaurant experience with pasta, pizza and other Italian dishes.
Pro Tip: For Friday or Saturday dinner, rooftop seating or a meal for a larger group, reserve ahead when the restaurant accepts bookings. Do not rely on old opening-hour listings because restaurant schedules can change seasonally.
Best Casual Eateries in Flon
Flon also has plenty of places where you can eat without turning lunch or dinner into a formal occasion.
Brasserie Belleville
Brasserie Belleville, at Rue de Genève 21, describes its food as homemade, comforting and affordable. Its large indoor and outdoor seating capacity makes it practical for groups, and its official listing specifically mentions a space for children.
Downtown
Downtown, also known as Blackbird Downtown Diner, focuses on breakfast, brunch, lunch, coffee, snacks and casual meals. It is particularly useful when you want to eat earlier in the day rather than waiting for traditional dinner service.
The Green Van Company
The Green Van Company, at Rue du Port-Franc 8, is centered on burgers. The business also operates a food truck around the region, while its Flon location gives diners a permanent place to find its food in the district.
Crrsp
Crrsp takes a quick-service approach built around crispy food and restaurant innovation. It is a better fit for an informal meal than for a traditional long restaurant experience.
Must-Try International Restaurants in Flon
| Restaurant | Cuisine | Address | Good For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wawa’s | Vietnamese / Asian | Rue du Port-Franc 8 | Vietnamese dishes, dine-in or takeaway |
| Le Tokyo | Japanese | Rue des Côtes-de-Montbenon 22 | Sushi, bento, teppanyaki and Japanese dishes |
| Istanbul Grill & More | Turkish / Eastern Mediterranean | Rue des Côtes-de-Montbenon 20 | Grilled food, kebab and mezze |
| Thaï Orchidée | Thai / Japanese | Rue du Port-Franc 16 | Thai dishes and sushi |
Wawa’s is a useful choice when you want Vietnamese food. Its official listing describes a menu of typical Vietnamese dishes prepared on site and available to eat in or take away.
For Japanese food, Le Tokyo offers sushi along with hot dishes, bento and teppanyaki. If you want Thai food with sushi available as well, Thaï Orchidée is another current Flon option.
Istanbul Grill & More serves an Eastern Mediterranean/Turkish-style menu built around items such as meat, fresh bread and mezze. For a broader Asian lounge-bar concept, TAO draws on Chinese, Indian and Thai influences.
Flon’s Best Cafes, Baked Snacks and Sweet Stops
If you are looking for coffee, breakfast or something sweet rather than a full dinner, Flon has several current options worth knowing.
Downtown for Coffee and Brunch
Downtown’s official listing emphasizes breakfast, brunch, lunch and coffee, making it the most obvious all-around café-restaurant choice in this guide. It works well for morning coffee, a late breakfast or a casual midday meal.
Brezelkönig for Fresh Pretzels
Brezelkönig, at Voie-du-Chariot 5-7, prepares pretzels and other lye-baked products on site. The range includes classic pretzels, filled options, baguettes, sandwiches and sweet versions, making it useful when you want something quick rather than table service.
loom gelateria for Dessert
loom gelateria, at Rue de Genève 19, specializes in artisanal gelato and sorbet and also offers other sweet items and hot chocolate.
Downtown is listed as a café-restaurant focused on breakfast, brunch, lunch and coffee, while Brezelkönig is geared toward fresh pretzels and other quick baked snacks.
Vegan and Vegetarian-Friendly Eating in Flon
Vegetarian diners have options in Flon, but it is better to check specific menus than to assume that every restaurant has a large plant-based selection. The current district directory does not clearly identify a dedicated vegan restaurant among its main dining tenants.
Leonardo bar & food is one useful option because its official Flon description specifically mentions a vegetarian buffet alongside Italian dishes such as focaccia, bruschetta and pizza.
Istanbul Grill & More also has a mezze-focused component to its menu, but diners following a strict vegan diet should ask which current dishes contain no animal products rather than relying on the dish name alone.
Warning: If you have a serious food allergy, celiac disease or another condition where cross-contact matters, contact the restaurant directly before visiting. Menus, ingredients and kitchen procedures can change.
Hidden Gems and Less-Obvious Foodie Stops in Flon
Instead of relying on unverified “secret” restaurants, look at smaller or more specialized places that are part of the current Flon lineup.
Street Cellar
Street Cellar, at Rue du Port-Franc 2a, describes itself as a wine bar combining local wines, street-food-style dishes and a street-art atmosphere. It is particularly useful for an aperitif or a less conventional evening meal.
Wawa’s
Wawa’s small Asian-kitchen format makes it an easy place to overlook when compared with Flon’s larger restaurants, but its focused Vietnamese menu and takeaway option make it useful for a straightforward lunch or dinner.
Crrsp
Crrsp is another less traditional option. Its concept centers on crispy food and quick-service restaurant innovation, so it can work when you want something casual that differs from the district’s pizza, burger and brasserie choices.
Food Trucks, Burgers and Street-Food-Style Meals in Flon
The most clearly verifiable food-truck connection in the current Flon dining lineup is The Green Van Company. Its official Flon page says the company operates a food truck around the region while also maintaining its permanent burger location at Rue du Port-Franc 8.
For other fast, informal meals, Crrsp offers a quick-service concept, while Brezelkönig works for grab-and-go pretzels, sandwiches and snacks. Istanbul Grill & More also operates as both a restaurant and takeaway, making it practical when you want a quicker meal without sitting through a long service.
The current official directory does not provide enough evidence to recommend the original article’s “Taco Truck” or “Flon Street Kitchen” as permanent Flon businesses, so they should not be treated as dependable current options.
Practical Tips for Eating in Flon
Check Current Hours
Restaurant schedules can change with the season, holidays or operating decisions. Use the restaurant’s official page or the Quartier du Flon dining directory before making a special trip.
Reserve for Popular Dinner Times
For a Friday or Saturday dinner, rooftop table or larger group, booking in advance is sensible when reservations are available. Lunch and quick-service restaurants generally require less planning, but capacity still varies.
Families Have Several Casual Choices
Brasserie Belleville stands out because its official listing specifically identifies a children’s space. Burger, pizza and casual café restaurants may also be convenient for families, but check each current menu if you need children’s portions or specific dishes.
Ask About Dietary Requirements
Do not assume that labels such as vegetarian-friendly automatically mean vegan, gluten-free or suitable for a serious allergy. Contact the restaurant when the distinction matters.
Getting Around Flon
Flon is centrally located and largely pedestrian-oriented. The district’s transport connections make it practical to combine a meal with shopping, cinema, nightlife or other activities in central Lausanne. The district’s official history still reflects its old warehouse and goods-station character through parts of its urban layout and architecture.
Overall, Flon is strongest as a compact district where you can choose a restaurant by occasion: Italian food at Forbici, Maccaro or Gran Torino; Japanese food at Le Tokyo; Vietnamese food at Wawa’s; tartare at Tartares & Co; brunch at Downtown; burgers at The Green Van Company; casual family dining at Brasserie Belleville; or rooftop drinks and tapas at Les Jardins de PAM.
Separate food reading: If you are exploring ingredients rather than Lausanne restaurants, the site’s Exploring the Delightful World of Asian Melon article covers a separate food topic. It is not part of the Flon restaurant recommendations above.
Restaurant lineups, opening hours and menus can change. For the most dependable visit, check the current official restaurant page shortly before you go.
Sources
- Quartier du Flon — Drinking & Eating — current directory of restaurants, cafés, bars and food businesses in Flon.
- Quartier du Flon — Short History of the Flon — supports the district’s industrial and warehouse history and later redevelopment.
- Brasserie Belleville — Quartier du Flon — supports its location, brasserie concept and children’s space.
- Tartares & Co — Quartier du Flon — supports its location and tartare, carpaccio and ceviche focus.
- Le Tokyo — Quartier du Flon — supports its Japanese cuisine, sushi, bento and teppanyaki offerings.
- The Green Van Company — Quartier du Flon — supports its Flon burger location and regional food-truck operation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some of the best restaurants in Flon?
Good current starting points include Tartares & Co for tartare and ceviche, Le Tokyo for Japanese food, Wawa’s for Vietnamese cuisine, Forbici and Maccaro for Italian food, Downtown for brunch, Brasserie Belleville for casual dining, and Les Jardins de PAM for a rooftop setting.
What types of cuisine can you find in Flon?
Flon’s current restaurant mix includes Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Turkish and broader Asian food, along with brasserie dishes, tartare, burgers, brunch, pretzels, gelato and wine-bar food.
Do restaurants in Flon require reservations?
Not every restaurant requires a reservation, but booking ahead is sensible for popular dinner periods, Friday and Saturday evenings, rooftop seating and larger groups. Check the restaurant’s current booking policy before visiting.
Are Flon restaurants suitable for families?
Several casual restaurants can work for families. Brasserie Belleville is particularly notable because its official Flon listing specifically mentions a children’s space. Check individual menus if you need children’s portions or particular dishes.
Can I find vegetarian or vegan food in Flon?
Vegetarian options are available, and Leonardo bar & food specifically advertises a vegetarian buffet. For a strict vegan diet, gluten-free requirement or serious allergy, confirm the current ingredients and kitchen procedures directly with the restaurant.
Where can I get breakfast, brunch or a quick lunch in Flon?
Downtown is a useful breakfast and brunch choice. For faster food, consider The Green Van Company for burgers, Crrsp for quick-service food, Brezelkönig for pretzels and sandwiches, or Wawa’s and Istanbul Grill & More when takeaway suits your plans.
Where can I eat or drink on a rooftop in Flon?
Les Jardins de PAM is a current rooftop and bar option in Quartier du Flon. Its official listing highlights a city view, cocktails and Mediterranean-Asian tapas.
Are Café de Grancy and Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville in Flon?
No. Café de Grancy is in Lausanne’s Sous-Gare area, while Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville is in Crissier. They may be relevant to a wider Lausanne-area dining guide, but they should not be presented as restaurants inside Quartier du Flon.
