5 Great Coffee Shops in Lyon
This article contains affiliate links. We may receive compensation if you make a purchase using one of these links at no additional cost to you. See our Disclaimers and Terms of Use for more information.
We drank a lot of specialty coffee when we lived like locals in Lyon and then returned to drink even more. Discover our favorite Lyon cafes serving cappuccinos and flat whites.
We appreciate the allure of lingering at traditional Lyon cafés during busy days of touring. However, this type of cafe isn’t our thing.
Instead, we seek out specialty coffee shops. These more modern cafes satisfy our insatiable thirst for great coffee while providing us with spaces to work and mingle.
Spending a month in Lyon gave us the motivation to find the city’s best specialty coffee shops. While living like Lyon locals, we were pleasantly surprised to find a few central Lyon cafes that met our caffeine needs between meals at the city’s best restaurants.
And guess what? We keep finding more great cafes every time we return to Lyon.
🇫🇷 Lyon To-Dos
Lyon is a popular destination, so you should book your tours, hotel and rental car ASAP. These are our top picks:
📸 Tours and Activities
1. Lyon Food Experiences with Locals (a great way to taste the city)
2. Old Town Food Tour with 5 French Delicacies & Fine Wine (Secret Food Tours)
3. French Wine & Cheese Experience with a Sommelier
4. Highlights & Secrets Walking Guided Tour (small group) including Funicular
🏨 Accommodations
1. Hotel (rooms at all price points)
2. Airbnb (Lyon apartments with kitchens)
🚗 Rent a car to explore Lyon and beyond.
Our Favorite Lyon Cafes for Specialty Coffee
Lyon has embraced coffee’s third-wave movement. The classic French city has a growing number of cafes dedicated to serving excellent flat whites, cappuccinos and pour-overs.
These are our favorites:
1. MOKXA Boutique
MOKXA sources its arabica beans from organic farms and trusted importers. They then roast the beans in Lyon and Strasbourg roasteries. An early player in France’s third-wave movement, MOKXA has been a champion of specialty coffee since 2011. Today, the company sources its beans from a range of countries including Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Peru.
Our visit to MOKXA Boutique wasn’t our first time experiencing MOKXA’s beans. That honor goes to Lyon’s La Boîte à Café (see below) and Dijon’s Morning Glory Cafe. However, there’s something special about drinking MOKXA coffee at he roastery’s Lyon cafe, which made our third time the charm.
t
Pro Tip
Order the MOKXA trilogy option if you want to sample the cafe’s espresso, cappuccino and filtered coffee preparations in one fell swoop.
MOKXA Boutique is located at 5 Rue Bellecordière, 69002 Lyon, France.
2. Loutsa Torréfacteur
Loutsa Torréfacteur offers a feast for the senses that starts with an edgy logo, continues with a colorful decor and ends with flavorful coffee that’s crafted with beans roasted on-site. But not just any beans. Loutsa’s beans have mostly organic, high-altitude origins.
Limited in time, we opted to drink cappuccinos from the menu’s hot drinks section during our inaugural visit. We may share a ‘Le Trio’ of slow coffees crafted with techniques like Chemex, Kalita, French Press and V60 when we return. However, if it’s hot, we may opt for refreshingly cold Affogatos instead.
Pro Tip
You can continue your exploration of Loutsa’s coffee selection in Paris.
Loutsa Torréfacteur has multiple locations. We visited the Lyon cafe located at 9 Pl. Jules Guesde, 69007 Lyon, France.
3. Slake (Lyon 2)
One of Lyon’s original specialty coffee shops dating back to 2015, Slake continues its reign as a happy place for lovers of good coffee and tasty treats. The stylish cafe attracts a young crowd of digitally connected customers, many of whom convene in the back of the cafe with their laptops.
Crack baristas brew coffee with beans sourced from local roasters MOKXA and Kaffa, ensuring fresh beans and tasty drinks. Beyond coffee, Slake serves homemade pastries and savory cafe fare.
Pro Tip
Serious coffee drinkers can purchase beans to prepare later in their personal V60, AeroPress, Chemex or French Press coffee makers.
The original Slake is located at 9 Rue de l’Ancienne Préfecture, 69002 Lyon, France.
4. Slake (Lyon 1)
Not willing to rest on their coffee laurels, the team behind Slake (see above) opened a second location in 2017. Though its coffee program is similar to the concept at the original Slake, the newer cafe attracts an eclectic clientele thanks to its airy atmosphere and funky design.
A popular Lyon brunch spot, Slake serves classic dishes like brioche French toast and salmon pancakes. However, we’re most intrigued by Slake’s charcoal latte made with organic vegetable charcoal, black sesame and foamy milk. We found the starkly black brew unique for both its black color and savory taste.
Pro Tip
Feel free to wander into Slake during the week. However, you’ll want to make a reservation for the cafe’s all-inclusive Sunday brunch.
Slake is located at 18 Rue de la Platière, 69001 Lyon, France.
5. La Boîte à Café
Tiny La Boîte à Café proves that good things often come in small packages, or, in this case, small coffee boxes. With a name that literally translates to coffee box, La Boîte à Café exclusively serves locally roasted Mokxa coffee along with breakfast, brunch, lunch and cakes.
Pro Tip
Don’t be misled by La Boîte à Café’s size. This small but mighty cafe serves a full range of specialty coffee drinks as well as thoughtfully prepared brunch items.
La Boîte à Café is located at 3 Rue de l’Abbé Rozier, 69001 Lyon, France.
Additional Lyon Coffee Shops
Seven specialty coffee shops may be enough to satisfy your coffee cravings when you visit Lyon. If not, you can continue your Lyon coffee tour at the following worthy destinations:
💡 Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Coffee is popular all over France, and Lyon is no exception.
Expect to pay 4€ for flat whites and cappuccinos at specialty coffee shops in Lyon and half that for coffee at traditional cafes.
Yes. Lyon has several specialty coffee shops in addition to its many traditional cafes.
Top Lyon specialty coffee shops include MOKXA Boutique, Loutsa Torréfacteur, Les Cafetiers and Slake. Try them all plus more to find your favorite.
Yes. France’s first Starbucks opened in 2004 and Lyon now has several Starbucks cafes.
🇫🇷 Lyon Travel Checklist
📍 Pin This Article
