What to Eat in Toulouse
Toulouse is France's fourth-largest city, the capital of Occitania and the unofficial heart of southwestern French cooking - its brick facades have earned it the nickname la Ville rose, the pink city. People here treat duck, beans and sausage with something close to religious devotion - the city battles for the cassoulet crown, gave its name to France's best-known sausage and, to top it all off, candies its own violets.
We flew into Toulouse after midnight and only had time for a welcome drink at a beer bar; the bartender told us to skip the cafés on Sunday and head to the Saint-Aubin market instead. It was the best advice of the whole trip. Our best dinner in Toulouse, though, was at Le Genty Magre Restaurant - more on that below in the Where to Eat section.
What to Eat in Toulouse
- Cassoulet. A hearty dish of white beans and meat, slow-baked in an earthenware pot. Toulouse shares cassoulet with Castelnaudary and Carcassonne - in 1929 chef Prosper Montagné declared the three the Holy Trinity of Occitan cooking and cast the Toulouse version as the Holy Spirit. You can tell it by the saucisse de Toulouse sausage and the breadcrumbs on top.
- Saucisse de Toulouse. A fresh pork sausage coiled into a spiral: coarsely chopped meat, salt and pepper in a natural casing, nothing more. Toulouse records mention it as early as the 18th century, and since 2001 the "véritable saucisse de Toulouse" label has protected the butchers who make it properly. At the Saint-Aubin Sunday market it sits right next to the Pyrenean cheeses.
- Aligot. Whipped mashed potatoes with fresh cheese that stretch into long strings. It originally comes from the Aubrac plateau, but vendors from Aveyron haul it in big pots to the markets of Toulouse - pulling the mash is half salesmanship, half theater. I bought my own serving at the Saint-Aubin market.
- Violette de Toulouse. Candied violets - whole flowers coated in sugar, grown around the city since the mid-19th century. The name is now a protected trademark, and the violets also go into syrups, liqueurs and chocolates. It's the most Toulouse souvenir you can bring back.
- Fénétra. A cake with candied lemon, apricot jam and meringue on top. It's named after the Férétralia, a Roman festival of the dead that Toulouse was still celebrating in the 18th century; journalist Fernand Cousteaux revived the forgotten tradition in 1963, and a pastry competition gave the cake its present form in 1970.
- Cachou Lajaunie. Tiny black licorice pastilles invented in 1880 by Toulouse pharmacist Léon Lajaunie; a watchmaker friend designed the distinctive little round yellow tin especially for him, so it would fit in a vest pocket. They're still sold at tobacconists all over France.
- Fronton wine. A wine appellation about 35 kilometers north of the city, known as the wine of Toulouse. It's built on the Négrette grape, which tradition says knights brought over from Cyprus in the 12th century and which never caught on anywhere else in the world - in the glass it smells of black fruit and violets, which suits Toulouse perfectly. If you order just one of the French wines in the city, make it a Fronton.
- … and dozens more French dishes on the list: What to Eat in France.
Where to Eat in Toulouse
- Le Genty Magre. Traditional French cooking elevated by modern technique, on the little street the restaurant is named after. Chef Romain Brard has been running the place for more than twenty years, and in 2023 he won the contest for the best cassoulet in Toulouse. For me, it was the best meal of the whole stay: their beef spoiled us so badly that the veal at another restaurant a few days later never stood a chance.
- L'Air de Famille. Georges Camuzet's family bistro with no fixed menu - every morning the day's dishes go up in chalk on the board, depending on what the market has to offer, and Michelin has given it a Bib Gourmand award. Our six-course dinner was a tour of all of France, from smoked herring to tarte tatin and a flawless mille-feuille. We struggled to translate the board, but the staff patiently walked us through it item by item. Seating is limited and you'll need to book.
- Cartouches. Chef Nicolas Brousse's small bistro and wine bar in the Saint-Aubin neighborhood, and another Bib Gourmand holder in Toulouse. The menu changes every week; our salmon with avocado cream looked like something out of an artist's studio - judge for yourself from the photo above. It's usually fully booked.
- Maison Pillon. A pastry and chocolate shop founded in 1967 and run since 2001 by Yves Thuriès, who has won the Meilleur Ouvrier de France title twice. It has branches all over the city and is famous for its sweets made with Toulouse violets and for its own specialty, the pavé du Capitole.
- Marché Victor Hugo market hall. A covered market dating from 1892, nicknamed the belly of Toulouse: more than eighty stalls selling charcuterie, fish and French cheeses, plus five restaurants upstairs that cook with ingredients bought one floor down. The stalls are open Tuesday through Sunday morning.
- Saint-Aubin Sunday Market. An open-air market around the Saint-Aubin church, where every Sunday the food of the Southwest meets a flea market and street musicians. Aligot gets stretched straight out of the pot, saucisse de Toulouse sits right next to it and pain d'épices is sold by weight - my loaf with orange peel tasted exactly the way I'd hoped. Come in the morning, and come hungry.
In just a few days we ate our way through Toulouse, from the market hall to award-winning bistros, and the pink city didn't let us down once. If you only have time for one dinner in the city, book a table at Le Genty Magre.
Enjoy eating your way around Toulouse!
Saint-Aubin: The Sunday Market in Toulouse
We got the best food tip in Toulouse over a beer: the bartender sent us to the Sunday market at Saint-Aubin. Once a week the streets around the church fill up with Pyrenean cheeses, a pot of aligot and loaves of pain d'épices sold by weight - plus a flea market and musicians. I came away with a loaf studded with orange peel, and I tasted the aligot.
Aligot: French Mashed Potatoes with Cheese
Aligot is mashed potato from the Aubrac plateau with nearly half a kilo of fresh cheese stirred into a kilo of potatoes. You work it until it trails a rope behind the spoon. Whose dish it actually is, when potatoes entered the recipe and how the truffle version tasted at a Sunday market in Toulouse.
L'Air de Famille: A Toulouse Bistro With a Menu Written in Chalk
L'Air de Famille is a small family bistro in the center of Toulouse that keeps no fixed menu - chef Georges Camuzet chalks the dishes of the day up on a board every morning, depending on what the market has to offer that day. Michelin gave the bistro a Bib Gourmand for it. I explain why half of France fits on a single board, and how we managed to decipher the six courses we picked off it.