Must-see restaurants in Nantes

  • Pickles

    Nantes

    This buzzing neobistro would be right at home in Paris. Market-sourced, modern and wholly creative cuisine by English chef Dominic Quirke (a Newcastle lad…

  • Nazca

    Nantes

    Bruno Triballeau, chef at the French embassy in Bogota for 10 years, and his Colombian wife make a formidable duo at this stylish cevicheria. In their…

  • La Chicorée

    Nantes

    With a summertime pavement terrace basking in the sun and an enchanting interior bursting with antique curiosities, this gourmet sandwich shop is a secret…

  • La Cigale

    Nantes

    No visit to Nantes is complete without breakfast, brunch, lunch or afternoon tea at the city's legendary brasserie, a sensational feast of ceramic tile…

  • Café du Musée

    Nantes

    The cafe-restaurant inside Nantes' Musée d'Arts cooks up a seasonal Nantaise menu signed off by Michelin-starred chef Eric Guérin. Tasty sardine, cheese…

  • Sugar Blue

    Nantes

    Everything is fait maison (homemade) at this fashionable millennial cafe with bold turquoise-painted brick wall, excellent specialist-roasted coffee and…

  • Les Chants d’Avril

    Nantes

    Follow locals to the iconic bistro of 'chef magicien' Christophe François, who runs this hugely successful locavore address with his wife Véronique…

  • Crêperie de Brocéliande

    Nantes

    There is no denying the city's Breton roots with crêpes and galettes de blé noir (savoury crêpes made with organic buckwheat flour) like this. Both come…

  • L’Atelier d’Alain

    Nantes

    Nantais chef Alain Ruffault practically grew up in his parent's boucherie (butcher's shop), today a smart gastronomic bistro with soft-hued colour palette…

  • Numéro 23

    Nantes

    Crisp white walls frame this minimalist bistrot à vin, very much a drinking-dining hybrid with its extensive selection of wines by the glass (€3.50–10)…

  • Mademoiselle B

    Nantes

    This backstreet favourite, with potted plants on its window sills and the day's menu chalked on a blackboard outside, enchants. Pick from two different…

  • Café Bécot

    Nantes

    In keeping with the trend for gourmet coffee shops, Café Bécot serves Brûlerie Belleville coffee roasted in Paris, farmhouse cakes and bistro lunches in a…

  • L’u.ni

    Nantes

    This chic, contemporary, glass-topped space is a refreshing change from the norm. L'u.ni shakes up the culinary scene with a hefty dose of fusion flavours…

  • Crêperie Heb-Ken

    Nantes

    A local institution since 1976, this no-frills crêperie cooks up every imaginable flavour of savoury galette and sweet crêpe. The themed menu is…

  • Les Pieds dans le Plat

    Nantes

    This modern French bistro has exposed stone walls, zebra-patterned tablecloths and many old French favourites on the menu. For something different, go for…

  • La Bouche à Oreille

    Nantes

    Eric and Frank are the brotherly team behind Word of Mouth, a quintessential checked-tablecloth bistro that mixes French classics with traditional dishes…

  • Le Grappillon

    Nantes

    Covered in vines and with an interior dominated by an overloaded old dresser, this hidden-away place feels like an old French farmhouse. Flavours dished…

  • Cocotte

    Nantes

    Housed within a former neighbourhood butcher shop, and still with the wonderfully retro mosaic sign, this old-fashioned restaurant reacquaints taste buds…