Nantes is a city of great food and there is no shortage of good restaurants. Chefs compete with each other in their creativity to sublimate the numerous local products and our taste buds love it!
Even if taste is, by definition, a personal matter, we have selected tables in Nantes where the products are fresh, the chef's touch recognizable and the restaurant's atmosphere conducive to a good culinary moment.
This selection is completely independent, we ate anonymously and paid our bill in full.
The best restaurants in the center of Nantes
1. Restaurant l'Aménite
In a small pedestrian street in the Bouffay district, a blue klein sign catches the eye. The ambiance is chic and contemporary, without being ostentatious or impressive.
Richard Cornet was a trader, then a psychotherapist, in previous lives and he reinvented himself as a chef for our great pleasure.
The menu is short (2 starters/2 courses/2 desserts), on the slate and appetizing. We work with local products with a touch of originality sometimes from elsewhere. The cooking and textures were particularly appealing to us, the balance was perfect. Mirabelle on the cake, the dessert was as good as the rest of the meal!
Nearly a dozen wines by the glass, also on the slate, with a binary, but interesting, choice between Loire and world wines.
The meal ended with a convivial discussion with the chef, a character, around the foods of the spirit and the necessary fusion between the worlds of psychotherapy and cooking.
- Type of restaurant: bistronomic
- Capacity: less than 25 covers
- Terrace: no
- Speciality of the Loire: no
- Price range: between 20 and 40€.
- Number of wines by the glass: +6
- Particularly suitable for children: no
- Reservation
Read more
- read our complete article on our meal at L'Aménité restaurant
2. Imagine Restaurant
Two steps from Place Graslin, a relatively anonymous storefront reveals a small culinary nugget. The ochre colors are combined with touches of retro decor that warm up theraw atmosphere of the place.
In the kitchen, a young chef, Anne Lise GENOUËL. After hesitating to devote herself to chemistry, she finally decided to prefer our taste buds to test tubes.
Once again the menu is short and changes very often to leave room for the creativity of the chef. The spices are at the festival from the first course to the dessert and the vegetables of the Loire like it (us too)!
The wine list is well stocked, not only in the Loire, and more thana dozen wines are available by the glass.
- Type of restaurant: bistronomic
- Capacity: less than 25 covers
- Terrace: no
- Speciality of the Loire: no
- Price range: between 20 and 40€.
- Number of wines by the glass: +6
- Particularly suitable for children: no
- Reservation
Read more
- read our full article on our meal at Imagine restaurant
3. Restaurant Le Pickles
For us, Pickles is one of the restaurants that has been a pioneer in reviving Nantes' gastronomy. Dominic Quirke, the chef, is English (family culinary memories to forget...)! A former computer consultant, he went back to school to learn about cooking.
Good for him, because he brought the little bit of madness of the British cuisine to the fundamentals of the Loire products. As the name of the restaurant suggests, vegetables are the focus of this short and delicious menu.
The selection of wines focuses on the Loire region and the very local Muscadet, but also offers a wide choice of wines by the glass from many "small" and unknown appellations of the French vineyard.
- Type of restaurant: bistronomic
- Capacity: more than 25 place settings
- Terrace: no
- Speciality of the Loire: no
- Price range: over 40€.
- Number of wines by the glass: +6
- Particularly suitable for children: yes
- Reservation
4. Restaurant Maison Bagarre
In the heart of downtown, this restaurant elegantly occupies the corner of a beautiful bourgeois building. The atmosphere is decidedly urban-chic, we felt like we were in an episode of Sex and the City!
The menu is light at lunchtime, a little more furnished in the evening. We work on the basics (cod, sirloin...) which are revived with much more trendy accompaniments (parsnips, celery, coconut milk...).
The wine list is very large and proposes a nice selection of muscadet and sure values all along the Loire.
Thedesserts are just as good, it breathes modernity on classic bases!
- Type of restaurant: bistronomic
- Capacity: more than 25 place settings
- Terrace: yes
- Specialty of the Loire: yes/no
- Price range: over 40€.
- Number of wines by the glass: + 6
- Particularly suitable for children: no
- Reservation
Plan your trip to Nantes!
- 15 best things to do in Nantes
- 5 thematic itineraries to visit Nantes in 1 day
- Our advice to visit Nantes in 2 days, or in 3 days
- 12 best hotels to stay in Nantes
- 15 best restaurants to eat in Nantes
- 8 best museums to do in Nantes
- Our tips for the elephant and the machines
- Visit the castle of Nantes
- How to rent a car at Nantes airport
Starred restaurants in Nantes
5. Restaurant le Manoir de la Régate (1 star)
25 minutes from the center of Nantes, in a preserved natural setting on the banks of the Erdre, enjoy a memorable culinary experience at the Manoir de la Régate. A young chef and his sister who take over the family restaurant in a beautiful 19th century building and bring it to the top, that could only speak to us!
In a waltz in 6 or 8 beatsthe chef invites you to go up the Loire (pike-perch and carp), to forage along its banks (herbs and wild flowers of the Erdre), while offering you side steps (shiso, the Japanese basil, comes to color the carp mousseline when the ssamjang spices elegantly spice up the gambas raised in the Loire Atlantique).
Much more than a meal, it is a true experience that is offered to you, where the beautiful competes with the succulent. At times, we didn't know where to turn, so much our taste buds were in ecstasy and so well solicited.
The wine list also gives pride of place to products from the Loire region with about forty (beautiful) references, but is not chauvinistic if you prepare him other French wine regions.
There is so much to say that we really (but really) invite you to read our full article on this beautiful moment.
- Type of restaurant: gastronomic
- Capacity: more than 25 place settings
- Terrace: no
- Specialty of the Loire: yes
- Price range: over 40€.
- Number of wines by the glass: +6
- Particularly suitable for children: no
- Reservation
Read more
- read our complete article on our dinner at the Manoir de la Regate restaurant
6. Restaurant Roza (1 star)
In the center of Nantes, just in front of the natural history museum, a table full of contrast awaits you. The sign is elegant, the decoration resolutely "indus" and one dines there with the candle, in an enchanting subdued luminous environment.
Rare for a starred restaurant, you can opt for an à la carte meal even in the evening. Here, no showboating, we are on classics worked for several years by the chef Jean-François Pantaleon to reach perfection.
The wine list is vast and open to the whole of the French vineyard, with some very beautiful bottles that have had time to age, especially in the Rhône region.
- Type of restaurant: gastronomic
- Capacity: more than 25 place settings
- Terrace: no
- Speciality of the Loire: no
- Price range: over 40€.
- Number of wines by the glass: +6
- Particularly suitable for children: no
- Reservation
A little more patience...
All the photos, maps, information, good addresses to make your stay in the Loire Valley a success, will soon be gathered in a single guide in ebook or paper!
If you wish to be informed of the publication of our guide on the Loire, register:
7. Restaurant Les bouteilles (bib)
Just behind the Talensac market, one of the nicest tables in the city of Nantes. A trueNantes institution, it is above all a wine cellar, with over 800 references!
In addition to the traditional platters of (very good) charcuterie and/or cheese (why choose?), there are dishes that magnify the good products from the many friends of Michel Ravier, wine merchant turned cook for our greatest happiness.
As far as wine is concerned, we didn't know which way to turn in the middle of all these references and what a pleasure it was to find (at last) bottles that had had time to rest a bit (vintages before 2010), which is becoming exceptional in restaurants.
- Type of restaurant: market
- Capacity less than 25 covers
- Terrace: no
- Speciality of the Loire: no
- Price range: between 20 and 40€.
- Number of wines by the glass: +6
- Particularly suitable for children: yes/no
- Discover the news of the restaurant
Restaurants for a cheap lunch in Nantes
8. Sugar Blue
Our favorite canteen that settled in 2014 in one of the streets overlooking the royal square. This small restaurant with a beautiful blue sign is full of energy and has the warm atmosphere of Amsterdam's brown cafés.
In the plate, it is very (very) fresh and very (very) good. Quiches, salads and burritos made the same morning and served while supplies last. It's nourishing and full of flavor!
But the little extra is the homemade desserts: carrot cake, brownie, scone, or "little scary shortbread". A gourmet return to your childhood guaranteed! You can enjoy them as a dessert or in the afternoon when the restaurant turns into a pleasant tea room.
Think of coming early to have a table and a choice in the dishes (even if everything is good...)!
- Type of restaurant: light restaurant
- Capacity: less than 25 covers
- Terrace: yes
- Speciality of the Loire: no
- Price range: -20
- Number of wines by the glass: 1 to 3
- Particularly suitable for children: yes
- See the news of the restaurant
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9. Coq Monsieur
When we discovered this restaurant at the bend in a pedestrian street just a few steps from the Cours des 50 otages, we fell for this regressive promise: the croque-monsieur.
A meal for overworked parents that delights children, the croque-monsieur deserved its own restaurant! But here, even if we offer the traditional ham and cheese, we allow ourselves a little sophistication with no less than 10 different recipes.
As far as wine is concerned, the restaurant has the "D-Vine", the Nespresso of wine, invented in Nantes, which serves you (good) glasses of wine in ideal conditions (temperature and oxygenation).
- Type of restaurant: light restaurant
- Capacity: more than 25 place settings
- Terrace: yes
- Speciality of the Loire: no
- Price range: -20
- Number of wines by the glass: 3 to 6
- Particularly suitable for children: yes
- Find the restaurant
10. Restaurant Le coin des crêpes
In Nantes, we are not (quite) in Brittany, but the city abounds in good creperies. We opted for "Le Coin des Crêpes", 2 steps away from the 50 hostages course. A quiet address with a simple but cosy decoration.
Next to the great classics, some nice side steps, including the greedy Kersidan cake which will allow you to taste the famous local cheese "Le curée nantais".
For the dessert crepe, you have the possibility to compose it yourself by choosing among about twenty ingredients. The craziest combinations are yours!
- Type of restaurant: light restaurant
- Capacity: less than 25 covers
- Terrace: yes
- Speciality of the Loire: yes
- Price range: -20
- Number of wines by the glass: 1 to 3
- Particularly suitable for children: yes
Plan your trip to Nantes!
- 15 best things to do in Nantes
- 5 thematic itineraries to visit Nantes in 1 day
- Our advice to visit Nantes in 2 days, or in 3 days
- 12 best hotels to stay in Nantes
- 15 best restaurants to eat in Nantes
- 8 best museums to do in Nantes
- Our tips for the elephant and the machines
- Visit the castle of Nantes
- How to rent a car at Nantes airport
The restaurants where to eat on Sunday in Nantes
11. La Cigale...
This Nantes institution should not be summarized by its art nouveau decor which is, it is true, simply breathtaking. After a century of existence, this very good brewery remains the meeting place for the whole of Nantes in the heart of the city, place Graslin.
For a brasserie, the menu is quite short, which is a good thing. Note the wide choice of seafood, with a special focus on oysters.
But what also makes the fame of La Cigale is its pastry shop, which we like to taste as much at the end of the meal, as in the afternoon when the brasserie is transformed into a tea room.
The wine list is very well supplied with a magnificent selection of champagnes if you want to make an infidelity to the Loire.
And on Sunday evenings, the restaurant offers, depending on the season, a"return from the forest" or"return from the beach" menu. A great way to end a beautiful weekend!
- Type of restaurant: brasserie
- Capacity: more than 25 place settings
- Terrace: yes
- Speciality of the Loire: no
- Price range: over 40€.
- Number of wines by the glass: +6
- Particularly suitable for children: yes
- Reservation
Read more
- read our complete article on our meal at La Cigale restaurant
Vegetarian restaurants in Nantes
12. L'éthiquête
Avegan restaurant in the heart of Nantes, which tries to clear the vegetal street-food. The atmosphere is necessarily relaxed and the speech not outrageously militant. A special attention for children, with a nice little dedicated area.
You can either have lunch on site or take out. We propose you the classic bowl and vegan burger. In the latter, the steak was made from lentils, chia seeds, leeks and onions.
More original, the "tofish and chips", the restaurant's specialty. As the name suggests, the fish here is tofu marinated with fisherman's seaweed.
As for drinks, there are organic wines and beers and many fruit juices (pressed, extracted, bottled...)
- Type of restaurant: light restaurant
- Capacity: less than 25 covers
- Terrace: no
- Speciality of the Loire: no
- Price range: -20
- Number of wines by the glass: 1 to 3
- Particularly suitable for children: yes
- Discover the concept of this vegan restaurant
Other places to eat in Nantes
They did not make it into our top 15, but these restaurants are also good restaurants to try in the city of Nantes.
Other starred restaurants
- Lulu Rouget (1 star): on the island of Nantes, not far from the Elephant and the Machines de l'île, a very nice, fresh and creative market cuisine. Unique menu in 5, 6 and even 7 courses. Book
- L'Atlantide 1874 - Maison Guého: Near the Jules Verne museum, in the Chantenay district, this restaurant offers a magnificent view of the Loire River. A true Nantes institution, this restaurant offers excellent cuisine that magnifies the finest products of our gastronomy. Book
- L'océanide (Bib): 2 steps from the market of Talensac, an excellent restaurant of fish and seafood, in a 1950's atmosphere. Book
Other restaurants in the downtown area
- Le petit boucot : as its name suggests, a small restaurant (24 seats) that offers creative and friendly bistronomic cuisine at very affordable prices. Book
- Charles H: the chic and contemporary brasserie that dares to compete with the famous Cigale on Place Graslin. A beautiful wine list of the Loire, and in particular a rare Savennières, Coulée de Serrant. Book
- Le Maria: we stay near the Graslin square, for a festive restaurant, with an international and young atmosphere. You can enjoy beautiful grilled meat. Book
- Art'N Blum: when two super-buddies open their restaurant after having covered some beautiful tables in the region, it gives a gourmet restaurant, creative, darling of Nantes. Book
- Le bistrot des Enfants Nantais: a restaurant with a regressive decoration, in the heart of the historical district of Bouffay. It offers a simple and good traditional cuisine that brings you back to the family table. See their news
A little more patience...
All the photos, maps, information, good addresses to make your stay in the Loire Valley a success, will soon be gathered in a single guide in ebook or paper!
If you wish to be informed of the publication of our guide on the Loire, register:
Other restaurants for a light lunch
- Dinette: in the pedestrian streets, near the castle, a (very) nice tea room, which becomes a light and ultra-fresh restaurant at lunch time. The atmosphere is warm and the desserts are really tasty. See their news
- Creperie Le Loup, le Renard et la Galette: besides its funny name, this creperie is a must in Nantes in the lively Bouffay district. Do you dare to try the crêpe with frangipane, rhubarb compote, strawberry ice cream, buckwheat and hazelnut crumble? See their news
- Le routard gourmand: a food-truck that makes the buzz in Nantes. Everything is fresh, gourmet and you can feel the passion of Hélène and Dominique who have gone behind the stove to allow us to eat healthy. Order online
Other vegetarian restaurants
- Oh K-fé d'Mj: a tea room, which proposes beautiful vegetarian salads at lunch time, to accompany greedy desserts (their famous raw pies, squash cakes...). See their news
- Restaurant la cachette: 50% traditional / 50% vegetarian for a menu on the slate that breathes freshness and love of good products in a family atmosphere. See their news
Other Sunday restaurants
- Le 1: located on the island of Nantes facing the city center, it symbolized the gastronomic revival of the city. Here, we offer a modern and creative cuisine that attempts to merge the 4 continents. On sunny days, you can eat on the banks of the Loire for a magical moment. Open on Sundays for lunch only. Book
- Les funambules: in the mood for a good Sunday brunch? See you on the island of Nantes at the restaurant Les Funambules. A resolutely friendly restaurant that offers you sausage beans, scrambled eggs, bacon and fruit cakes, to make the most of your Sunday break. Book
Our top 3 places to stay in Nantes
Sozo Hotel
Just a stone's throw from Nantes' magnificent Jardin des Plantes, sleep in an authentic 19th century church converted into a 4-star hotel. Sleeping under the stone vaults, but in a resolutely design decoration, this is what we liked at the Sozo hotel!
- Return in photos on our night at the Sozo hotel
- Check availability and prices of the Sozo Hotel
Radisson Blu Hotel
Walking through the "salle des pas perdus" and having breakfast in the former courtroom is the experience offered by the Raddisson Blu Hotel, located in an impressive neoclassical building that used to house the courthouse.
- Back in photos on our night at the Blu Radisson Nantes
- See availability and prices of the Blu Radisson Nantes
Maison du Monde Hotel & Suites
When a great name in French interior design gets passionate about the hotel business, it gives a hotel with a warm and subdued atmosphere. In addition, it is ideally located, between Place Graslin and the Passage Pommeraye!
- Back to our night at the Maisons du Monde hotel in pictures
- See the availability and prices of the Maisons du Monde hotel
And to learn more:
our complete selection of 12 hotels where to sleep in Nantes
Our top 3 things to do in Nantes
The elephant and the Machines de l'Ile
Over the years, the elephant and the machines on the island have become the cultural and tourist signature of Nantes. They combine incredible technical know-how with a phantasmagorical universe largely inspired by the Nantes author Jules Vernes. You can only succumb to these funny animals made of wood and metal.
The castle of Nantes (Dukes of Brittany)
The impressive castle of Nantes is a real architectural puzzle, the result of a tormented history, which it is pleasant to reconstitute. You will meet the Dukes of Brittany, the famous Anne of Brittany, wife of 2 successive kings of France, but also Louis XIV! The castle houses the surprising and very well designed museum of the history of Nantes.
- Discover all our advices and photos to not miss anything of the castle of Nantes (Dukes of Brittany).
The Pommeraye passage
An immersive experience in the bourgeois and wealthy universe of the 19th century, with this unique shopping mall in Europe. The play of light, the ironwork on the staircase, the sculptures... everything contributes to making this passageway a timeless place dedicated to the pleasure of window shopping.
And to learn more:
our complete selection of 15 things to do in Nantes
