The Coucou de Rennes is the city's own barred grey-and-white chicken breed, slow-grown and firm-fleshed, saved from extinction in the 1980s and now a fixture on Rennes menus.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The breed was standardised around Rennes in the nineteenth century and was the dominant table bird of Ille-et-Vilaine before industrial poultry displaced it. By the late 1980s the population had collapsed to a handful of birds, and a conservation programme run through the Écomusée du Pays de Rennes rebuilt it from that remnant. Coucou birds take five to six months to reach table weight against six weeks for a commercial broiler, which gives the meat a denser grain and a much stronger flavour, and makes it expensive. It now appears on Rennes bistro menus as a marker of local sourcing, usually roasted whole, grilled over wood or braised long enough to soften the working muscle.
Tip from the editors. A slow-grown bird is not a supermarket chicken with a longer cook: it is leaner and firmer, so the overnight salting and the 20-minute rest do most of the work.
Jozy is a bistro and natural wine bar on Rue Vasselot in Rennes, chef Noé Viviès grilling Coucou de Rennes chicken behind a hundred-bottle cellar.
Signature pour: Lucy Rosedale's natural pick of the week
Wine focus: Around 100 natural references
Food: Noé Viviès' full bistro kitchen behind the bar
Tip: Sunday runs non-stop from noon, rare for Rennes; it is the natural-wine Sunday option in the city.
Coquille is Arnaud Guilloux's locavore bistro on Rue Nantaise in Rennes, generous seasonal cooking from Breton producers with a second room in Cesson-Sévigné.
Signature: Seasonal Breton plates
Order: The seasonal fish of the day from Breton ports
Fezi is Cédric Bruneau's organic bistro on Avenue Sergent Maginot in Rennes, a locavore kitchen with sommelier William Nogris pouring natural bottles.
Why locals love it: Across the river from everything on Avenue Sergent Maginot, an organic bistro locals cross the Vilaine for while visitors stay in the old town.
Tip: The €19 to €22 weekday lunch is the soft entry; dinner steps up to a €40 menu with natural pairings.
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