Eat well in Nantes without overpaying: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in Nantes for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
The €8 midday formule at Ker Breizh buys a savoury galette, a sweet crêpe and cider or coffee, on organic Breton flour and Vendée free-range eggs.
Signature: €8 lunch formule, Scallop galette, Salted butter caramel crêpe
Tip: Reserve even at lunch, the room is small and fills; the house cider is made for them near Quimper under the Grain de Pomme label.
A cooperative vegetarian canteen off the Cours des 50 Otages in Nantes, where the bowl of the day costs €12, the burger €10 and small plates from €3.
Signature: Bowl du moment, Burger du moment, Houmous
Tip: It runs suspended meals through the Le Carillon network, so you can prepay a plate for someone who needs one.
Lunch at this Beaulieu canteen on the Île de Nantes costs €11.50 for a starter, a main and a dessert, weekdays only and outside school holidays.
Signature: Three-course weekday lunch
Tip: It shuts for the summer and reopens on 1 September, so August visitors need another plan on the island.
Moloss builds proper casse-dalle sandwiches near Feydeau in Nantes at €9.50 apiece, or €11.50 to €15 once you add the sides that make it a full lunch.
Signature: Casse-dalle sandwiches
Tip: Only Thursday and Friday get an evening service; the rest of the week the shutters come down at half two.
A banh mi counter on Rue Maréchal Joffre working straight through from noon to nine, filled baguettes to eat in or carry off with bubble tea.
Signature: Banh mi, Bubble tea
Tip: Continuous service means it covers the gap between two and seven when most Nantes kitchens are shut.
Greengrocer and weekday lunch counter in one, near the Talensac market, with a card that turns over weekly and a burger that never leaves it.
Signature: Weekly lunch card, Burger with house frites
Tip: Cooked lunches are weekday midday only; outside that the shop side sells produce, and the queue moves quickly before one o'clock.
A small Chinese ravioli counter off Place du Commerce in Nantes, where a plate of pork and lotus-root ravioli runs €7.90 and the soup bowls cost the same.
Signature: Pork and lotus-root ravioli, Ravioli in soup
Tip: It shuts Thursday and Sunday rather than Monday, which catches out anyone assuming a French rhythm here.
A burger counter tucked on Rue des Échevins behind the Bouffay lanes in Nantes, two tight services a day and a kitchen that shuts Sunday and Monday.
Signature: Burgers, House frites
Tip: Lunch runs only two hours, so arrive before one; the room seats very few and there is no terrace outside.
Liège waffles and a cheap midday formule beside the Tour de Bretagne, eat in or carry out, with Belgian frites and paninis on the same counter.
Signature: Liège waffles, Midday formule, Panini andalou
Tip: Service runs straight through to seven, which makes it one of the few afternoon options in this part of Nantes.
A worker's table since Pierre and Marie Le Nay took it over in 1946, on a weekly rota: kig ha farz Tuesday, couscous Wednesday, then tête de veau.
Signature: Kig ha farz on Tuesday, Couscous on Wednesday, Tête de veau
Tip: Doors open at 07:20 for the market crowd; Thursday and Friday are the only evenings served, with tapas boards from 18:30.
On the leafy Place Canclaux west of the Nantes centre, this bistro runs without a break from eight in the morning to half past nine, weekdays only.
Signature: Plat du jour, Weekday lunch card
Tip: The kitchen serves between noon and half two; outside that it works as a café, and the last drink goes out at nine.
Royal Indien holds a narrow room on Rue Kervégan in the Feydeau quarter, tandoori grills and curries served six days a week at modest prices.
Signature: Tandoori grills, Curries, Naan
Tip: Both services run long, noon to half two and seven to half ten, so it covers late arrivals off the train.
A plain Vietnamese and Thai canteen on Rue Bon Secours where the prawn and beef bo bun costs €13.50 and service starts at eleven in the morning.
Signature: Bo bun with prawns and beef, Vietnamese and Thai plates
Tip: Friday and Saturday run to half eleven at night, unusually late for this stretch between Feydeau and Bouffay.
Beside the Machines de l'Île, dubble builds grain and pulse salad bowls, hot bowls and poke from €10, with house juices and weekday breakfast.
Signature: Salad bowls, Hot bowls, Poke bowls
Tip: Ordering ahead on the operator's site skips the midday queue, which builds fast with the island's office crowd.
Jérôme's bistro on Rue Desaix trades on the plat du jour, generous simmered family cooking at prices that keep the room full every weekday lunch.
Signature: Plat du jour, House desserts
Tip: Dinner happens on Friday and Saturday only, and the kitchen stops at nine; weekday lunch is the service the regulars book.