Soba et Sarrasin is a japanese restaurant in Zola, Nantes.
Editorially verified August 22, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: Soba salad or soba ramen, with a black sesame mochi after
Why locals love it: Sophie de Thy developed her buckwheat noodles at home for three years before opening this workshop near Place Canclaux, where they are made in a glass laboratory.
Tip: This is a takeaway counter and Japanese grocery rather than a restaurant, and it shuts at weekends; go on a weekday at lunch.
Address: 4 Rue de la Ville en Bois, 44100 Nantes
Marguerite is chef Marguerite Parent's canteen across the street from her own Nantes bakery, marble floors and lunch plates that sell out fast.
Order: The chocolate and hazelnut babka
Why locals love it: Marguerite Parent runs the canteen directly opposite her own bakery, one chef on pastry and one on savoury, and the day's plates sell out well before closing.
Tip: Coffee comes from Café Machin and the chai from Destination Épices; arrive before 13:00 if you want the babka.
Laiterie Nantaise makes mozzarella, ricotta and burrata in a street-facing workshop by the Machines de l'Île, from one farm's organic hay milk.
Order: The burrata heart, at €9.90 per 100g
Why locals love it: Two former aerospace engineers make the cheese in a street-facing workshop by the Machines de l'Île, using organic hay milk from a single farm near Nantes.
Tip: The shelves also carry yoghurts flavoured with verbena or black sesame and a few natural wines, including a sparkling from Anjou.
Les Bottes is the turquoise-fronted butcher on Rue Saint-Léonard in Nantes, whole animals from small farms hanging behind a glass cold room.
Order: Pastrami smoked by the urban smokehouse Marché noir, €90 a kilo
Why locals love it: There is no counter between butcher and customer, only a glass cold room; the two owners retrained as butchers and Nantes restaurant kitchens buy from them.
Tip: A second shop on Rue Racine opens on Sunday morning and shuts on Monday, the reverse of this one, so between them they cover the week.
Le Loup, le Renard et la Galette unsettles Nantes crêperie habit on Rue de la Baclerie, galettes built on guacamole, hummus and roast chestnuts.
Order: The Crazy Avocado galette at €12.50, or La Cueillette
Why locals love it: The house takes no bookings at all and keeps a second dining room round the corner on Rue de la Juiverie, so the queue on the pavement is only half the story.
Tip: Composed galettes run €3.20 to €7 and sweet crêpes about €7.50, so it stays cheap even with the elaborate toppings.
Agapè is Pierre-Yves Combradet's locavore pizzeria on Rue Racine in Nantes, sourdough bases topped with Grandlieu raclette and Safré blue cheese.
Order: The seasonal pizza, on its slightly askew sourdough base
Why locals love it: The pizzas are entirely organic and around 80% of the produce comes from a dozen farms on short chains, hence Grandlieu raclette and Safré blue on the seasonal one.
Tip: Formules start near €10.50 and pizzas run €11.50 to €19; there is no lunch on Saturday and no service at all on Sunday.
Café Bouture on Rue Maréchal Joffre in Nantes runs a café inside a plant shop, comfort food at lunch and every plant in the room up for sale.
Order: The pinsa at lunch, or a vegan cake with the coffee
Why locals love it: Every plant in the room is for sale as well as decorative, and the café runs plant swaps and maker markets between services, which is not what the shopfront suggests.
Tip: Saturday brunch is €26 for a hot drink, a cold drink, a plat, a dessert and a pastry; weekday lunch plates are about €12.
