40 mid-range places in Nantes, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Nantes, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Nantes food.
Cime Torréfacteur ★ 4.7
Hauts-Pavés · 20 Rue des Hauts Pavés, 44000 Nantes
Cime roasts specialty coffee on Rue des Hauts Pavés in Nantes, seasonal microlots from Colombia, Ecuador, Ethiopia and Peru sold in bags or brewed.
Tip: The house also runs a coffee shop on Rue Santeuil, and tasting or brewing workshops are booked through the roastery.
La Cigale ★ 4.6
Graslin · 4 Place Graslin, 44000 Nantes
La Cigale has faced the opera on Place Graslin in Nantes since 1895, an Art Nouveau brasserie of tiles and gilt classed a historic monument in 1964.
Tip: Open from breakfast to past midnight daily; the tiled front room built by Émile Libaudière is the one to sit in, not the annexe.
Maison Arlot Cheng ★ 4.6
Île de Nantes · 36 Rue La Noue Bras de Fer, 44200 Nantes
Maison Arlot Cheng bakes levain breads and pastries near Les Machines de l'Île in Nantes, its gâteau nantais soaked in rum under a crisp glaze.
Tip: The gâteau nantais sells at about €3.40 a slice; soups, focaccia and pies fill the same counter at lunchtime.
Muscadothèque ★ 4.6
Graslin · 61 Quai de la Fosse, 44000 Nantes
The Muscadothèque on Quai de la Fosse is the Nantes cave given over to the local vineyard alone, more than 170 wines from 24 nearby growers.
Tip: Chardonnay and pinot gris sit beside the Muscadet, which is the point the founders are making; tasting evenings run through the month.
Little Atlantique Brewery ★ 4.6
Chantenay · 23 Boulevard de Chantenay, 44100 Nantes
Little Atlantique Brewery brews in a converted nineteenth-century oil mill in Bas-Chantenay, Nantes, with a taproom and restaurant attached.
Tip: The restaurant keeps shorter hours than the bar; the terrace looks out over the Loire towards the shipyards.
La Cigale ★ 4.6
Graslin · 4 Place Graslin, 44000 Nantes
La Cigale serves until 00:30 every night of the week on Place Graslin in Nantes, seafood platters and brasserie plates under Art Nouveau tiles.
Tip: The Théâtre Graslin sits directly opposite, which makes the late seating the obvious stop after a performance.
Little Atlantique Brewery ★ 4.6
Chantenay · 23 Boulevard de Chantenay, 44100 Nantes
Little Atlantique Brewery keeps its Bas-Chantenay bar open to 02:00 from Thursday to Saturday, house beer poured a wall away from the tanks.
Tip: The restaurant service finishes at 22:00 while the bar carries on, so order food before the kitchen closes.
La Souris d'Agneau ★ 4.5
Graslin · 2 Rue Piron, 44000 Nantes
One of the few Nantes rooms that prints beurre blanc nantais on the carte rather than making it on request, poured over filets de bar at €28.50.
Tip: The name is the lamb, but the sauce is why you book: order the filets de bar. Dinner only on Tuesday and Wednesday, with lunch added from Thursday.
Le Loup, le Renard et la Galette ★ 4.5
Bouffay · 14 Rue de la Baclerie, 44000 Nantes
Readers of Big City Nantes voted this Bouffay crêperie the city favourite for 2025, galettes built on butternut cream, burrata or guacamole.
Tip: This is the second room, opened in July 2024 a few doors from the original on Rue de la Juiverie; neither takes bookings.
Esthète ★ 4.5
Decré · 1 bis Rue Mercœur, 44000 Nantes
Esthète works seasonal fruit into precise entremets on Rue Mercœur in Nantes, with a chocolate counter, a tea salon and its own gâteau nantais.
Tip: The gâteau nantais runs about €3.40 for one and €19.80 for six shares; figs and elderflower drive the late summer card.
Le Sur Mesure ★ 4.5
Bouffay · 15 Rue Beauregard, 44000 Nantes
Le Sur Mesure runs 32 taps over two floors in the Bouffay quarter of Nantes, half the board downstairs and half upstairs, changing all the time.
Tip: The upstairs room came from taking over the next-door unit; it is quieter and holds its own set of taps.
Les Bouteilles ★ 4.5
Hauts-Pavés · 11 Rue de Bel Air, 44000 Nantes
Les Bouteilles keeps 1,500 references in its cellar on Rue de Bel Air in Nantes, poured beside plats du jour a short walk from Talensac market.
Tip: Glasses run €3.50 to €15, so the Loire end of the list is the cheap way in; the room stays shut Sunday through Tuesday.
Kombu ★ 4.5
Talensac · 45 Rue Léon Jamin, 44000 Nantes
Kombu on Rue Léon Jamin in Nantes toasts €11 sandwiches from local producers at lunch, then turns to shared plates and natural wine at night.
Tip: Founders Léo and Maximilien source through the Kiosque Paysan network; the evening tapas card is a different register from lunch.
Le Sur Mesure ★ 4.5
Bouffay · 15 Rue Beauregard, 44000 Nantes
Le Sur Mesure holds its two floors of taps open until 02:00 in the Bouffay quarter of Nantes, cured meat boards carrying a table through the night.
Tip: Sunday is the short night, finishing at 00:30; every other evening the bar runs to 02:00.
Mugen Ramen ★ 4.5
Decré · 4 Rue Fénelon, 44000 Nantes
Mugen Ramen on Rue Fénelon in Nantes pulls its house noodles through a pork and seafood broth simmered twelve hours, behind burnt wood panels.
Tip: It opens Wednesday to Saturday only and the last bowls go before 21:30; takeaway is possible when the counter is full.
Lulu le Bistrot ★ 4.4
Île de Nantes · 6 Mail du Front Populaire, 44200 Nantes
Lulu le Bistrot is Ludovic Pouzelgues's relaxed second room on the Île de Nantes, bistro classics and Vendée snails under six-metre ceilings.
Tip: The €25 lunch is the value play; the house closes for summer congés from 15 August to 1 September.
Le Reflet ★ 4.4
Decré · 4 Rue des Trois Croissants, 44000 Nantes
Le Reflet, founded by Flore Lelièvre in 2016 in Nantes, staffs half its bistro team with people with Down syndrome, Luna Vicariot leading the kitchen.
Tip: Book ahead, the room is small and the project draws a loyal crowd; the seasonal card stays short and changes often.
P'tite Pomme ★ 4.4
Champ-de-Mars · 18 Rue de Mayence, 44000 Nantes
P'tite Pomme, Ruddy Maisonneuve's room near the Cité des Congrès in Nantes, took a Bib Gourmand in the 2026 Michelin Guide for its market menus.
Tip: Ask for the back room over the green patio; Juliette Jovelin's list rewards trusting her on Muscadet and Bourgueil.
La Mandale ★ 4.4
Talensac · 32 Rue Léon Jamin, 44000 Nantes
La Mandale works a creative bistronomic card on Rue Léon Jamin in Nantes, Loire and Breton produce given texture and an Asian edge by a small open kitchen.
Tip: Service runs 12:00 to 15:00 and again from 19:30, so a late lunch is easier to walk into than an early dinner.
Les Chants d'Avril ★ 4.4
Champ-de-Mars · 2 Rue Laënnec, 44000 Nantes
Les Chants d'Avril is a 1950s corner bistro by Champ de Mars in Nantes, Christophe François's mystery menus set against Véronique's Loire cellar.
Tip: Dinner happens only on Thursday and Friday; lunch menus start at €20, dinner runs €38 to €48.
Vincent Guerlais ★ 4.4
Graslin · 11 Rue Franklin, 44000 Nantes
Vincent Guerlais keeps his Rue Franklin shop in Nantes stocked with chocolate work and a soft gâteau nantais finished under a white chocolate glaze.
Tip: The Franklin shop opens Sunday morning until 12:30, and the house also keeps a stall inside the Talensac market hall.
Café Machin ★ 4.4
Doulon · 211 Route de Sainte-Luce, 44300 Nantes
Café Machin roasts on Route de Sainte-Luce in east Nantes, equatorial origins sold to the city's coffee shops and shipped to home subscribers.
Tip: There is no counter to sit at; L'Artichaut and other Nantes rooms pour the beans, and bags ship from the roastery itself.
La Brûlerie ★ 4.4
Bouffay · 24 Rue de la Marne, 44000 Nantes
La Brûlerie roasts on Rue de la Marne in central Nantes, organic lots from Kenya, Honduras and Indonesia beside a wall of teas and brewing kit.
Tip: Orders ship nationally in about 72 hours, and deliveries inside central Nantes go out the same day by bicycle.
Kultivar Café ★ 4.4
Hauts-Pavés · 2 Rue Sylvain Paris, 44000 Nantes
Kultivar buys green coffee direct and roasts it on Rue Sylvain Pâris in Nantes, washed, natural and anaerobic lots from Ethiopia and Colombia.
Tip: The shop shuts over lunch on every opening day, so aim for the morning or the middle of the afternoon.
Distillerie Fizet ★ 4.4
Île de Nantes · 35 Rue Alain Barbe Torte, 44200 Nantes
Distillerie Fizet roasts coffee beside its gin still on the Île de Nantes, a micro-distillery whose counter turns out pastries through the day.
Tip: Coffee comes as espresso or soft filter, pastries run about €2.80 to €4.00, and the house bottles coffee and cacao liqueurs.
Les Fleurs du Malt ★ 4.4
Malakoff · 15 bis Allée Commandant Charcot, 44000 Nantes
Les Fleurs du Malt puts 30 taps on Allée Commandant Charcot in Nantes and runs table service, so nobody has to queue through the happy hour rush.
Tip: Tap takeovers hand the whole board to one brewer; sofas and long shared tables make it a group room.
AERoFAB Taproom ★ 4.4
Île de Nantes · 21 Quai des Antilles, 44200 Nantes
AERoFAB Taproom took over a Hangar à Bananes unit on Quai des Antilles in Nantes in April 2025, with 23 taps of house and guest beer facing the Loire.
Tip: The kitchen stops at 21:30 while the bar runs to 02:00 on Friday and Saturday, so eat before the DJ sets start.
Obbo ★ 4.4
Decré · 10 Allée des Tanneurs, 44000 Nantes
Obbo is pastry chef Antoine Gaudin's cave à manger on Allée des Tanneurs in Nantes, around 100 French domaines with the Pays Nantais at its core.
Tip: Sommelier Guillaume Claireau runs the glass list; lunch happens Wednesday to Friday only, so an evening booking is the safer plan.
Melon ★ 4.4
Graslin · 6 Rue Copernic, 44000 Nantes
Melon takes its name from Melon de Bourgogne and backs it with more than 200 organic references on Rue Copernic in Nantes, poured by its sommelier.
Tip: Julia Custodio cooks the short card while Pierre Brunelli pours; the house shuts Sunday and Monday and skips Saturday dinner.
Bras de Fer ★ 4.4
Île de Nantes · 20 Boulevard de la Prairie au Duc, 44200 Nantes
Bras de Fer fills a former gallery on Boulevard de la Prairie au Duc in Nantes with natural wine, exhibitions, concerts and a courtyard garden.
Tip: Glasses open near €4 and bottles from €26; the Ferchaud brothers press their own wine less than a kilometre away.
AERoFAB Taproom ★ 4.4
Île de Nantes · 21 Quai des Antilles, 44200 Nantes
AERoFAB brews at Sautron and pours in Nantes at its Hangar à Bananes taproom, 23 lines of house and guest beer since the room opened in April 2025.
Tip: Concerts, DJ sets and blind tests run through the week under a large-scale light installation by Guillaume Marmin.
Les Fleurs du Malt ★ 4.4
Malakoff · 15 bis Allée Commandant Charcot, 44000 Nantes
Les Fleurs du Malt keeps 30 taps and its evening charcuterie boards going until 02:00 seven nights a week on Allée Commandant Charcot in Nantes.
Tip: The kitchen proper is a lunchtime affair; after dark it is boards only, so eat elsewhere first if you want a full plate.
Marguerite ★ 4.4
Talensac · 2 Rue des Deux Ponts, 44000 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.
Tip: Coffee comes from Café Machin and the chai from Destination Épices; arrive before 13:00 if you want the babka.
Couleur Chocolat ★ 4.4
Malakoff · 128 Rue Général Buat, 44000 Nantes
Couleur Chocolat works in small batches on Rue Général Buat in Nantes, ganaches, pralines and mendiants beside pistachio and mango-passion sorbets.
Tip: The shop shuts between 13:00 and 15:00, so aim for late morning; travel cakes and jams survive the journey home better than the ice cream.
Handy ★ 4.4
Graslin · 7 Rue Voltaire, 44000 Nantes
Handy runs an all-day brunch card on Rue Voltaire in Nantes, eggs, pancakes and roasted vegetables with matcha from Anatae poured alongside.
Tip: The kitchen shuts Monday and Tuesday, so a Nantes weekend is the reliable window; Saturday and Sunday close an hour earlier than midweek.
Billie's ★ 4.4
Île de Nantes · 25 Quai François Mitterrand, 44200 Nantes
Billie's is the Franco-British coffee shop on Quai François Mitterrand in Nantes, weekend brunch of English breakfast and sticky toffee pudding.
Tip: Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 10:00; portions are deliberately sized to cut waste, so order the pudding separately.
Little Britain Café ★ 4.4
Erdre · 75 Boulevard Auguste Peneau, 44300 Nantes
Little Britain Café on Boulevard Auguste Peneau in Nantes serves a Sunday British brunch at €23, with unlimited coffee and a trio of puddings.
Tip: Service starts at 11:30 on Sunday and the tea comes from Un grain, Une Feuille; the room is small, so book several days out.
Le Petit Boucot ★ 4.3
Graslin · 3 Rue Lekain, 44000 Nantes
Le Petit Boucot seats just 24 covers in the Graslin quarter of Nantes, working a weekly-changing card of creative plates built on seasonal produce.
Tip: Reservation is effectively mandatory at this size; dinner only happens Friday and Saturday.
SAIN ★ 4.3
Decré · 93 Rue Maréchal Joffre, 44000 Nantes
SAIN is the café, canteen and grocery of brothers Samuel and Josselin in Nantes, cooking from their family's organic market garden in Guérande.
Tip: The grocery shelves sell the farm's vegetables, eggs and preserves to take home; natural wines pour by the glass.
Art'n Blum ★ 4.3
Champ-de-Mars · 10 Rue Léon Blum, 44000 Nantes
Art'n Blum on Rue Léon Blum in Nantes runs Alexandre Pichard's creative seasonal cooking with Valentin Maillet matching wines glass by glass.
Tip: There is no dinner service on Wednesday; the by-the-glass list is priced kindly for the cooking level.