The fastest, cheapest, frequently best food on Nantes's streets.
Vendors, food trucks and stalls: the cheapest, fastest, frequently best food in Nantes.
Morfal packs Greek and Levantine flavours into pitas near Place Royale in Nantes, filling them with kefta or house falafel, burnt aubergine and tahini.
Try: Pita stuffed with kefta or falafel
Tip: Pitas run around €9 and the sides change with the season; the summer terrace fills fast at noon.
BAO DAO on Rue de la Clavurerie in Nantes was the city's first fully Taiwanese counter, steaming gua bao and pulling bubble tea daily until 22:00.
Try: Gua bao
Tip: Half the card is vegetarian and gua bao start around €6; go off-peak, the room is small.
Le Voyage à Damas bakes manaïche to order on Rue Maréchal Joffre in Nantes, Syrian and Lebanese flatbreads folded around mostly vegetarian mezze.
Try: Manaïche
Tip: Manaïche run €6 to €7 and come in classic and premium versions; evenings stay open later than most Nantes counters.
Ezope bakes its sourdough focaccia daily on Rue Léon Blum in Nantes, splitting it around rotating seasonal vegetable fillings for around €10 a serving.
Try: Sourdough focaccia sandwiches
Tip: The filling combinations rotate with the market, so the board changes week to week; lunch queues peak at 12:30.
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.
Try: Toasted premium sandwiches
Tip: Founders Léo and Maximilien source through the Kiosque Paysan network; the evening tapas card is a different register from lunch.
Shan Dao is a Franco-Taiwanese café on Quai de Versailles in Nantes, serving bento boxes, milk-bread sando and organic bubble tea from early morning.
Try: Taiwanese bento and sando
Tip: The bread for the sando is baked in house; the Erdre-side quay outside is the picnic spot.
Bàng Bàng Cuisine folds its jiaozi by hand on Rue de Briord in Nantes, with dan dan noodles and mapo tofu beside them, and half the card vegan.
Try: Jiaozi dumplings and dan dan mian
Tip: Dumplings start at €5.20 and the house chilli oil is worth the extra €1.30; delivery runs through the Naofood co-op.
Bercail, little sister to Broussaille, builds €8 sandwiches on organic sourdough on Rue des Olivettes in Nantes, with seasonal daily specials.
Try: Organic sourdough sandwiches
Tip: The sunny terrace is the draw in fine weather; sandwiches sell out before the posted close on busy Saturdays.
Oléa bakes kaakeh, the Lebanese sesame galette, on Rue de la Juiverie in Nantes, folding vegan and vegetarian versions around mezze fillings.
Try: Kaakeh sesame flatbreads
Tip: Finish with nammoura, the semolina cake, at €4.50; Sunday is lunch only.
Le Comptoir Libanais rolls €7.50 falafel sandwiches and mezze on Rue de la Clavurerie in Nantes, most of the card vegetarian and made in house.
Try: Falafel sandwiches and mezze
Tip: Sunday is dinner only; the manaïche section is the sleeper pick over the falafel.
Kusadasi grills Greek and Turkish plates by Place du Cirque in Nantes, its kebab built on meat marinated in house rather than a spinning cone.
Try: House-marinated kebab
Tip: The marinated-meat kebab is the order over the standard döner; vegetarian mezze cover the rest of the table.
Barapom griddles Breton galettes and crêpes on Rue de la Juiverie in Nantes, with a galette du jour and a crêpe du jour chalked up beside the card.
Try: Breton galettes and crêpes
Tip: The Bouffay branch runs a split service midweek and stays open straight through on Friday and Saturday until 22:15; Monday is the closed day.
Baguettes Viet rolls bánh mì and ladles bò bún on Rue Maréchal Joffre in Nantes, with a plant-based version of most of the card and bubble tea alongside.
Try: Bánh mì and bò bún
Tip: A vegan bánh mì runs €7.90 and the tofu bò bún €12.50; soy milk in the bubble tea costs €0.50 extra.
OHMYFISH runs a seafood street food counter near the cathedral in Nantes, filling butter-toasted brioche buns and cold bowls with the day's catch.
Try: Fish roll in a buttered brioche bun
Tip: The counter serves weekday lunchtimes only, with a single Saturday service on the first weekend of each month, so plan around it rather than turning up on spec.
Makoto boxes homemade bento on the Île de Nantes for €14.90, each holding rice, a marinated egg, tsukemono and the vegetables of the moment.
Try: Bento of rice, marinated egg, tsukemono and seasonal vegetables
Tip: There are only about ten seats, so the boxes are best taken away; vegetarian is the default, and vegan or gluten free versions are made on request.