Wine bar€€Hauts-PavésWed-Fri 09:00-15:00 and 18:30-23:00; Sat 10:00-15:00 and 18:30-23:00; closed Sun-Tue
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.
Signature pour: An inexpensive Muscadet from the Loire end of the list
Wine focus: Around 1,500 references, Muscadet through to Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Food: Plats du jour, crispy tête de veau, grilled monkfish
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.
Wine bar€€DecréTue 19:00-21:00; Wed-Fri 12:00-13:30 and 19:00-21:30; Sat 19:00-21:30; closed Sun-Mon
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.
Signature pour: A Pays Nantais white by the glass, from about €4
Wine focus: Roughly 100 French domaines with the Loire and Pays Nantais at the core
Food: Inventive small plates and a dessert-led card
Tip: Sommelier Guillaume Claireau runs the glass list; lunch happens Wednesday to Friday only, so an evening booking is the safer plan.
Wine bar€€GraslinTue-Fri 12:00-14:00 and 19:00-21:00; Sat 12:00-14:30; closed Sun-Mon
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.
Signature pour: Antoine Delaunay Muscadet Sèvre et Maine at €5 the glass
Wine focus: Over 200 organic references chosen by sommelier Pierre Brunelli
Food: Bistro plates, lunch set menus, umami-leaning cooking
Tip: Julia Custodio cooks the short card while Pierre Brunelli pours; the house shuts Sunday and Monday and skips Saturday dinner.
Wine bar€€Île de NantesTue-Sat 15:00-02:00; closed Sun-Mon
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.
Signature pour: Les Enfants Sauvages, the house melon and chardonnay blend
Wine focus: Natural growers plus the house cuvées from an urban winery nearby
Food: Vendée charcuterie and farmhouse cheese boards
Tip: Glasses open near €4 and bottles from €26; the Ferchaud brothers press their own wine less than a kilometre away.
Wine bar€€TalensacMon 17:00-00:00; Thu-Sat 17:00-02:00; Sun 17:00-22:00; closed Tue-Wed
Le Mirza is the neo-retro natural wine counter on Rue Châteaubriand in Nantes, casson tiling, Formica and shared plates until two in the morning.
Signature pour: Ker Ma melon wine at €4.50 the glass
Wine focus: Natural French and imported bottles, glasses from €4.50
Food: Shared plates off the counter, flatbreads and tarte tatin
Tip: Three former Brocéliande colleagues run it, so the pouring is chatty and cheap; the bar stays shut Tuesday and Wednesday.
Wine bar€DoulonMon 17:00-23:00; Tue 14:00-23:00; Wed-Thu 14:00-00:00; Fri 14:00-02:00; Sat 17:00-22:00; closed Sun
Vin te faire boire turned a former PMU on Route de Sainte-Luce in Nantes into a cave of close to 300 natural, organic and biodynamic bottles.
Signature pour: A Loire bottle from Benoît Courault or François Saint-Lô
Wine focus: Close to 300 natural, organic and biodynamic references
Food: Artisanal charcuterie, farmhouse cheese, sardine fillets
Tip: Drinking a shop bottle on the spot adds a €6 corkage; the back room runs concerts and karaoke on quiet weeknights.