Soba et Sarrasin puts buckwheat to Japanese use by Place Canclaux in Nantes, with soba bowls, onigiri and mochi and the whole card gluten free.
Signature: Soba noodles, Onigiri, Mochi
Tip: Everything on the menu is gluten free and there is a Japanese grocery counter at the back for fresh soba and condiments to take away.
Café sur Cour hides a large courtyard terrace behind a Mellinet corner in Nantes, a daytime café that turns to tapas and concerts after work.
Signature drink: Coffee on the courtyard terrace
Tip: The terrace is set back from the street and stays sheltered; Thursday and Friday run late, with concerts in the back room.
BARA bakes near Parc de Procé in Nantes with dairy from local farms, its own range of breads, the Tourt'O lin loaf and a house gâteau nantais.
Tip: The shop collects prizes at regional baking competitions; Sunday closes at 13:30, so go early for the fullest counter.
Worth the queue: Gâteau nantais
Le Chemin de Traverse is a small Nantes bar on Rue Bon Secours pouring craft draught from regional brewers in a deliberately low-key back room.
Signature drink: Rotating draught from local brewers
Food: No kitchen
Tip: It runs later than most of the west-side bars, to 02:00 six nights a week and midnight on Sunday.
Marché de Zola runs on Thursday mornings on Place Émile Zola in west Nantes, the food anchor of a residential quarter full of 1930s shopfronts.
Tip: Pair it with the bakeries around the square; the fish vans arrive from the coast before 08:00.
Marché des Dervallières runs twice a week in northwest Nantes, one of the city's most affordable markets and a strong one for world-food stalls.
Tip: Saturday is the fuller edition; prices here undercut the centre by a clear margin.
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.
Chez Ta Mère holds its Rue Meuris room in Nantes open from breakfast through to 02:00 on weekdays, home cooking on a card that follows the season.
Try: Home-cooked French plates such as cordon bleu
Tip: It closes fully at weekends, which catches people out; the run to 02:00 is a Monday to Friday affair only.