5 Best Restaurants in Brittany, France

Market-fresh cuisine, industrial-chic decor with elegant touches of velvet and polished wood, and an adventurous wine list all help make this Michelin-starred bistro a standout on Nantes's culinary roadmap. Well-crafted dishes forego French fussiness in favor of innovative combinations like scallops with tamarind and roasted-red-pepper puree, seared monkfish with wild l'ail d'ours (French garlic) pesto, or succulent spring veal accompanied by tiny roasted veggies. The four, five, or six-course menus (€75, €95, €115) are your only option at dinner, an assurance of the freshest ingredients, though food preferences are honored. Don't let the lackluster area put you off, as this is a Nantes culinary benchmark.

At the hottest gastro-bistro in Nantes, Dominic Quirke, a young English chef, who worked in some of Paris's top kitchens before striking out on his own, combines a sophisticated menu featuring the best of the local producers with a stellar list of natural wines. Locals know a great thing when they taste it, and that's why they come here for Nantes veal with tartare of Breton langoustine; Sologne lamb with grilled polenta, beet pickles, and glacéed vegetables; and roast sea bass with fennel risotto and capers with creamed zucchini. A pleasant, unpretentious ambience and a roster of talented visiting chefs keep the bistro's many regulars on their toes. At €55, the five-course tasting menu is a steal.

On full view from her open kitchen, chef Virginie Giboire is cool and precise as she prepares a sophisticated market cuisine that earned her a Michelin star, one of the few restaurants in Rennes to garner that distinction. Everyone nowadays is doing seasonal and local, but Giboire, who trained at Paris's prestigious Ferrandi school and with superstar Thierry Marx, wields a traditional mastery in dishes that carry her unique signature: mixing wild-crafted herbs and seasonal ingredients in dishes like John Dory with spring asparagus, wild garlic, and roasted buckwheat. The vibe is low-key and friendly, and the fixed price menus—there is no à la carte—are a good value.

Expect to have every sense engaged in the most delightful way at this warm, contemporary dining room overlooking the Odet River. Each dish is not just a pleasure for the eye, but a symphony of subtle flavors, mixing Japanese accents (ponzu, yuzu, shiso, ginger) with the freshest Breton seafood and local produce. A seat in the bay window with pretty views over the river is a bonus, but anywhere you sit you'll benefit from attentive service and an impeccable welcome.