6 Foods and Drinks in Nantes You Have to Try — Muscadet Loire White Wine, Beurre blanc Sauce, and the Legendary Petit Beurre Biscuit

Nantes food has its roots in the Loire river and the Atlantic coast just 50 kilometres away. Freshwater fish from the Loire, a butter sauce that was born from a kitchen accident, and Muscadet white wine that has accompanied them ever since — these are the soul of the Nantes table. The flavours are understated but layered, nothing like the bold cooking of the south or Provence, yet deeply honest about good ingredients in the way that western France does best.

#1

📍 Vineyards surrounding Nantes; available at restaurants and bars throughout the city

Muscadet Wine

Made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape grown in the Loire-Inférieure soils around Nantes, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie is the premium tier — aged on its lees for at least 10 months, which adds complexity, gentle floral aromas, a clean acidity, and a rounded body that pairs exceptionally well with oysters and fresh seafood from the Loire estuary. Compared with Burgundy or Bordeaux at a similar quality level, the price is very reasonable.

Best time Available year-round, but summer is the season for cold white wine alongside seafood at a riverside table.

How to get there Every restaurant in Nantes carries Muscadet on its wine list. For bottles to take home, head to La Maison des Vins in the city centre.

Travel tips

• Order only Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie (look for it on the label) — the basic version doesn't give the full character.
• The ideal serving temperature is 8–10°C. Too cold shuts down the aromas; ask the restaurant not to over-ice it.
• A bottle at a Nantes restaurant runs around €15–25 — far cheaper than in Paris. You can pick bottles up to take home at La Maison des Vins de Nantes.

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#2

📍 Brasserie-style French restaurants throughout Nantes

Beurre blanc

According to Loire legend, Beurre blanc was born when Clémence Lefeuvre, a Nantes cook, forgot to add eggs while making a sauce béarnaise — and accidentally produced the region's signature butter sauce. Made by reducing shallots in Muscadet and vinegar, then whisking in cold butter slowly until the sauce turns silky and just barely creamy, with a mild tangy fragrance, it is the perfect companion to fresh freshwater fish from the Loire.

Best time Lunch 12–14h or dinner 19–21h at a riverside brasserie.

How to get there Most French restaurants in Nantes carry it on the menu. La Cigale — a brasserie with over 130 years of history, close to Passage Pommeraye — is the classic choice.

Travel tips

• Order it with brochet (pike) or sandre (zander) from the Loire — that pairing is a Nantes classic.
• Good Beurre blanc must be served the moment it's made; it breaks if reheated. A serious kitchen makes it fresh for every plate.
• If you want to try it at home, some stalls at the Talensac market occasionally hand out printed recipes for free.

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#3

📍 Lieu Unique (LU museum) and pastry shops throughout Nantes

Petit Beurre biscuit

The crisp butter biscuit that became a symbol of Nantes and, eventually, of France worldwide. Louis Lefèvre-Utile created the recipe in 1886 at his factory here in Nantes. The rectangular shape with 52 perforated holes around the border stands for the 52 weeks of the year. Made with real butter from Nantes-Mondée and high-quality wheat flour, it is light, buttery, and only gently sweet. Today the old LU factory has been converted into Lieu Unique, a cultural centre and museum on the Île de Nantes.

Best time Available year-round; pastry shops in Nantes open daily 09h–19h.

How to get there Lieu Unique (the former LU factory) on the Île de Nantes, or any supermarket in the city.

Travel tips

• Buy the original box at the Lieu Unique gift shop — it's noticeably cheaper than at the airport.
• Look for local pastry shops that still bake a wood-fired version of the Petit Beurre from the original recipe; the taste is quite different from the industrial product.
• It makes an excellent souvenir: light, classically packaged, and it keeps for several weeks.

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#4

📍 Marché de la Petite Hollande and riverside seafood restaurants

Loire Oysters and Seafood

Nantes sits just 50 kilometres from the Atlantic, so fresh seafood reaches the table every day. Oysters from the Pays de la Loire coast — particularly from Noirmoutier and the Vendée — have plump, tender flesh and a gentle sea-salt flavour, distinct from the stronger Breton oysters further north. Lobster, moules (mussels), and fresh fish all appear on brasserie menus around the city, served alongside a large glass of Muscadet.

Best time Year-round, though oysters are fattest and most flavourful in the colder months — October through March.

How to get there Marché de la Petite Hollande alongside the Erdre river in central Nantes; about a 10-minute walk from the main streets.

Travel tips

• The Marché de la Petite Hollande fish market opens Wednesday and Saturday mornings — arrive before 9h or the best of the catch is already gone.
• Order a plateau de fruits de mer (mixed seafood platter) to share between two people; it's good value and lets you sample a range of things at once.
• If you prefer something cooked, moules marinières (mussels steamed in white wine) are easy, delicious, and safer for those who find raw shellfish off-putting.

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#5

📍 Traditional sweet shops and markets in Nantes

Berlingot de Nantes

A hard candy in a four-sided pyramid shape — Nantes has contested the claim to its origin with Carpentras in Provence for several hundred years. The Nantes Berlingot is made from real sugar and fruit juice, with no synthetic colouring, giving it a clean, lightly sweet flavour and a delicate crunch that properly-made sugar candy should have. The most popular flavours are vanille (vanilla), citron (lemon), framboise (raspberry), and menthe (mint). It travels well as a souvenir, costs very little, and is essentially impossible to find outside Nantes.

Best time Available year-round; traditional sweet shops open Monday–Saturday.

How to get there Gautier-Debotté, Rue de la Fosse, central Nantes — about a 5-minute walk from Passage Pommeraye.

Travel tips

• The historic shop selling the original Berlingot is Gautier-Debotté on Rue de la Fosse, open since 1823.
• Buy a mixed bag first to taste the range, then pick up a gift box in whichever flavour you like best.
• Store Berlingot somewhere dry, away from humidity — kept properly, they last for several months.

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#6

📍 Place Graslin, central Nantes

La Cigale Brasserie

A historic brasserie opened in 1895 that has kept every detail of its original Art Nouveau interior intact. Floral golden tiles cover every surface, arched ceilings carry stained-glass panels, and antique brass lamps hang throughout. Order a classic French breakfast — croissant, butter toast, coffee — or the fruits de mer menu at lunch alongside a glass of Muscadet. This place is Nantes at its longest continuous moment.

Best time Breakfast 8–10h or lunch 12–14h; open every day throughout the year.

How to get there Place Graslin, central Nantes — a 10-minute walk from Passage Pommeraye, or take tram line 1 to the Général Mellinet stop.

Travel tips

• Breakfast at La Cigale costs more than a regular café (€15–20), but the Art Nouveau atmosphere makes it worth every euro.
• Window tables overlooking Place Graslin fill up fast — book online or arrive when the doors open at 8h.
• Check the menu du jour (daily special) on the board outside before you sit down; it's usually better value than ordering à la carte.

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