Our small group of travel writers is on the final leg of our Hidden France trip with Rail Europe and our penultimate destination is at Nantes, the lovely town by the Loire River just a couple of hours away from Paris by train in Western France. We make our way to the train station at Tours and catch the TER train, a regional train which affords us comfortable views of the Loire River.
Snacks are bought before the ride and before we know it, the train pulls into Nantes and our taxi takes us to the Hotel Pommeraye right in the centre of Nantes the town. The hotel is in various stages of construction. I’m lucky enough to get a room where there isn’t much construction activity and the room is simple in features. The location however, is the key here and you walk right out into the thick of things. Service is also excellent.
A quick change act is needed and then we are dining at one of the most well known restaurants in Nantes called La Cigalle, named after the cicada that adorns the logo. Walking into the quintessentially Nantes brasserie is a visual experience. It was opened on the 1st of April in 1895 and was designed by ceramacist Emile Libaudière. The elaborate walls are covered with an aquatic and floral theme with a multitude of patterns and colours.
Interwoven with the oceanic theme is the cigale or cicada in the traditional Breton dress. On this Monday evening, the atmosphere is buzzing and it is full of patrons enjoying towers of seafood. Nantes is close to the Atlantic Ocean and it is one of France’s main ports.
La degustation de Cruses €34.80
The menu has an emphasis on seafood and outside is an iced display of sea treasures including a fantastic range of oysters. We are ordering from the three course set menu at a very reasonable €26.50 but just for research purposes, a few of us try the oyster degustation. There are five different types of oysters from the surrounding region including Quiberon Bretange, Vendee Bouin, Cancale (channel oysters), Prat ar Coum Madec and Gillardeau. The favourites are the Quiberon and Cancale which were full of flavour.
The oysters are served with a round rye bread and a shallot vinaigrette. The butter, a Brittany hand pressed butter is wonderfully creamy and salty (butter and salt being particularly good in the region of Brittany).
Escargot of Vendeee stuffed in shell 6 for €9.50
The escargot are garlicky and tender inside. Sometimes I find they can be tough and chewy like squid but these are not at all.
Longe de thon rouge albacore mi-cuite, marinade noisette
Dos de lieu jaune a a plancha, beurre blanc nantais
For the main we ordered what was considered to be their specialty. The lieu is a white fish with large panels of flesh and is pan fried and served with a beurre blanc and a ratatouille. The fish itself needed a lot more seasoning and the beurre blanc sauce was really needed to give the fish flavour. The ratatouille was very strong in comparison and dominated the dish. Perhaps we should have taken the cue from fellow diners and ordered a fresh seafood platter as many other tables around us had.
Creme brulee a la vanilla bourbon
The creme brulee was divine with an appealingly thin crackly crust and a rich, smooth texture.
Strawberry cake
The strawberry cake was a slender slice of cream filled joconde sponge with fresh strawberries, a thin layer of strawberry gelee on top and a scoop of divine strawberry sorbet.
After a short sleep, the next morning we are back into the swing of things and out exploring Nantes. Coffee is found at a charming place called Le Select, a gay bar just a short stroll away from the hotel where a wall of deer heads wearing pearls and sunglasses greets you along with a wall of clocks.
Coffee with chantilly cream €2.90
A cup of coffee with chantilly cream on top can be had for €2.90 or a cup of hot chocolate (lovely and rich) for €3.70 and you can sit in this cosy, welcoming place which really feels like a cafe during the day rather than a bar.
Nearby is a vintage bookstore as well as places like Brison Traiteur who make a delicious range of ready to made food to take home. How divine does this savoury cake look?
All images taken on a Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS lens
There is also no shortage of chocolatiers it seems in Nantes. Vincent Guerlais makes a gorgeous range of cakes, macarons and chocolates. He is also known for his petit beurre biscuits. His version, in chocolate and filled with hazelnut cream encased in shortbread has a grainy cocoa like quality. My favourites were the chocolate fingers dipped in caramel (but more on those later! 
).
My delightful friend Jamie from Lifesafeast, a Nantes local for eight years takes me to her favourite chocolatier George Gautier where she often picks up gifts for friends. I try one of the mascaron Nantais (yes not a macaron) chocolates which is absolutely divine, a thin layer of chocolate surrounds a wonderfully crispy feuilletine and chocolate praline centre that shatters in every bite.
At the Castle of Anne of Bretagne
We walk around Nantes to see some of the sights in between bites of chocolate. Anne of Bretagne was fortunate (well relatively speaking) to have married two kings in her lifetime. The first time, her father changed the laws so that she could inherit his estate (previously, only males could) and she was sought after as France wanted to gain Brittany. Even today, some consider Brittany its own separate entity as far as identity goes.
Seafood so fresh that some of it still moves on Rue Copernic
The first shopping mall in France
The food heaven Les Caves de Beffroi has pretty much anything that you could ever want in terms of food. There are obscure items like violet mustard as well as divine cheeses like Beaufort d’alpage lait cru de vache from Savoie at €34.50 a kilo and Nantes own cheese Le Curé Nantais. There is also a large range of fleur de sel which is from the region.
For those after some liquid purchases, wine tastings that cover the Loire Valley’s length and breadth of different wine types can be had a Carte des Vins de Loire. Each region of the Loire grows different grapes and specialises in different wines.
The most well known grape in the area is the muscadet. Tasting of up to three glasses are free and you can also book in for wine and cheese tasting classes here.
Ice cream lovers buy cones at Glacier La Fraiserie which sells gelato and ice cream. Strawberry is not just strawberry and here it is mixed with vanilla or as a fruity sorbet by itself. But the killer ice cream to me was the caramel et sel (salted caramel) ice cream which was perfectly balanced and oh-so-smooth in texture.
Before we know it, it is lunchtime and we make our way across on the navibus which is a short trip to La Civelle, a restaurant with local specialties like eel and seafood. La Civelle is only open for lunch and the atmosphere is warm and inviting with warm woods and leather chairs setting the tone. With South African head chef Warren Speirs, the menu is focused on local specialties.
Chef Warren Speirs
L’assiette Degustation (3 Gillardeau, 3 Plate de Bretagne, 3 Bretonnes) €19.50
The oyster degustation had three different types of oysters: a Plate de Bretagne-flat like a plate, said to be the best available oysters of the day as well as Gillardeau the fattest oysters and Bretonnes. The oysters are well worth trying and a real highlight, with each oyster tasting quite different to each other.
Tatin de tomatoes confit et Queues de Gambas Roties €10
The tarte tatin with tomatoes is a savoury version of the tarte tatin using tomatoes instead of apples on puff pastry. It is served with a side salad of dressed leaves and juicy prawns on top. The prawns were particularly good with a fresh texture to them.
Le Poelee Royal €29.50
The most popular main at Le Civelle is the Le Poelee Royal which is served in a large copper pan and has a mix of fresh, seasonal seafood including half a lobster, four prawns, scallops and seasonal vegetables like potatoes, mushrooms and broccoli with a browned butter sauce. The seafood is cooked beautifully and it is a very generous serve and almost impossible to finish no matter how much you want to.
Polee d’anguilles de Loire a la Persillade €23.50
The baby eel, a specialty of the area, is dusted in flour and then pan fried with the bones still inside. It is served with green beans, potatoes and mushrooms. The bones are still quite crunchy and there is an almost grainy texture to the eel. You can of course cut out the backbone of the eel or some pieces have smaller pieces of bones that you can crunch on although this is a fiddly dish that didn’t win some over.
The last evening in Nantes is at La Comedie de Vins, a little wine bar which has a cozy atmosphere on the Rue Suffren. The owners are Cecile and Emeric Chambon and he worked at a three Michelin starred restaurant L’esperance under chef Mark Meneau. We’re having drinks tonight with three wine makers Roman Petitau from Vallet, Frederic Lailler from Domaine Michel Bregoen in the Loire Valley and Jerome Bretaudeau and we will be trying some of their and the region’s wines.
The three winemakers
Sardines
In between wines we try some of the food. The sardines, and I’m not even much of a sardine person, are absolutely superb. They’re fantastic served with some salted butter, crusty bread slices and the marinated sardines are full of flavour and yet less strong in the fishy taste than sardines that I’ve had elsewhere. Jamie tells me that they are probably fresh sardines as they are in season.
Charcuterie plate
The charcuterie plate has a range of hams and sausages that they slice to order and they range from jamon, cured sausages, wonderful rilletes and terrine. The rillettes were divine and soft and the thinly sliced sausages and hams were excellent (just perhaps the terrine wasn’t to my taste).
Cheeses
There were three types of cheeses on the cheese plate, a comté, an 18 month aged cow’s milk cheese cut into thin batons which was wonderful which is one of my favourite cheeses; a crottin de chavignol which is wonderfully strong goat’s cheese (crottin meaning cow pat!) and a St Marcellin cow’s cheese from Lyon.
Vin de Pêche tart
The peach vin tart is a puff pastry tart with a thick amount of pastry and a layer of glistening peach slices coloured a dark maroon with the red wine.
The next day Jamie picks me up for a visit to Talensac Market where we have a quick walk around and she shows me some of her favourite stalls. The markets are located about twenty minutes walk from the city centre and are open every day but Mondays (where they are just open briefly for an hour).
I end off buying two cakes, both specialties of Nantes. One is a cake called Le Fondant Baulois which is a rich, flourless chocolate cake that is made using their fleur de sel salted butter. Salted butter is very common here as fleur de sel is harvested nearby in Guerande.
The cake is beautifully fudgey, rich and moreish and is topped with a white chocolate seal. The fleur de sel de guerande salt is a naturally occuring salt. Over time, the best of the salt, the white “flowers” float to the top while the second grade salt is also used. The white flower salt that is harvested by paludiers (which are traditionally all female as they are said to be gentler at harvesting the salt) is said to be among the best salts in the world second only to Hawaiian salt.
Gateau Nantais
The Gateau Nantais “La Monargue” is an almond cake generously drenched with a big hit of Antilles rum, cinnamon, almond and vanilla. Nantes as a region has connections to the West Indies as it was a slave trading port and it owes its wealth to slave trading expeditions (there is also an Abolition of Slavery Memorial Museum). Jamie has a recipe for it here as well as a wonderful article about the food of Nantes.
The cake itself is served in thin slices and has a dense layer of sweet, moist cake, a layer of white rum and powdered icing sugar icing on top. It is a sweet and giddily rummy end to our trip to Nantes.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like oysters and if so, what are you favourite kind? And when you travel, do you buy snacks for the train or car ride or do you wing it and buy food on the way?
NQN travelled as a guest of Rail Europe.
Rail Europe
Rail Europe is the exclusive distributor of the France Rail Pass in the world. www.raileurope.com.au
Hotel Pommeraye
2 Rue Boileau 44000 Nantes, France
Tel: +33 02 40 48 78 79
www.hotel-pommeraye.com/
La Cigale
4 Place Graslin 44000 Nantes, France
Tel: +33 02 51 84 94 94
www.lacigale.com
Le Select
14 Rue du Château 44000 Nantes, France
Tel: +33 02 40 89 04 49
www.leselect.fr
Brison Traiteur
7 rue Franklin 44000 Nantes
Tel: +33 02 40 48 51 39
Vincent Guerlais
11 Rue Franklin 44000 Nantes, France
Tel: +33 02 40 08 08 79
www.vincentguerlais.com
Georges Gautier
3 Place Graslin 44000 Nantes, France
Tel: +33 02 28 09 09 19
Les Caves du Beffroi
12 Rue de la Paix 44000 Nantes, France
Tel: +33 02 40 47 04 12
Glacier La Fraiserie
1 Place De La Bourse 44000 Nantes
www.lafraiseraie.com
La Civelle
21 Quai Marcel Boissard 44400 Rezé, France
Tel: +33 02 40 75 46 60
www.la-civelle.com
La Comedie de Vins
4 Rue Suffren 44000 Nantes, France
Tel: +33 02 40 73 11 68
www.lacomediedesvins-nantes.com/
Talensac Markets
Rue Talensac 44000 Nantes, France
www.marche-talensac.fr
If you enjoyed this post, why not share it with your friends?
What is NQN up to now?
NQN on Facebook
RSS
50 Comments | Add your own
Swooning swooning! I love how, in France, praline means a paste of sugared nuts/feuilletine, rather than the hazelnut filling it means in the US/Australia.
And oh, oyster sampler plates!
I love oysters au naturel with a squeeze of lemon.
I am selling my home but have not decided yet where I’m moving; had thought local but now thinking I’ll join Jamie in Nantes. Seems magical!
Oh Lorraine!!!
What a wonderful trip you must of had. I absolutely LOVE France and look forward to the day I return to visit hopefully not too far away. Unfortunately oysters are one of the few foods I don’t eat so they would have been wasted on me. I do buy snacks for trips but also like to stop and explore little places and local treats along the way
I absolutely love France and I’ve been yearning to go back since my last trip in late 2011. Your post is not helping…
Nantes is beautiful, but being near the Loire Valley, you wouldn’t expect anything less. And the food! Incredible! Loved your post, despite being a little envious that you’re over there and not me.. At least I can live vicariously through you 
Wow – the vendors in Nantes sure know how to merchandise their product! And great pics-def a ‘food porn’ post today! I’d like to know more about the savoury tart you saw. The ‘crepe’ on top appears to not shatter, but not be soft…any recollection what is was? And the inside? From your picture I feel like I can smell it (in a good way!) But it presents so well–I want to know more!
Hi Christine! Alas, I didn’t try that crepe but it looked divine didn’t it? I’d love to have tried a slice but we had just eaten quite a lot when that photo was taken and we were just having a very quick stop there
Thanks for this lovely post. I’ve travelled in France quite a lot, but have never ventured to Nantes. I will have to add this pretty town to my list!
Beautiful write-up on Nantes, it definitely confirms that we need to make more of our effort to get out of Paris next time we are there. Don’t get me wrong, we LOVE Paris, and that is the problem, as we never leave. Dying to get to Nantes and to finally meet Jamie! When we travel by train in France, we usually just wing it. And to answer your other question – love oysters and have heard the ones in France are outstanding!
What an incredible post, Lorraine, it makes me want to take a trip to France again, but then, what wouldn’t? I loved all the food, except the fiddly Eel, not sure I would enjoy the crunch of the bones. What a beautiful city indeed.
I love the Malpeques Oysters, they are so lovely and briny. I usually bring my own snacks on a train and then I’m not tempted to eat bad food.
Stunning photos Lorraine!
I don’t like oysters but can occasionally be persuaded to try one to see if I have changed my mind. It hasn’t happened yet.
I like to stock up on snacks before I commence my journey as then I know I will have something if there is nothing available along the way.
I always wing it when traveling. Half the fun is finding new places/things to eat…
I adore oysters, especially the ones from the California coast. I’ve been known to knock down a whole dozen all by myself…
Nantes! This is where my in laws are! Been to the same chocolate shop, la Cigale And le passage de la pommeraye! La Fraiseraie sort of means strawberry maker, so their best seller flavour is actually strawberry.
This was such a beautiful feast for the eyes, thanks for sharing your voyage, Lorraine! I always end up buying snacks along the way, I can’t help it, something always catches my eye… and well, one just can’t leave it behind all by its lonesome self.
Thanks Lorraine for the beautiful images. Feel like I’m actually there with you. Yeah, love a Sydney Rock Oyster accompanied by champagne. Natural of course.
I do a load of road trips and so there is always a bag of goodies on the back seat, such as fruit, chocolate and soy snacks. But part of the fun of a trip is stopping off somewhere for a bite – you never know what you may see.
Oh! Oh! Oh!!! It’s been such an impossible week at yours truly, but to click open on this post has been absolute heaven foodie and otherwise. Thanks so much for taking us along, Lorraine! Have not been to Nantes for decades and I am almost crying: happy tears friends would call them! Those magnificent oysters [did not remember there were so many kinds], snails I so love [neither they not squid should ever be chewy properly cooked
!], and green eels, surely one of my favourites even tho’ once in Brussels I nearly died of food poisoning from some bad ones: in the best restaurant in town also!! I’ll be eating thru’ your menu for the rest of the day methinks 
! I love oysters, and tho’ I have eaten them wherever available I love the Hawkesbury River ones, preferably from leases close to the opening to the Pacific, as they have a more briny taste! Oh that first degustation of them in Nantes, tho!! Lucky duck, you . . .
omigosh i’ve got such huge travel lust from this awesome post!
Oh those markets with the gorgeous fresh produce! I also love the photo of the crepe cake with the jar of stuffed snails behind it- fancy seeing some of those for sale here
Did you buy some of that violet mustard Lorraine? I adore floral flavours and wouldn’t have been able to resist.
Sydney Rock Oysters are my favourite, they’re much creamier than the Pacific ones. I think we’re in for a big price hike with oysters soon after that nasty bug wiped out so many millons
Hi Rebecca! Alas I didn’t buy the violet mustard. My suitcase was already dubbed the Mothership and I was afraid of buying anything else because I was going around the world a few days afterwards. I do wonder what that would have been like!
Oh no, not the oysters (a favourite for me).
Wow – super good timing, as we are just planning a trip to the Loire Valley for later in the year.
I now have a few more destinations for the trip and can’t wait to follow in your footsteps.
Thanks for a lovely post.
My mouth is watering looking at all those amazing photos. Talk about beautiful food overload (not that there is such a thing as too much). Salted caramel would have to be one of my favourite flavours. Yum!
Nope not an oyster fan. They’re way too slimy for me.
Thank God I was taught very early in my life not to take myself too seriously and laugh and apologize when I made an error! Yep, had a funny sensation after one of the virus complaints re Hawkesbury oysters that the dread virus was back again! Have just read some 6-7 articles re the tragedy and obviously my remarks have to be sidelined! Still love the Sydney ones best, be they from Mooney Mooney further up the river or Sydney Rock! Should have asked friends who oft have come with the wonderful bounty from the Sydney Fish Market the source: instead just ‘gobbled’ them down
!
Nantes looks like foodie heaven. Two of my favourite things oysters and sweets. My one regret when we holidayed in Parisnwas not eating more pastries! We only discovered the pastries the 2 nd last day of our trip. Dreaming of the day we can make another trip to France and maybe, visit my friend who I think lives in that part of France
Wow what a sight for the senses. I was enjoying the sight of the Dos de lieu jaune a a plancha, beurre blanc nantais, even though the flavours weren’t balanced, I love ratatoille with white fish. It is usually a great combination. Then you displayed all the goodies in the stores below and I am purely lost for words. We are lucky here to surrounded by Wallis Lake oysters and enjoy them au natural, kilpatrick, covered with bernaise sauce and sprinkled with proscuitto or truffle with parmesan. Or grilled with sliced ginger, shallot and a good rice wine. Sydney rock oysters are quite amazing too. Oysters make your heart soar and your skin shine
Everything looks mouthwatering!
Ew I don’t like oysters!
Omg you’re making me so excited for my Europe trip (France/Paris included!).
I’m definitely going through your archives to find restaurant and sight suggestions.
But I still propose you do a post on this
Lovely, lovely pic’s Lorraine – and I’m a wee bit jealous that you got to spend some time with Jamie!
I love it when we go to France…I mean, great post!! The pictures look amazing and the food sounds fantastic. What’s not to love. I looked up Anne of Bretagne because I have read a biography of Marie Antoinette about five times and I know being Queen of France is not all it’s cracked up to be. I found this at Wikipedia – “At her marriage to Charles VIII at age 14, Anne was described as a young and rosy-cheeked girl. By the time of her marriage to Louis, aged 22, after seven pregnancies with no surviving children, she was described as pale-faced and wan. By the end of her life, at 36, she had been pregnant 14 times with seven stillbirths. Of the remaining seven births, only two survived childhood.” – I’d rather not be queen if that’s ok
I love living the jetsetter life through you.
Magnificent.
(and oysters? No. Just… No)
Gasp!! France!! My heart cries. I’m a snack packer & oyster hater. I hope to love them one day though – so good for you! Oh France…
Heidi xo
I love this post. You obviously visiting so many of our favorite places to eat and shop, but a few that I have not been to yet. But I now will definitely make a point to go (JP has been meaning to take me to eat at La Civelle for literally years!).
And about a couple of favorites: OMG the Fingers at Vincent Guerlais mais be the single best chocolate confection I have ever eaten. Heavenly doesn’t begin to describe it! And we always order the Prat ar Coum at La Cigalle since we have actually visited them in Brittany, bought straight from the viviers and eaten at their wondeful little restaurant. Thank you, darling, for your memories, words and images and I so look forward to your next (and longer visit) to my city. Meanwhile, I’ll be waiting for Barb, Amanda, Denise….
Hi Lorraine I like oysters kilpatrick… mainly because you can not taste the oyster itself I think! Which tour did you go on for this amazing experience & is there a similar one we can go on that you know of?
Dear Lorraine,
French food is truly one of the world’s great cuisines. The lobster and seafood in that copper pan is truly delightful.
Hi Julia-you can book tour guides from the Nantes Tourism office. Ours was a combo of a tour guide plus being shown around by Jamie who is a blogger that lives in Nantes and who is a friend of mine
Thank you so much Lorraine. It was a pleasure to welcome you. I hope you will come again
A bientôt !
I’ve just had dinner but hungry again after reading your post! Love oysters, my favourites if eaten natural are Sydney Rock Oysters and if cooked Pacific steamed Chinese style with soy, ginger and shallots. For trips I have good intentions and bring healthy snacks but end up buying junk food on the way. The seafood in this post looks incredible, in your picture of the seafood on Rue Copernic just wanted to know what is the seafood in the middle right of the pic? Looks like a giant prawn/bug variety (so neatly displayed)?
Hi Stefanie! Hehe I’m with you-I go to sleep with good intentions but alas, when faced with food, I’m tempted! Yep they’re like prawns oh so neatly displayed. Can you believe that they display things so elaborately for everyday? Fantastic!
That reminds me…I must get a moose head for my wall. Or maybe even a few. Everything in this post is beautiful and I sure wish I could plate up a strawberry cake like the one you were served! xx
Thanks for the reply Lorraine, the presentation of their food looks wonderful. Gosh I have loved this post, just reading it again and nudging hubby as I do so with not too subtle hints that we must go to France!
Wow Lorraine, looks like you had an amazing time. All that food looks absolutely divine. Especially that savoury crepe cake. Wow!
As for travel snacks, I like to pack some snacks to make sure I have some healthy options. My favourites are Turkish apricots and almonds.
I don’t know what I liked more, the charcuterie plate or the savory cake… I really want to tackle making that one of these days. Great, inclusive tour of an area I’m really not familiar with. I wish I could travel with you, Lorraine, I bet I’d learn buckets of new things…
Awww FRANCE! Gosh I miss it so much ALREADY hahaha even though I just got back from Paris
I can’t wait to go back!
I never use to like oysters but since going to Tasmania I’m definitely a fan hehe ~ but I don’t really know which type.
I always buy things when I go on train rides because I get super hungry and worried that I wont get anything good on the plane!
WOW my fav shot is of the savoury cake… so beautiful!
I’ve been meaning to visit Nantes to see some friends for ages, and after reading about your trip, I definitely have to start planning.
All the foods look gorgeous. I love oysters. Delish.
I must have snacks when travelling. I often make a stop at a shop before travelling, to get myself a sandwich, crisps or fruits.
What fabulous photos. We have often talked about starting a bicycle holiday in Nantes. This would make it difficult. How on earth could we leave to bicycle further? (I WANT some of that savoury cake!)
Wish we had markets here like they do in France. So fun to read about Nantes and Jamie. Wish I was there with the two of you. xoxo Mum
I have been dreaming of Nantes for much too long my friend and you have officially fulfilled that dream virtually
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Ooh, Warren Spires is cute!
I stayed briefly in Nantes several years ago, which I seem to recall we did to get ourselves within reach of Rennes and therefore the bus out to Mont Saint Michel.
I remember what a pretty town it was, but not terribly backpacker-friendly in terms of the price of accommodation. But I can definitely see myself visiting there again one day, on my grown-up budget!
Wow, your trip to France was quite incredible. Im loving reading this series of posts. But every new post just makes me want to return there!
Nantes sounds beautiful – particularly the seafood. I’m planning a trip to France in July, so you’ve given me plenty of food for thought. Thanks!
Post a Comment