5 Best Restaurants in Rennes, Brittany

When in Rennes, don't miss the chance to do what the natives do: feast on authentic Breton crêpes. For your main course, savory galettes made with buckwheat flour come with a huge range of fillings, from egg and sausage to tiny shrimps and mussels. There are also vegetarian options, like spinach and goat cheese. For dessert, don't skimp on delicious fruit jam or salted caramel-filled crêpe, or the queen herself, the crêpe Suzette—doused with Grand Marnier and set aflame at your table. Wash it all down with a nice dry artisanal Breton cider.

What better setting than this historic half-timbered building, just steps from the cathedral, for a taste of authentic Breton cuisine at its best? This unusually snazzy crêperie (forget the lace curtains and wooden tables) also has an outdoor terrace and one of the city's more inventive menus, where you'll choose from a list of galettes—all named George—like blue cheese, pear, speck ham, and crème fraîche; or beef carpaccio, mozzarella, tomato tapenade, Parmesan, and potatoes with wasabi ice cream. The dessert crepes are no less inventive; try the Chamallow, with salted caramel, homemade marshmallows, bourbon-infused vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream. There's also a great selection of artisanal ciders, like the rosé version, Cidre de Brocéliande.

Five years in a top Tokyo kitchen transformed Chef Julien Lemarié's scintillating, pared-down cuisine, for which he quickly won a Michelin star. Using only local products—as sustainably sourced as possible—the chef crafts stunning plates, featuring line-caught fish and high-quality meats with glorious vegetable accompaniments served in an elegant, streamlined restaurant that features natural materials: wood, waxed concrete, and ceramic. The chef's romance with Japanese cuisine is front-and-center at his new restaurant next door, Imayoko, specializing in donburi and izakaya-style dishes to share paired with artisanal sake.

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.

Everybody loves an authentic French brasserie, but very few of these establishments strive to maintain a quality worthy of their traditional cachet; happily, Le Galopin is one of them. The vintage murals, wood paneling, and plush banquettes are the perfect backdrop for all those traditional French favorites: a heaping plate of oysters followed by steak or fish tartare, Breton lobster, grilled gambas shrimp, or marinated Wagyu beef. Spectacular desserts include all the classics like baba au rhum, crème brûlée, or Breton sablée, a local specialty. For a top-notch meal that won't break the bank, this Rennes institution is a good choice.