2 Best Restaurants in Rennes, Brittany

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.