What is actually from here
Beurre blanc — butter, shallots, white wine reduction — was invented on this stretch of the Loire and is the sauce that goes with the river fish.
Muscadet comes from the vineyards immediately upstream, and the good ones are aged sur lie. It is the wine that goes with the shellfish the coast sends up.
Gâteau nantais is a rum-and-almond cake, and the Petit-Beurre biscuit was invented at the LU factory that is now an arts centre.
Where people eat
Bouffay is the dense eating quarter — medieval lanes, and busy at night. Around Place Graslin is the grander end, including a belle-époque brasserie whose interior is listed.
Across the water, Trentemoult has restaurants on the waterfront looking back at the city, and the crossing is public transport.
Practical
French kitchens close between services. Turning up at three in the afternoon expecting lunch does not work here any more than anywhere else in France.
Quartier Bouffay
Place Graslin & the Théâtre
Trentemoult