A local’s guide to Rennes, France: Brittany’s medieval but vibrant capital

Chef Arnaud Guilloux leads the way to the best street food, galleries, music haunts

Rennes is a great place for foodies. The speciality is a galette-saucisse – Breton street food. It’s a sausage wrapped in a buckwheat galette, maybe with onions, but strictly no sauce (if you’re Breton). It’s sold in the main market in Place des Lices, in smaller Les Halles market, and by the many food trucks outside the football stadium on match days. My restaurant, Coquille, is on rue Nantaise, which has become a little gastronomic hub close to the city centre. We serve dishes using local produce, such as fish, seafood and vegetables from small market gardeners, but the cuisine is influenced by my time working in Asia. Also on the street is the very traditional Café Breton, a real institution with an extensive menu of classics and modern dishes. There’s also a super Thai restaurant, Chawp Shop Kphet. Pierre Restaurant de Copains, run by a friend who was a finalist in Top Chef [the French version of MasterChef], is a lively, trendy place to hang out. You could spend days eating on just this street.