Breton cuisine highlights: Top dishes you cannot miss in France

Galette de Bretagne. Image by timolina on Freepik

Made from buckwheat flour, galettes de Bretagne – our first star dish – are paper-thin tender crêpes filled with eggs, mushrooms, bacon, ham, etc., and folded into appetizing square envelopes. In northwestern France, you won’t have to struggle much to find a place serving this authentic staple since the local gastronomic map is generously dotted with more crêperies than regular cafés.

Some people believe galettes are an intentional take on Italian pizza; others rely on the legend that the hearty delight was created by accident: a farmer just spilled buckwheat porridge on a hot surface, and voilà – the ultimate Breton breakfast was miraculously crafted. While most of us are used to the idea of sweet, indulgent desserts like French crêpes or fluffy Japanese and Holland mini pancakes, the savory version is an absolute must while exploring the picturesque shoreside towns of Brittany.

In every corner street of the Brittany peninsula, you will easily stumble upon a spot that serves galettes de Bretagne, but nothing compares to the ones you get at La Licorne. It is a crêperie in the heart of Place Chateaubriand overlooking the nearby castle. The quaint eatery possesses a pleasant décor of rustic brick walls, and brown leather furnished sofas, enhanced by notes of pink rose color. This one-of-a-kind brunch haven offers a variety of buckwheat pancakes with different fillings, such as Andouille sausage, ham, bacon, mushroom, baked Camembert, smoked salmon, and onion confit.

Visitors can sample scrumptious creations like cheese omelets with salad, crêpes with baked cinnamon apples, waffles with goat cheese and syrup, cod fish fritters with tartar sauce, Brittany sausage brioche with house-made pesto, and crispy chicken with brown pepper sauce. During summer, they also feature elegant terrace seating where you can enjoy a lovely cup of coffee while basking in the serene view.

Average bill – €45

Far Breton. Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Given its visually appealing Atlantic Ocean setting, which is simultaneously very generous in terms of various fruits de mer, you would expect Brittany's best-known culinary highlights to be seafood-centered. But this is not specifically the case, and local cuisine boasts a myriad of sweet perfections you simply cannot miss. Invented back in the 18th century, far Breton is undoubtedly the most cherished dessert of the region.

What started as a savory pie served with meat specialties has developed into a heavenly custard flan with prunes. The unusual dry fruit inclusion to the original recipe was influenced by French fishermen. In the 19th century, they started exchanging cod for these plums from Agen, renowned for their fantastic scurvy-preventing effect. Soon, the innovative ingredient rich in vitamin C has conquered bakeries and households, with its long shelf life being an extra bonus to the variety of health benefits. In the old times, far Breton was considered a heavy dish, which has slightly evolved nowadays thanks to the addition of eggs and flour instead of wheat porridge.

As we mentioned above, far Breton is an ancient recipe, so what better place can there be to sample this dessert than a beautiful 150-year-old home? L'Atlantide is an upscale establishment in Nantes. It is nestled inside a 19th-century waterside mansion which overlooks the Loire River. The premises feature a cozy indoor dining room with large panoramic windows that offer a view of Le Hangar à Bananes and the gray Titan crane – the emblem of the city. The restaurant also consists of a shaded outdoor terrace where you can enjoy exceptional local cuisine in the pleasant summer warmth.

The kitchen team is managed by Michelin-star Chef Jean-Yves Guého, who designs a rich culinary menu where seafood takes center stage. You can hope to find exquisite dishes like langoustine marinated in bourbon vanilla with fava beans, white asparagus in wild garlic with Petrossian caviar, sole filet with butternut squash in black truffle sauce, and marinated local prawns in celery emulsion. For dessert, do try their house specialties – lemon verbena soufflé with raspberries and roasted banana with tonka bean caramel.

Hermitage lunch – €55
Epicureans menu – €85

Cider. Image by chandlervid85 on Freepik

The best pairing for most Breton specialties is apple cider – the cloudy amber nectar. Its production is very similar to wine technology. Harvesting the fruits takes place from September to the first frost in December. After sorting and washing, the juice is pressed; next, fermentation in vats or barrels starts, followed by bottling and resting in cellars for the desired amount of time.

There are several kinds of cider in terms of acidity, tannins, and sugar. The sweet variant with lower alcohol content complements desserts ideally thanks to its rich, flowery flavor. The semi-dry and dry categories are slightly stronger, and they will be a perfect accompaniment for your main course. Among the best-known cideries, we recommend Cidre de Cornouaille AOP and Cuvée Prestige Carpe Diem. Existing for over 20 years, these labels continuously deliver superb beverages from 100% pure juice matured in oak casks that add the aromas of vanilla and cinnamon to the drink.

Breizh Café is a Brittany-born chain of restaurants and crêperies, with multiple outlets throughout France and Japan. They specialize in traditional crispy buckwheat galettes and apple cider, which, as you already know, are also the two iconic products of Brittany's terrain. The different bistros offer unique dishes that are specific to their area or branch. For instance, if you fancy a modern gourmet twist on pancakes then the original flagship at Cancale is the place worth checking out.

La Table Café is another must-visit spot known for its Japanese–Breton fusion cuisine curated by Michelin-starred Chef Raphaël-Fumio Kudaka. But since we are talking about ciders, La Ferme is a 30-acre field in Saint-Coulomb where the company grows organic buckwheat and cultivates thousands of apple trees to make their drinks. Every summer, the Breizh Café farm opens a shipping container food stall where visitors can savor their produce in the open air while facing the L'Anse Du Guesclin beach. Patrons can indulge in delicious pancakes filled with ingredients like artisanal cheeses, local oysters, and smoked meat while sipping freshly sour Gwennic or complex Coat-Albret, to name a few.

Average bill – €52 (with drinks)

Cancale Oysters. Photo by Tommaso Cantelli on Unsplash

Finally, it’s time to shed light on Brittany’s legendary seafood delicacy – Cancale oysters (also known as flat oysters). Cherished as the locals’ beloved appetizer and even renowned all over the country, these large mollusks have a particularly favorable environment in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel near the Cancale town thanks to a special type of plankton growing in the waters.

The fresh oyster, reminiscent of hazelnut in its flavor, pretty much constituted the whole dish. Opening the top shell is quite a challenge, though. Once that obstacle is no longer standing between you and the treat, squeeze a bit of lemon and enjoy! Since such indulgence doesn’t go through any thermal processing, make sure to try it only at reputable restaurants (like our recommended spot below, for example).

Ima, meaning now in Japanese, is the brainchild of Chef Julien Lemarié, who started his culinary career in London under the apprenticeship of Gordon Ramsay. He later moved to Tokyo to work with Michel Troisgros, then to Raffles Hotel in Singapore, all while perfecting his craft. In 2017, Julien started the first restaurant in Rennes, celebrating French-Japanese fusion cuisine. This establishment has a striking ambiance created by mixing natural materials like wood, concrete, ceramic, and granite in rare harmony.

Ima features a pared-down 5, 7, and 10-course tasting menus inspired by Asia and made of high quality sustainably sourced organic ingredients. Chef Lemarié enhances his dishes using different broths, infusions, spices, aromatic plants, and algae. Indulge your taste buds on a gastronomic journey by relishing specialty items, such as candied egg yolks with nori flakes in a sweet clover emulsion, Cancale oysters in miso sauce served with burnt leeks, puffed rice chips with smoked mackerel cream in lemon gel, and yuzu-flavored scallops with blue meat radish.

Break (5 courses) – €60
Parenthesis (7 courses) – €80
Interlude (10 courses) – €120

Salted butter caramel. Image by azerbaijan_stockers on Freepik

The sugary symbol of Breton gastronomy, with as much as each local village preserving its treasured recipe of this creamy goodness, salted butter caramel has a fascinating origin story, and it comes in so many varieties that every sweet tooth can pick whatever pleases their taste buds the most.

In 1977, chocolatier Henri Le Roux, looking for a flavor to help his confectionery stand out among the competition, spent three months trying and testing different products until he finally came up with a mix of semi-salted butter caramel with hazelnuts and almonds. The tiny morsel of delight soon brought upon Henri a Willy Wonka-level of fame, and it was awarded the title of Best Candy in France at the Paris Salon International de la Confiserie in 1980. Nowadays, you can relish the golden excellence of soft squares, lollipops, sauce drizzled over crêpes, macaron filling, etc.

Salted butter caramel is an ingredient that can be found incorporated into nearly every sweet dish. An amazing place to relish this delicacy is in the historical surroundings of a 17th-century manor built by the Lord of Roscanvec. Located in the heart of Vannes, Le Roscanvec is a vintage hotel, renovated and designed in a contemporary style. The restaurant has a lavish and spacious dining room furnished with soft cushioned gray chairs, wooden paneled flooring, modern diffused light fixtures, and rustic brick walls. The space helps intertwine the old and the new elegantly.

The kitchen is helmed by Chef Thierry Seychelles, who presents a seasonal and meticulously thought-out menu. Guests can experience fantastic specialties: fresh oysters with lime, asparagus with yuzu Hollandaise, ravioli stuffed with tender foie gras, grilled monkfish with caviar, and smoked eel with lemon confit in a parsley reduction. In desserts, do not miss out on their signature apple kouign-amann pastry with salted caramel ice cream, and Sichuan pepper-flavored poached pear with salted butter caramel pecans.

Collection box – €60
Hedonist menu – €90
Tasting menu – €120

Whether you unveil the culinary tradition of Rennes or seek to taste the authentic flavors at a petite family-run crêperie in Cornouaille while taking in the unspoilt views of vintage buildings belted by the Atlantic Ocean, Bretagne has so much to offer. We hope our guide has given you an insight into the unique delightful dishes waiting to be explored.

If you are planning to visit the neighboring regions, check out our article Top 6 best restaurants everyone’s talking about in Brest, France.