LingoMap: Food and Drink

Bonjour tout le monde! (Hello everyone!)

Bienvenue à mon premier blog pour Routes into Languages LingoMap. (Welcome to my first blog for Routes into Languages LingoMap.) This blog will focus on the topic of food and drink in Nantes.

I arrived in Nantes on 28 August 2017 and I stayed until 16 December because I did my January exams in December instead. For over three months I was immersed in the French culture and finally had the opportunity to test my language skills. Daunting at first, it became like second nature the more I went out to bars, restaurants and even just booking a table over the phone in French.

Nantes a une atmosphère très artistique et elle est très attrayante pour de nombreux groupes d’âge. (Nantes has a very artistic atmosphere and it is also attractive to many age groups.) The city offers a wide range of cafés, bars, restaurants and clubs where you can guarantee many social events.

During my time in Nantes I lived in a student accommodation called Fresche Blanc. One of the benefits of living in my university residence was its convenient location because it was near a supermarket, a café and a kebab shop which are all walking distances. Sometimes I would do my grocery shopping in U Express which is a mini supermarket but more often in Leclerc.

Leclerc est un grand supermarché où les gens font souvent leurs achats d’épicerie. C’est semblable aux supermarchés comme  Asda. (Leclerc is a huge supermarket where people often do their grocery shopping. It is similar to supermarkets like Asda.) Leclerc is further away from my University residence so I would take the tram to get there and get off at the terminus (final stop). What I noticed after I bought my food was the freshness of the fruit and vegetables. If I had to be honest, I preferred the fruits in Nantes because they were much more succulent than the ones in the UK so you can expect higher quality items.

Inside L’atelier U express café

Near my residence was a café called L’atelier U express which is just opposite the U express supermarket. The interior itself is very pleasing and you can enjoy a drink and quick meal with your friends. It’s a popular place for students to catch up and study together over a drink.

Speaking of cafés, I have to mention Le Chat l’Heureux which is a cat café! For all the cat lovers, this sounds like paradise where you can have a drink and dessert while cats make themselves feel comfortable be it by your chair, on your lap, on your table or sleeping in their basket. C’est leur royaume après tout. (It’s their kingdom after all.)

Très mignon!

Another café I enjoyed going for a drink was Columbus café & Co which is in Centre Ville where they also sell amazing muffins!

Columbus café – Noël style

One of my favourite memories in Nantes is going out to different restaurants either for a night out or for someone’s birthday (including my own!)

In November, Nadia, our year abroad coordinator, came to Nantes to check up on us and we all went to Le Bistro Régent for dinner. The food and service were phenomenal!

Say fromage!

At the same time, Nadia lectured us on how to properly order a steak because most of us didn’t really know the correct terms. So here is the guide which could be handy to any steak enthusiast:

• Bleu = very rare, bloody inside
• Saignant = rare but cooked slightly longer on the second side
• A point = perfectly cooked which is rare-to-medium-rare
• Entrée à point et bien cuit = medium-rare
• Bien cuit = well-done
• Très bien cuit = very well-done

Restaurants I highly recommend are:

Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus serves predominantly grilled food

La Vespa is a popular Italian restaurant where they serve a wide variety of pizza, pasta and burgers just to name a few

La Vespa où j’ai fêté mon anniversaire

You can often find a huge selection of restaurants and outdoor cafés in Bouffay area.

Very often I would go to Le Nid (The Nest) for drinks which is a 144m building. You pay 1€ for entry or you could pay 5€ for free entry for one year. A lift takes you to the 32nd floor and you enjoy a stunning panoramic view of Nantes while also enjoying a drink with your friends.

Drinks on an egg-shaped table. C’est stylé.

Et voilà! J’espère que vous avez trouvé mon blog très informatif! (And that’s it! I hope you found my blog very informative!)