Coffee shops and tea rooms Rennes

The kind of tea room you'd dream of after a ride in a blizzard, British to the bone! An atmosphere somewhere between kitsch and cocooning, underpinned by gold-flowered merry-go-round teapots, velvet armchairs, antique prints, a telephone booth and English pastries to die for! We recommend the Queen Victoria sponge cake and homemade lemonade combo, or the British pie like in the old English pubs. Sunday brunch is just as delicious.

Bluebird Coffee takes us somewhere between California and Australia. The 4-metre high ceilings are filled with a myriad of rattan hanging baskets. With its small wooden table, side table and pastel banquette, this is a place to share good times at lunchtime, nibbling on grilled cheese, avocado toast or a bento. Stop in for a generous snack, including a delicious New York-style donut and a gingerbread latte. The many juices are made fresh with the finest ingredients. You can even come for breakfast: there's nothing like starting the day with a peanut butter bagel! The atmosphere is relaxed and cosmopolitan.

It's with a great deal of heart and dignity that you're served in this café unlike any other, since most of the staff are mentally or cognitively handicapped. The first solidarity café of its kind in Rennes, the place lives up to its name. The team welcomes us with a smile, and serves up some particularly tasty classics. With its bright yellow decor, reminiscent of a Brooklyn concept café, and its lively playlist, the place warms you up. You'll be given a plastic cube before you reach your table, so that your waiter can identify you in the room. We salute this deeply human initiative that makes you see life differently!

La Lichouille is a bar for chocolate lovers, to eat in or take away, which offers us a consumption experience around the chocolate bar... So when it comes to making a totally original creation, combining it with the cookie flavor, and crushing it inside a hot milk, the pleasure is intense. The meeting place for those who love four o'clock! La Lichouille also offers lunch formulas with sandwiches, salads, toasts or wraps as well as smoothies prepared on the spot in a wide choice of flavors that goes from orange to black radish, muffins or gourmet waffles... A nice and charming address.

There's one patisserie where snack time rings particularly true. 4:30 pm: we enter, attracted by the cookies, cakes and honey gingerbread from Rennes in the window. Inside, we can sit down to enjoy them with a tea from Tea & Ty and a coffee from Felix. Among the pastries that follow the seasons, Saint-Honoré, Zonka, Moulins and Duarn' are divinely structured and balanced (some gluten-free). Marion also offers cocktails with infused plants. Here, the question of the ecological footprint is inseparable from pastry-making. We also offer a reusable bento bag for transporting your cakes.

Cousins Catherine and Pascale have been running Thé au Fourneau - also known as TaF - since 1987. This charming address, with its cake moulds on the walls and colorful lanterns, is located in the old town of Rennes, in a nook that opens onto the Portes mordelaises, the last vestige of the city's medieval walls. Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Thé au Fourneau offers a break in a cozy, peaceful setting. So secluded, in fact, that the pace is quite different, and we recommend you be patient with the serving time... Then all you have to do is choose from a fine selection of teas and mouth-watering home-made pastries. We love that British touch: scones, carott cakes, tarts... Everything is delicious.From 12pm to 3pm, you can also enjoy savoury tarts, salads and tartines. Recipes change regularly.

Les Clandestines is the place to bring your best friend, grandmother or toddler. Why should you? Because, at once off-center and lively, deeply authentic, this 70's coffee shop does things right. Manuela and Gaëlle serve small dishes, bagels, soups, cookies, muffins and cheesecakes. Trained in one of the best bakeries in Rennes, they are determined to serve good local produce, often organic, at low prices. The menu changes weekly, with winter offerings including veggie fajitas with roasted vegetables and pumpkin velouté. A boutique offers Skumenn beers, tea from Tea & Ty and products by local designers.

Fancy a real coffee? At Café 1802 (the year the first coffee machine was created), it's a barista (Fred) who serves you! He knows coffee inside out, and knows how to prepare it, decorate it (the latte art is amazing!) and serve it at just the right temperature. Espresso routinely dethrones all other tastings, but here we learn that you can enjoy your coffee as mild as an infusion, making it aromatic and bitter-free (the secret of the Chemex), or strong and cold (thanks to the cold drip extraction method lasting 7 to 8 hours). A dozen coffees have been selected from small producers from Guatemala to Ethiopia, via Burundi and Colombia, and Renaud roasts them on site every week! At lunchtime, you can enjoy a cookie, a hazelnut banana bread or a slice of toast. The place, a touch retro, is calm and perfect for work or a break with friends.

Mokka is located on Rennes' busiest pedestrian thoroughfare. So it's only natural to stop in for a good coffee to go. Theiced coffee or the tchaï tea latte sprinkled with cinnamon are among the editor's favorites. Savoury snacks (especially the Vietnamese and Andalusian sandwiches) and sweet snacks (cookies, muffins, cheesecakes, etc.) are also delicious. We did a little digging: everything is homemade and the products are carefully selected. You can also stock up on ground coffee or beans roasted by Cafés Breizhiliens. Take a look at the collection of bamboo takeaway mugs! Pretty and eco-friendly. A second address is located opposite Les Halles Centrales.

In a brand new boutique, the coffee-shop and artisan roaster welcomes us to discover exceptional coffees. Unlike traditional methods, Bourbon d'Arsel uses slow roasting to reveal subtle aromas. The team takes meticulous care over the provenance of its coffees, choosing producers with the utmost care. You can enjoy a specialty coffee for breakfast or afternoon tea, accompanied by pastries such as financier, moelleux au chocolat, tarte au citron meringuée... Bourbon d'Arsel has its own roasting workshop just outside the town center. And don't forget your takeaway coffee packs.

A breeze from Asia blows across the rue Baudrairie, in the heart of Rennes. It's here that this Japanese café with an innovative concept has taken up residence: a matcha bar to discover or rediscover this green tea powder in all its forms. Known for its antioxidant virtues, matcha can sometimes be off-putting because of its bitterness. The variety selected here is one of the least bitter. But above all, the team redoubles its ingenuity to make people appreciate this Japanese specialty, served in drinks with fruit, in pastries... The chocolate fondant with matcha ganache is a delight. Lunchtime menus also include bentos and Japanese sandwiches.

Frédéric, from Quebec, and Julie, from Rennes, have foundedthis coffee shop featuring all the flavors of La Belle Province. Whether in the intimate wood-panelled room or on the terrace overlooking the passers-by on Rue Vasselot, you can enjoy a sparkling latte with maple syrup, a Saint-Laurent Oolong tea with walnuts and maple from their near-neighbors Tea & Cie , or a La Corsaire beer brewed in Levis, Quebec (Frédéric used to work there). In the kitchen, it's a team effort! Julie is in charge of pastries, concocting fluffy scones and ultra-tasty carrot cake. Frédéric is in charge of the savoury side, preparing three dishes every lunchtime with influences from here and abroad. On weekends, the restaurant serves brunch (we recommend the "assiette du bûcheron"!). And last but not least, Le Caribou offers Quebecois grocery products. Maple syrup, poutine sauce mix and ice cider are yours for the taking!

A breath of fresh air has been blowing through the Villejean district since the opening of this new, warm and intimate café-cantine. Come in the morning, with or without your computer, to enjoy a latte in the wide windows. At lunchtime, it's time to discover three seasonal dishes concocted by Lauranne and Margaux: savoury clafoutis, aubergine-mozzarella tart and mixed salad served with farmhouse bread. From the outset, the two friends - former work neighbors - chose to work with local producers such as Noel (Pacé), Café 1802 (Rennes) and Graine de Méliss for herbal teas (Hédé), as well as DurabL (bulk products) and En Boite le Plat. The gourmet desserts also change daily! A lovely address where you'll feel right at home.

When three long-time friends decide to launch a joint project in their own image, the result is Les trois marguerites, the new creative café on rue Saint-Melaine. And the least we can say is that they've put their personal touch to it! In a warm atmosphere, Nolwenn and Morgane are busy in the kitchen. They offer hot and cold drinks at all hours, accompanied by homemade pastries. Their specialty: the floral touch that makes all the difference. We tried the surprising flower tea and the tasty elderflower and poppy seed cake. Within the café, a boutique space showcases some fifteen eco-responsible designers. Jewelry, mugs, posters, lamps... and even origami made by Morgane.

The Wunder architecture agency helps professionals and private individuals design their spaces. It has been responsible for the design of many of Rennes' best-loved bars and restaurants. They have therefore masterfully imagined this new hybrid space on the agency's first floor: a co-working café. With its bright, cosy decor, the place lends itself to conviviality. You can have breakfast, lunch or even stay to work. A catering service is also available. At lunchtime, hot dishes, salads and soups await you. For dessert, we serve pastries such as our delicious lemon cake. All homemade and seasonal.

Open on Rue de la Parcheminerie, Gang combines exposed stone, rough concrete and pleasantly mismatched wooden furniture. Start the day with homemade granola or muffin bread served with fried egg, artisan ham and hollandaise sauce. At lunchtime, we go for the sabich, a typical Israeli street-food dish of grilled eggplant, white cabbage, soft-boiled egg, tzatziki and tahini sauce, all wrapped in pita bread. We like the fact that it's open all day, so you can sit down whenever you like to enjoy a specialty coffee and homemade pastry. It's also possible to order a cold brew, a lemonade or a take-away dish.

A new address has opened on rue de Montfort. In a cosy space, Victor, the manager of this café-restaurant, offers quality street-food inspired by American coffee-shops. After gaining experience in traditional restaurants, the young man opened this establishment with its uncluttered decor punctuated by pastel-blue hues. The café-canteen atmosphere at lunchtime offers gourmet sandwiches made with challah bread, a lightly sweetened brioche loaf, and seasonal produce selected from local markets. Specialty coffees are available at all hours, accompanied by pastries (cookies, carrot cake, cheesecake, granola...). Yummy!

Both a coffee shop and a concept store, Chérie Chéri is one of the trendiest places in Rennes. People come here to chat with friends, but also with their daughters or grandmothers. After all, it's a trans-generational place, and one that's much sought-after by women. Dressed in powder pink, 70's orange and spruce green, it boasts fifteen tables, comfortable banquettes and a short, healthy menu. Enjoy a chai latte, citrus cheesecake or homemade granola after your shopping spree. In the boutique, you'll find home decor, delicatessen products and jewelry... With a selection of mostly eco-responsible brands.