La Table de Balthazar

The picture windows frame a lovely patio, which is reason enough to snag a table near the glass. This is a polished brasserie inside what feels like Rennes' most elegant hotel, where the kitchen leans on Breton produce and nudges classic recipes sideways, buckwheat butter with the bread, scallops finished in fermented milk. The room is dressed to match, with fine tableware and the kind of quiet attentiveness that makes lunch stretch pleasantly into the afternoon.