The story
On the sixth floor of a building on the boulevard de Berlin, Freia occupies a glass-walled space that feels suspended between the city and the sky. The restaurant calls it "la serre" – the greenhouse – and the name fits. From here, you look out over Nantes while sitting among the herbs, small fruits, and grasses of a rooftop garden that is the restaurant's true heart.
That garden was created with Alice Ménard of the sister restaurant Vacarme. It supplies much of the aromatic and medicinal plants – elderflower, nasturtium, hyssop, buckwheat, blackcurrant – that appear on the plate. The idea is direct: nature leads the menu, not the other way around.
Freia's cuisine is organized not by course type but by "edible spaces" – the places where ingredients grow. The menu changes constantly, shaped by what the garden gives, the vegetables from Alice Ménard, and the fish and meat from local producers.
Lunch runs four or six courses (50€ or 70€); dinner offers six or eight courses (80€ or 120€). A meal lasts about two hours for lunch, two and a half for dinner. Wine pairings lean natural and biodynamic, with most alcoholic drinks sourced within 50 km. Non-alcoholic pairings are made in-house from garden herbs and seasonal produce, with zero waste.
In 2026, Freia received its first Michelin star. The guide's description – "high quality cooking" – understates the precision and clarity of what this kitchen does. The restaurant accommodates allergies and dietary needs, but the philosophy is fixed: a single, tasting-only menu that evolves with the seasons, served in a room where the boundary between the wild and the urban blurs.
The approach to the restaurant itself is part of the experience. Guests can climb an exterior staircase lit at night, or take the elevator. Either way, the ascent marks a shift – from the street to a place where, as the team puts it, "nature takes back its rights."
Recognition
Ambience
Details
Location
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