Announced more than three years ago and postponed several times for various reasons, the first food hall in Nantes has finally opened its doors. Located on the island of Nantes, this large dining hall of 1,000 m2, housed in the former Alstom factory, has been welcoming its first gourmets since this Thursday evening, 6 p.m. “The atmosphere is already super nice, believe Louis and Lola, seated around a wooden table, a beer in hand. In addition, this corner of the island really lacked restaurants so nine at once, it’s perfect! We can even come back every day! »
Concept already present in many cities from Europe and France, the food hall should delight the taste buds of local residents, students or tourists who will settle in the 500 seats offered here (the gauge is even 750 seats in total).
This Thursday, it’s already effervescence in front of the large bar and the nine colorful kiosks, which serve pizzas, burgers, but also bistronomic cuisine, Korean dishes, Mediterranean street-food, small Afghan dishes, not to mention sweet treats. Behind one of them, called Töste, Nantes’ Lucie Berthier-Gembara, former candidate for Top chef chosen to be chef-in-residence at Magmaa for six months, gets busy. We would be tempted by his “toste mechoui”: artisan bread toasted with butter, shredded lamb, mustard seed pickles, harissa mayonnaise, split pea hummus, cucumber chimichouri, all for 13 euros.
Two systems to order
Open every day except Monday (10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to midnight from Thursday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday), the food hall allows everyone to order their dish from their restaurateur preferred, and to meet to eat. It is still necessary to understand the functioning of the places. “There are two control systems, explains Jean-Marc Dantard, Operations Manager. Either at the counter with a beeper system that warns when you can pick up your dish, or thanks to a QR code to scan that allows a table to order at all corners, with SMS sent to the customer when it’s ready. Our team takes care of clearing. »
For those who missed the opening, an entertainment program is planned for next week. Because Magmaa also wants to be a cultural and festive place with DJ sets, concerts, cooking classes of course and various workshops.