2 Grabuge: the most industrial
The huge graffiti-style inscription can be seen from afar. Grabuge, as its name suggests, smells of trouble on every floor. Alas, the old boiler room rings hollow. While waiting to permanently invest in the premises, the most industrial guinguette in Brittany has in fact set down its pallets not far from there, in the old Euroshelter warehouses. It is open until July 14, before restarting at the end of summer in the permanent location. “The time to finish the work,” explains Gaspard Aillet, one of the three project leaders. In the meantime, lulled by an electro sound system, the customers of this inaugural evening breathe a little air of Berlin. On each side of the furniture made from recycled materials, dozens of meters of street art cover the Halles en commun. Like a small piece of East Side Gallery that has drifted towards this immense industrial wasteland in Rennes.
Address: 24, avenue Jules-Maniez, Rennes. Opening hours: Thursday-Friday (5:30pm-11pm), Saturday (5pm-11pm), Sunday (2pm-8pm). Open until mid-July
3 The Farmyard: the most peasant
Three years and already a reputation that is well established. Launched in 2021, La Basse-cour is the first in the series of the “revival” of guinguettes in Rennes, observed during the health crisis. Off the ring road, it is necessarily the most bucolic. In the heart of nature, it resonates with the sounds of the countryside. It is part of the approach of the Collectif agricolel de la Prévalaye, around the organization of activist, but also cultural events. The dishes are designed with products from the neighboring garden of Mille-Pas. Divided into several parts, the outdoor space of La Basse-cour offers large tables and more intimate places under the trees. A configuration that brings together a motley crowd: families, after-workers, supporters of the Stade Rennais, nearby, or, quite simply, groups of friends.
Address: Chemin Robert-de Boron, Rennes. Hours: Wednesday to Saturday (3 p.m. to midnight), Sunday (3 p.m. to 9 p.m.)
4 La Quincette: the most participatory
La Quincette is not just a green guinguette on the edge of the Beauregard park extension. It is also an “agricultural” and “participatory” place. For example, with the concept of “participatory dishes”. The principle? Once the food and drinks are consumed, the dishes are rinsed thoroughly and placed in dedicated compartments so that they can be cleaned by the staff. The toilets are, of course, dry. A mini-market also offers market garden produce from the Quincé farm. And the cultural program is abundant. That evening, there is a blind test and karaoke organized as part of the feminist literature festival, Dangereuses lectrices. This is because La Quincette is resolutely committed, as evidenced by the flag in the colors of Palestine overlooking the bar.
Address: Le Haut-Quincé, Rennes
Opening hours: Thursday to Saturday, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. (from 4 p.m. on Saturday)
5 La Belle étoile: the most family-friendly
A guinguette with its feet in the water. The expression has never been so appropriate. Around mid-May, the Vilaine came out of its bed and practically licked the feet of the La Belle étoile straw hut installed on Baud beach by the managers of the Garden Party. A few days after the flood, we enjoyed a good local beer, protected from a nasty drizzle by a corrugated iron arbor. That evening, the Eagles’ Hotel California couldn’t shut out the frogs’ concert, who had been partying since the beginning of spring. We said to ourselves that when the good weather returned, we’d bring the kids and enjoy the tasty tapas concocted with market garden produce from the Garden Party, nearby. Between the playgrounds, sports fields and misters, it was the guarantee of a successful aperitif between adults, without being (too) solicited by the kids.
Address: 8 rue de la Corderie, Rennes. Opening hours: Friday to Sunday (4 p.m. to midnight), Tuesday to Thursday (5 p.m. to 11 p.m.)
6 La Musette: the most aquatic
What’s better than a nice drizzle to have a drink on the water? One thing is for sure, we’re not the only ones to have had this idea. On this chilly May evening, the deck of the barge moored on Quai Saint-Cast was full of cabin boys who came to end their day with cocktails with evocative names: Mule de marin, Souquez les artimuses! or L’Homme à la mer. And for the freshwater sailors who can’t stand these terrible blows of wind, the hold offers a sailor’s shelter with an “old sea dog” atmosphere. And because the great outdoors makes you hungry, La Musette offers a great range of supplies (salmon gravlax, fish rillettes, etc.). Without forgetting carnivores or vegetarians, however.
