You might think of Bordeaux with its wine, but you should know that the city’s food has a high reputation, too. Bordeaux, like a sparkling new diamond emerging from the dark soot, is a city that has been reawakened.
Despite its status as the Wine Capital of the World, the city has long been derided for its poor dining offerings. There were not many good restaurants in Bordeaux. But times have changed, and so have the restaurants, making Bordeaux a top French culinary destination alongside Lyon and Paris.
In the Port of the Moon, enjoying good food and wine is a big part of the tradition. Not only have some of the best chefs in the world opened restaurants in Bordeaux, but hot new chefs are always coming out of the shadows.
But just like anywhere else, you can find some bad places to eat, and it can be hard to decide where to eat in Bordeaux because there are so many restaurants, bistros, and brasseries that seem to be on every corner and on every street.
The many restaurants in Bordeaux all use the same high-quality ingredients. Bordeaux is home to a wide variety of delicious foods, including the city’s signature pastry, cannelé, as well as dim sum and Neopolitan pizza. This article has collected a bucket list of the best restaurants in Bordeaux to help with that trip-planning problem.
Top 15 Restaurants in Bordeaux
Here is a rundown of the best restaurants in Bordeaux that will please any tourist.
- Le Chien de Pavlov
- Symbiose
- Le Bouchon Bordelais
- Soif
- Le Charabia
- Madame Pang
- Cassonade
- La Tupina
- Le 7
- Le Cent 33
- iBoat and Blonde Venus
- La Grand’Vigne
- Bocce Saint Paul
- Casa Gaïa
- Halles de Bacalan
1. Le Chien de Pavlov
Le Chien de Pavlov has a great vibe that you will love, which makes it one of Bordeaux’s top restaurants.
In this cozy diner spot, you can expect antique pieces and tiny Tiffany lights. The menu changes based on what fresh, in-season products are available. But you can be sure that this restaurant in the Saint Pierre neighborhood of Bordeaux is a perfect place in the city.
People say that Le Chien de Pavlov has the best value glass of wine in Bordeaux. With an appetizer, a glass of the white or red wine of the day costs just €2, and the food is also delicious.
2. Symbiose
Symbiosis includes a wide range of concepts, but it succeeds at each one, and it surely is one of the best restaurants in Bordeaux. The four young owners and operators have created a comfortable restaurant and bar serving cocktails with a charming terrace on Quai des Chartrons.
Most of the items used in Symbiose’s small plates and tasting menu (offered every Tuesday) come straight from the restaurant’s very own garden. The satay beef tartare is the restaurant’s greatest dish.
3. Le Bouchon Bordelais
Le Bouchon Bordelais is a wonderful restaurant in Bordeaux that focuses on meat-centric dishes that are complemented with fresh food from the local farmer’s markets.
Anything from the plating to customer service is top-notch in this extraordinary restaurant in Bordeaux. Le Bouchon Bordelais has been operating since 2008, but it is always coming up with new ideas and expanding its wine and cuisine menus. It has a really expressive and immersive feel, thanks to the stone walls and crimson highlights.
4. Soif
Soif is not to be missed because it has a great range of good natural wines, small plates, and a great vibe, making it one of Bordeaux’s best restaurants. Simple, fresh foods are presented on adorable grandma-chic plates at this caves à manger (the French name for a wine bar offering food).
The menu changes daily depending on what’s fresh at the morning market, but some house specialties, including pot-au-feu terrine with foie gras medallion, Manex pork rillettes, and pork belly and hazelnut pâté en croute, are always available.
There are almost three hundred wines available, both by the glass and in full bottles, all of which come from small, independent wineries throughout France and beyond. Soif is the crown jewel of the Saint-Pierre area and one of Bordeaux’s greatest restaurants.
5. Le Charabia
The addition of Guillaume Samson’s Le Charabia to the otherwise tranquil Hôtel de Ville neighborhood is like a breath of fresh air. Come in for the pork pithivier with artichoke thistle and grapes and the brown mushroom arancini with beetroot ketchup, two of the most popular small plates.
The wines are entirely organic and made by small producers in the area, while the music is a new wave from the ’80s. Come in a group, give it as much as you can, and fight the want to stay forever. In the warmer months, its expansive terrace is a hive of activity all day and into the evening. The great atmosphere and high-quality food make this place one of the best restaurants in Bordeaux.
6. Madame Pang
From the outside, Madame Pang’s shop might not look like much, but if you go inside, you’ll find a little bit of Hong Kong by way of Bordeaux. You can sit at the marble bar or on one of the velvet benches and eat standard dim sum dishes like crab cakes with coriander, braised pork bao, and satay chicken dumplings.
The Kaika, a fusion of rum, green tea, yuzu liqueur, umeshu, and rice vinegar, as well as an exciting range of Japanese beers, are some of the highlights of the drinks list, which is equally impressive. Try the Fourme d’Ambert blue cheese-stuffed bao buns. Meanwhile, the pandan semifreddo is a treat for those with a sweet tooth.
Make sure to put this place on your travel plan to the city, as it is one of Bordeaux’s top restaurants.
7. Cassonade
Damien Desgraves moved to Bordeaux in 2019 with a very important purpose: to change the way the city’s famous dessert, the cannelé, is made. He changed the recipe and used organic ingredients to give the cookies a wonderful golden color, a crispy outside, a soft, melt-in-your-mouth center, and a light touch of rum or vanilla. The new recipes make this place one of Bordeaux’s best restaurants for both locals and tourists.
His next task was to come up with a recipe that didn’t use milk or butter. The result is a miracle for vegans. All of these tasty treats, like madeleines and Saint James, a rum-glazed cake with almonds and orange peel, are sold in a small shop on rue Saint-James near La Grosse Cloche, the big bell at the city’s old walls.
8. La Tupina
La Tupina is a well-known place in Bordeaux and one of the city’s top restaurants. The restaurant has several rooms, and each one has old, rustic furniture that makes it feel like a French country. The food is cooked over an open fire pit, and in the winter, soups are cooked in a cauldron that hangs in the fireplace.
Lunch at La Tupina isn’t cheap, but it’s well worth it if you get a taste of their Southwestern French dishes, including potatoes fried in duck fat and foie gras terrine.
Put in an order for dessert as well. The canelé, a famous tiny custardy cake, is sometimes served “stuffed” with homemade ice cream and coated with salted caramel as dessert in Bordeaux.
9. Le 7
Located on the seventh floor of the Cité du Vin, Le 7 lives up to its name with breathtaking views of the city and the Garonne River from its wall-to-wall windows. Chef Djordje Ercevic creates gastronomic masterpieces by mixing regional ingredients with flavors from all over the world.
Crispy veal sweetbreads with whipped butter, spring onions, smoked bacon, and Bordelaise sauce are a must-try, as are the beef carpaccio, chickpea hummus, and oyster tartare.
Marilou Tamarelle, the pastry chef, has been educated by pastry master Thierry Marx, so her desserts are guaranteed to impress.
Two of the best desserts are the deconstructed chocolate tart and the lemon yuzu meringue. The wines, which come from over 50 different countries and number in the hundreds, are naturally fantastic. Keep an eye out for Château Margaux and Cheval Blanc, two of the region’s 25 landmarks.
10. Le Cent 33
Chef Fabien Beaufour came up with the idea for Le Cent 33, which serves fine food. The inside is modern and sleek, but it’s still cozy and comfortable. It got a Michelin star in the year 2016 and is an excellent place for a date night or a special event. It’s called gastronomic food in France, and the elevated experience le Cent is one of the top restaurants in Bordeaux.
11. iBoat and Blonde Venus
iBoat is an art and culture project that started in 2011 on an old boat docked in the Bassin à Flots neighborhood. Since then, it has been one of Bordeaux’s best restaurants.
It’s a seafood restaurant, a concert hall, and a place for artists to live all at once. It’s known all over the world for hosting and organizing electronic music.
A nearby old ballroom called Blonde Venus is part of the deal. In the winter, Blonde Venus has cabaret, flea markets, and classes. In the summer, people gather outside for drinks and events like DJ sets, bands, movie screenings, and pop-up shops selling used clothes.
12. La Grand’Vigne
You can’t talk about the best restaurants in Bordeaux without mentioning La Grand’Vigne. Everything in La Grand’Vigne will blow you away, including the wine, the service, and the meal, which has two Michelin stars.
Usually, it is best to be sure you made a reservation far in advance here, as the restaurant does book out. For anyone wishing to visit this area, a day excursion to Saint-Émilion is necessary.
13. Bocce Saint Paul
At street level, Bocce Saint Paul’s bright blue front and bright green chairs make you want to go inside and taste its delicious food, as it is one of Bordeaux’s finest eateries. You might come to see the colors, but you’ll stay for the Neapolitan pizza.
All of the ingredients come from Italian farmers and are made with organic flour. For example, the fresh bresaola comes from Lombardi, the Datterino tomatoes come from Sicily, and the 24-month-old parmesan is to die for.
The best things on the menu are the mortadella with truffle and pistachio or the capocollo and smoked mozzarella, which goes best with a bottle of organic Italian wine from the restaurant’s small but well-stocked wine room.
If you want to play a game after dinner, the team has set up a petanque court in the high wine cellar. You can even plug in your own music to give your winning streak the right tunes.
14. Casa Gaïa
Casa Gaa is a restaurant with lots of light and wood walls that focuses on tapas meals and salads made with organic ingredients. All of the products come from small farms in the area. For example, the trout comes from Ferme du Ciron, a small fish farm in Lot-et-Garonne. It comes with Espelette pepper, chard leaves, and grilled veggies.
Other meals include octopus a la plancha with Bordelaise ricotta and a chocolate cake with sweet potato, salted caramel, and green tea cream that is so good that “melt-in-your-mouth” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
15. Halles de Bacalan
Halles de Bacalan, which opened in 2017 in front of the Cité du Vin wine museum, has quickly become an essential stop for food lovers in the Bordeaux area. This unique food court brings together more than twenty farmers, artisanal merchants, and regional chefs in one massive space.
In addition to stocking up on ingredients for a feast at home, you can also stop for appetizers and snacks from a variety of kiosks selling things like truffle pasta, grilled squid, pizza, and chocolate mousse from Tuesday through Sunday.
The food is excellent no matter where you eat it, but eating on the market’s terrace, which is the largest in Bordeaux, and views out over the river, is an unforgettable experience.
Conclusion
Of course, there are many more popular restaurants in Bordeaux than we listed. However, the focus was on finding the top restaurants for each service category and location.
You can look into Bordeaux restaurants and pick one that meets your needs if you plan on visiting this beautiful city. Make sure to check out our social media accounts as well. You’ll find more photos and videos there.
