The 10 best restaurants in Bordeaux
In a city where locals can talk for hours about the subtle resonance of a 1974 first-growth, you’d expect them to be picky about their food. And you’d be right: Bordeaux has some pretty fancy restaurants, which flatter the wines with a dining ceremony that’s almost excessive. But dining in Bordeaux doesn't necessarily have to be posh. The city is also steeped in traditions from southwestern France and its heartier dishes. We’re talking Pauillac lamb or local Bazas beef, perhaps grilled over vine prunings. Wood pigeon in red wine sauce with garlic croutons is another one to look out for, as are foie gras and Arcachon Bay oysters. Locals are also keen on whatever they can haul out of the river, be it lampreys, eel, shad or sturgeon – and its caviar.
For further Bordeaux inspiration, see our guides to the city's best hotels, nightlife and things to do.
Find a restaurant by area
City Centre
Le Chapon Fin
This restaurant has had its ups and downs since its establishment in the 19th century, but is generally the most celebrated table in town. It's the type of place where artists and visiting presidents dine. Painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and stage icon Sarah Bernhardt helped set the trend – and presumably appreciated the extraordinary man-made rocks, which have been threatening to take over the dining room since about 1900. The rest of the restaurant has been significantly lightened up since then, but this remains a place for class food - say, veal with truffles - served with bow-tied panache.
Contact: chapon-fin.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ￡￡￡
Brasserie l’Orléans
Manager Emmanuel Bizet continues to restore this restaurant's 'Parisian brasserie' verve, with classic dishes and a classic buzzing atmosphere. Tables are close together, furniture is bric-à-brac-ish and there’s a happy urgency about the place. Look out for whole duck breast, rack of lamb with lemon zest and as many oysters as you can manage, all accompanied by a good and reasonably priced selection of wines. If you don’t like liver, the l’Orléans’ calf liver – a signature dish – might change your mind.
Contact: brasserie-lorleans.fr
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ￡
Best table: On the terrace
Le Pressoir d'Argent
The culinary heart of the five-star InterContinental Bordeaux, now in the hands of Britain's own Gordon Ramsay, has already earned two Michelin stars. Prices are astronomic – around €195 (￡166) for the full, five course tasting menu – but not absolutely outrageous for a meal at the peaks of gastronomy. The dress code stipulates no jeans, T-shirts or sportswear and, if you're a chap, you'll need a jacket. The hotel is also home to Ramsay's Le Bordeaux, which has all the bustle of a real 19th-century Parisian brasserie, accompanied by a British-influenced menu.
Contact: bordeaux.intercontinental.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ￡￡￡
Les Bateaux Bordelais
This company, run by a youthful team of Bordelais folk, put on (among other things) lunch and dinner cruises along the broad, idle River Garonne. The dinner cruise – on the Sicambre, a refurbished Bosphorus ferry – offers food and wine that's significantly better than one would expect on a river boat. Depending on the season, you might expect slow-cooked lamb shank, monkfish in Nori leaf or civet-de-cerf (venison casserole). The cruise is alive with conviviality, a certain elegance – and the riverscape is pretty grand, too. Highly recommended.
Contact: lesbateauxbordelais.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ￡￡￡
Racines By Daniel Gallacher
Self-taught Scottish chef Daniel Gallacher has carved out an enviable niche in Bordeaux gastronomy – unusual, perhaps, for a Scotsman – by offering inventive dishes and top-end value for money on a weekly-changing menu at his place in the Meriadeck district.
Contact: racines-bordeaux.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ￡￡
La Boca 14 Food Court / Halles de Bacalan
Two food courts at opposite ends of town, each with a terrific mix of food stands. La Boca is down by Quai Paludate, the Halles de Bacalan a spit from the Cité du Vin up in the newly hip Bassins-à-Flot district. Look out for Mexican, Japanese, Indian and African cuisine, among many others, and the chance to mix and match and then eat on the terraces which trim both establishments. At La Boca, one of the terraces offers a boules court.
Contact: labocafoodcourt.eu; biltoki.com
Prices: ￡
St Michel
La Tupi?a
Imagine, if you will, a warm old French farmhouse – but one slotted into a quiet city street just off-centre. There are several rooms, all set about with vintage rustic furniture. Old photos and rural clutter cram on the walls and spare surfaces. And there is, of course, a big open fireplace – with cauldrons ('tupina', in Basque) bubbling and meat roasting on a spit. That, in a nutshell, is La Tupi?a, a restaurant which, though recently taken over by Franck Audu from founder Jean-Pierre Xiradakis, continues to emphasise regional food from the heart of the land. The appeal is atavistic: expect pot-au-feu (beef stew), foie gras, slow-roasted lamb, roast Bigorre pork, spit-roasted beef, and seriously good potatoes cooked in duck fat. Also cassoulet and lampreys à la bordelaise. If you're looking to keep your spending down, there's a menu of the day for €23 (￡19.50) at lunch. Dinner menus from €70 (￡60).
Contact: latupina.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ￡￡
St Pierre
La Brasserie Bordelaise
La Brasserie, on one of the key old streets in the St Pierre district, is one of those restaurant where no one’s sure whether it’s food or conviviality that has the upper hand. The place has barrels as tables, bottles along every wall and the buzz of locals tackling great meat and shellfish. This is not the setting for your romantic d?ner à deux – but if you want Bordelais bustle and a sense that you’re at the centre of things, you could do very much worse. There’s also a surprisingly satisfactory wine list, plus a selection of cognacs and armagnacs to satisfy the most exacting.
Contact: brasserie-bordelaise.fr
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ￡￡
La Bastide
L'Oiseau Bleu
Here’s an arresting spot: the restaurant used to be a police station, but these days, one enters with a lighter tread – once it has been located, that is. The premises are on the right bank, across the Garonne from the main bit of town. It’s well worth the gambol, though, especially when the weather’s fine. Take advantage of the lovely terrace, overlooking surrounding gardens. Wherever you sit, the food served by Sophie and Frédéric Lafon will hit the spot. Think excellent produce imaginatively worked – without spilling over into bonkers modernism. Try the scallops with butternut, chestnuts, mimolette and single malt whisky.
Contact: loiseaubleu.fr
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ￡￡
Chartrons
Cent 33
Since 2019, Fabien Beaufour has been treating Bordelais diners to tasting portions – shared platters in the middle of the table – and other innovations born of his travels which are presently assuring his position in the French gastronomic hierarchy. Menus hover around €80/￡67pp, and include, amongst very much else, crab salad with sea urchin broth, cauliflower and roasted grapefruit.
Contact: cent33.com
Reservations: essential
Prices: ￡￡
How we choose
Every restaurant in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighbourhood favourites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to best suit every type of traveller’s taste – and consider the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest opening and provide up to date recommendations.