In 25 years, Bordeaux has been transformed into a stunning city; its once-blackened Unesco-listed architecture has been polished and now the pale limestone mansions bask in the Aquitaine sun. Meanwhile, its once-industrial docks have been redeveloped into dynamic and attractive waterfronts, such as the Bassins à Flots district, which is also home to the Cité du Vin, an architectural masterpiece of a wine museum.
Yet the pace of change for Bordeaux restaurants has been even quicker, particularly in the last five to ten years; the traditional, meat-focused bistros that once lured in those from the wine trade have been replaced by newer offerings, forming a huge and varied dining scene. Small and intimate fine-dining establishments are led by dynamic young chefs, many of whom have worked abroad and are bringing global styles back to Southwest France, pairing their fresh ideas with the bounty of produce available in the region.
Local expert Anne Lataillade, who writes the blog Papilles et Pupilles, suggests that these new Bordeaux restaurants are offering a new ‘bistronomic’ style of dining, and they have rapidly grown in number. ‘We have many restaurants where the value for money is good, even excellent. I really like, for example, Zéphirine for the quality of cooking, and for the warm welcome and friendly atmosphere,’ she says. She has also witnessed a new wave of global cuisine arriving in the city. ‘Korean, Japanese, Mexican, Thai, Levantine cuisine. You can find everything in Bordeaux.’
The traditional, meat-focused bistros that once lured in those from the wine trade have been replaced by newer offerings, forming a huge and varied dining scene
Alongside these trends, there are still traditional haute cuisine restaurants featuring the food world’s biggest names, and who often have the backing of luxury hotel groups. ‘In recent years, the city has become attractive to top chefs, those who open restaurants in major global cities. I am thinking, for example, of Pierre Gagnaire [La Grande Maison de Bernard Magrez], Gordon Ramsay [Le Pressoir d’Argent at the Intercontinental] and Masaharu Morimoto [Morimoto at Mondrian Bordeaux Les Carmes],’ says Lataillade. ‘The Gironde is still waiting for a three-star restaurant,’ she however concedes. Meanwhile, other hotel restaurants are investing in showcasing the next generation of culinary talent, such as the five-star Palais Gallien whose restaurant La Table de Montaigne now has British chef Oli Williamson at the helm.
10 top Bordeaux restaurants
La Table de Montaigne
It’s unusual to see a British chef of Oli Williamson’s calibre working in France, but the UK’s loss is Bordeaux’s gain; the recipient of the prestigious Roux Scholarship has an enviable CV that includes a stint as head chef at The Fat Duck in Bray and as part of the team at Zén in Singapore. Having taken the helm at La Table de Montaigne at five-star hotel Le Palais Gallien in January 2024, he has a chance to shine with his own repertoire, a culmination of many influences gathered through this career. Dishes include pigeon with sand carrots with spices, umeboshi, Chinese master stock, stuffed bao and pigeon sausage; and brill stuffed with scallops, blood orange ponzu, kimchi and white asparagus. All is served by attentive staff in a tranquil and intimate dining room.
144 Rue Abbé de l’Épée
hotel-palais-gallien-bordeaux/restaurant
Cent 33
This cosy bistro in the Chartrons district has a strong eco-friendly drive and uses seasonal, local or organic ingredients, much of which is taken from the restaurant’s nearby potager garden. At the helm is chef Fabien Beaufour (and his wife Emilie) who has worked in some of the world’s best restaurants including The French Laundry and Eleven Madison Park in the US. Springtime dishes include grilled miso black cod with morel mushrooms and vin jaune, or saddle of lamb with Agen prunes, beans and black garlic.
133 Rue du Jardin Publique
cent33.com
Inima
In 2023, Moldavian-born chef Oxana Cretu re-launched her previous restaurant Cromagnon as Inima (which translates as ‘with all my heart’ from Moldovan), with a more polished, refined menu of delicate dishes with Japanese influences – and with the clear ambition of gaining a Michelin star. Dishes include scallops and vanilla-infused confit persimmon in a citronella broth; and white chocolate tart with arbutus berries. All served in a refined and contemporary dining room.
48, rue du palais Gallien
inimarestaurant.com
Avant Comptoir du Palais
Bordeaux’s outpost of Avant Comptoir du Palais, a ‘bistronomic’ trailblazer in Paris led by chef Yves Camdeborde, sees his nephew Julien Camdeborde at the helm and serving an array of tapas-style dishes in a relaxed setting. With a repertoire of some 60 dishes, such as tuna tartare with raspberries, or seaweed-salted potatoes, it’ll take you on a journey through some of France’s best ingredients. The wine choice celebrates the local with a prominent selection from the south-west of France, but there are a couple of vintages on offer from each region of the country.
2 Place du Palais
camdeborde.com
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Zéphirine
Tucked away on the quiet Rue Abbé de l’Epée, the owners of Zéphirine – chef Romain Corbière, his sister Marie-Zéphirine and her husband Bertrand Arnauld – classify their Bordeaux restaurant as an ‘auberge urbaine’ thanks to its laidback setting with a wooden-floored dining room and a discreet rear terrace. Despite the relaxed setting, Zéphirine offers a sophisticated cuisine based on excellent produce and built on chef Corbière’s experience working with Alain Ducasse and Joël Robuchon. In a city traditionally known for its meaty menus, the restaurant is a great champion of vegetables, and there is even an épicerie fine and patisserie on-site to add to the venue’s allure.
62 Rue Abbé de l’Epée
zephirine.fr
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Le Gabriel
There are few chefs whose cuisine deserves the ultimate Bordeaux bonne adresse of the resplendent Place de la Bourse, but Bertrand Noeureuil has earned his place, working as chef de cuisine for Arnaud Donckle for ten years. Le Gabriel comprises two restaurants with more casual destination Le 1544 on an upper floor. But Michelin-starred L’Observatoire is the jewel in the crown with its inventive menus focused on seafood and superlative views of the broad River Garonne as it glides by.
10 Place de la Bourse
le-gabriel-bordeaux.fr
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Maison Nouvelle
Although long-established as a name to know within the country’s culinary rankings, Philip Etchebest’s fame has reached new levels thanks to his punchy opinions on TV shows such as France’s Top Chef. And of course, he’s long held a position of esteem within this city thanks to his Le Quatrième Mur restaurant within the Opéra National de Bordeaux. In late 2021, he added to his portfolio with Maison Nouvelle, a showcase for the myriad flavours of Southwest France that has already earned one Michelin star. It is set on the lively Place du Marché Chartrons, a trendy district once home to the city’s many wine merchants.
11 Rue Rode
maison-nouvelle.fr
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Solèna
This welcoming one-star restaurant is a short stroll or tram ride from the city centre but worth the detour for chef Victor Ostronzec’s menu of creative dishes and tasting menus with matching wine flights. The cuisine is strictly governed by seasonality – with a particular lean towards seafood and fish – and Ostronzec is consistently reinventing his repertoire according to the top produce he sources from nearby. Expect excellent, attentive service for its 22 covers inside a stylish dining room featuring Scandinavian design references.
5 Rue Chauffour
solena-restaurant.com
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Ro’cha
Franco-Portuguese chef Jean-Luc Rocha, a recipient of the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France, returns from a period in the kitchens of Paris to the region in which he first made his name (when he took over from Thierry Marx at Pauillac’s Châteaux Cordeillan-Bages back in 2010). This is the first restaurant of his own, one where the glitz is pared-back, the atmosphere relaxed, and menus determined by the seasons and the region’s market produce. A short ride on the tram towards the Parc Bordelaise is rewarded by excellent cuisine for a fraction of the price found at his previous establishments.
165 avenue d’Eysines, 33110 Le Bouscat
rocha-restaurant.fr
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Mazal
For a change to traditional fine dining, seek out Mazal near the Place de la Bourse. It has a great atmosphere – a mirror ball on the ceiling the marker for this – and a menu that blends the best of France and the Levant. Take a seat at the counter and watch the dynamic chefs create dishes that range from the traditional hummus and labneh, to others that fuse Middle Eastern spices with traditional French ingredients, such as spiced, slow-roasted belly pork with caramelised onion and horseradish.
4 Rue du Puits Descujols
lemazal.fr
