Top wine region restaurants – Bordeaux

The latest in our series touring the top eateries in the most famous wine regions around the world. This week we’re taking a look at Bordeaux.

The famous Place de la Bourse in the centre of Bordeaux

Bordeaux – as everyone knows – is the world’s major wine industry capital. The wine economy in the metropolitan area takes in around €14.5 billion each year, with wine having been produced in the region since the 8th century.

The historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as “an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble” of the 18th century.

And the natural sum of great wine and great history is, of course, great food. So take a culinary cruise around our top picks for eating out in the picturesque area.

Restaurant Le Tetre

Located right in the centre of the medieval village of St. Emilion, in one of its most typical little pedestrian streets – the Rue du Tertre de la Tente – the restaurant is situated just 20 yards from the beautiful monolithic church.

Boasting a cosy, quiet atmosphere, in summer couples can choose to be one of the select few to sit on one of three tables for two outside on a small terrace and dine surrounded by flowers on trellises.

Indoors there is room for up to 28 people along with discreet piano jazz background music, and one can reserve a special table for four people surrounded by Grands Crus in the wine cellar carved directly out of the surrounding rock.

With the sophisticated ambience combined with regional and seasonal specialities carefully made with fresh local produce, this restaurant won’t disappoint.

Restaurant Le Tertre, 5 rue du Tertre de la Tente, 33330 Saint Emilion

Le Bordeaux at Grand Hôtel de Bordeaux

Originally opened in 1850 in the famous Place de la Comédie and frequented by legendary guests including French novelist Victor Hugo, Le Bordeaux is reportedly the only restaurant that remains of ‘old Bordeaux’.

The brasserie is overseen by Executive Chef Stéphane Carrade, who has used high-quality regional ingredients to create a menu which mirrors the hotel’s South-West France origins and surroundings.

A contemporary twist on wines by the glass, the brasserie offer its guests the rare opportunity to enjoy these dishes paired with leading Bordeaux Grand Crus served from magnums and double-magnums, an opulent reminder of Le Bordeaux from 19th century.

Le Bordeaux, 5 Place de la Comédie 33000 Bordeaux 

La Brasserie Bordelaise 

At the Brasserie Bordelaise, the focus of the restaurant is on the counter. Before sitting down to eat, guests are invited to saddle up for an aperitif: the opportunity to chat over a glass of wine, nibble radishes, carrots, pie, meats and all-sorts of fresh produce.

And the whole experience is based around this concept, trying lots of food, wine, and getting stuck into the sensory experience of it all. The concept is simple, and it works.

La Brasserie Bordelaise, 50 rue Saint-Rémi, 33000 Bordeaux

La Grand Vigne at Les Sources de Caudelie

Set in a former orangery and modelled on an ornamental 18th-century glasshouse, La Grand’Vigne restaurant invites guests to savour the chef’s well-grounded cuisine. On fine days, it is possible to enjoy lunch or dinner in the sunshine, on the terrace overlooking the lake and the vine-covered slopes.

According to the restaurant’s literature, Chef Nicolas Masse has developed close relationships with local fishermen, livestock breeders, and market gardeners on the Atlantic coast and in the countryside, who supply him with seasonal produce – and these good relationships certainly translate onto the plate.

La Grand Vigne, Les Sources de Caudelie, Chemin de Smith Haut Lafitte, 33650 Bordeaux-Martillac

L’Envers du Décor

L’Envers du Décor was the first wine bar in Saint-Émilion, having been opened in February of 1987 by François Ligneris. This therefore means that there is a natural focus on the pairing of food with wine within three dining rooms, each of which boast a particular atmosphere.

The wines themselves are stored in an old quarry dug in the 19th century under the restaurant, which recently received the Grand Prix de la Presse du Vin for the best selection of wines in the wine bars of France.

L’Envers du Décor, 11 rue du Clocher, 33330 Saint Emilion

Le Chapon Fin

Founded in 1825, Le Chapon Fin was one of the first ever three-star restaurants (it was one of the first 33 establishments to be awarded three stars by Michelin in 1933).

It was also a destination for the cream of society: wealthy Bordeaux merchants, passengers from transatlantic liners, or the glamorous clientele of the Café Anglais in Paris on their way to holiday resorts on the Basque coast.

And this reputation is carried on to today, and not only with the classically delicious plates offering the definition of Bordeaux cuisine, but also with the wine cellar. The cellar is well-stocked with great wines such as 1928 Château d’Yquem, 1986 Pétrus, 1955 Lascombes, 1985 Dom Perignon and 16 vintages of Château Mouton Rothschild.

La Tupina

With a kitchen built around a massive, traditional fireplace, so too is the spirit of the restaurant centred around what the fireplace symbolises: welcoming warmth, comfort and of course, cooking

The menu boasts every conceivable produce from the nearby area, including a rainbow of different fish, meats, game, poultry, vegetable and desert dishes that are matched only by the selection of wines, laid out without pretension and with plenty of affordability.

La Tupina, 6 rue Porte de la Monnaie, 33800 Bordeaux 

Chateau Cordeillan-Bages

Before taking the reins of one Cordeillan-Bages in 2010, Head Chef Jean-Luc Rocha was the second in command to two top French chefs, both doubly starred: Patrick Henriroux at the Pyramid in Vienna and Thierry Marx, his predecessor at Cordeillan-Bages.The quality of his work earned him in 2007 to get the coveted title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France.

And what he produces at the pass of the Chateau Cordeillan-Bages is a product of the modern school of French cooking that still incorporates technical classicism.

With exceptional cooking and a superb wine-list, this restaurant comes highly recommended.

Château Cordeillan-Bages, Route des Châteaux, 33250 Pauillac