2 Best Restaurants in Bordeaux and the Wine Country, France

L'Entrée du Jardin

$$ Fodor's choice
Set in the heart of the town, this is Cadillac's top gastronomic address, serving regional specialties prepared with imagination and flair. Inspired takes on the French classics feature fresh local produce, fish, and game. Look for dishes like creamy watercress and asparagus soup with mushrooms and escargots, lamprey eel braised in wine à la Bordelaise, artisan-made charcuterie with country pâté, and a selection of scrumptious pastries from the in-house pastry chef all served with the top local vintages. Prix-fixe lunch menus (€13.50, €15.50) are an outstanding bargain on weekdays, and a pretty terrace delights in the warmer months.

Le Chapon Fin

$$$$ Fodor's choice

Some say you haven't really been to Bordeaux if you haven't been to Le Chapon Fin—an epicurean indulgence, housed in one of Bordeaux's most historically esteemed establishments, where guests once included wealthy wine merchants, elite transatlantic travelers, and cultural icons such as Sarah Bernhardt and Toulouse-Lautrec. Founded in 1825, this was one of the first 33 restaurants crowned by Michelin in 1933. Reopened in 1987, guests are now served from chef Nicolas Nguyen Van Hai's refined menu in the extraordinary, original rococo grotto salle (room). Expect offerings like civet of hare (a kingly, 500-year-old dish of whole jackrabbit cut into pieces and then cooked for days in fine wine thickened with blood and liver). The wine list, not surprisingly, boasts the region's best vintages.

French Lunch Dinner $$$$ Fodor's Choice
5 rue Montesquieu, Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, 33000, France
05–56–79–10–10
www.chapon-fin.com
Known For
  • gorgeous rococo grotto dining room
  • prestigious history, including a kingly, 500-year-old dish of whole jackrabbit cooked for days in fine wine thickened with blood and liver
  • superb wine list
Restaurants Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Mon., and Aug., Reservations essential