Bordeaux: Brasserie Bordelaise

As a Parisian, I have to admit I really envy the Bordelais their wonderful new Brasserie Bordelaise. (You probably don’t need me to tell you that with only a few exceptions, anyone who loves good food should give today’s Parisian brasseries a wide berth). Not only is the food delicious, but it has the happy metropolitan tumult, the great people watching and the low-key buzz of people eating well that I’ll forever associate with brasseries at their best. Owner Nicolas Lascombes, who once worked at the famous Bordeaux bistrot La Tupina, sources most of the menu locally, including great steaks and a small selection of fish, and he proudly presents some more than 200 different bottles of Bordeaux, most of which are affordable. I can’t imagine a better meal here than oysters served with hot chipolata pork sausages — a brilliant Bordelais tradition — served with a nice white Graves, and then an entrecôte of Bazas beef with a red Côtes de Blaye.

50 rue Saint Rémi, Bordeaux, 05.57.87.11.91. €25 per person without wine

Originally published in the March 2009 issue of France Today

See our complete restaurant guide