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What To Eat In Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a charming city along the Garonne River in Southwestern France. Boasting a rich history, and beautiful architecture, it’s not hard to fall in love with Bordeaux!
World-renowned for its prestigious wine production and with centuries-old recipes and products you won’t find almost anywhere else, Bordeaux is also a gastronomic paradise through and through.
Feeling hungry? Tasting the local cuisine is one of the best things to do in Bordeaux, so check out this Bordeaux food guide with the foods you need to try when visiting Bordeaux next time.
Bordeaux Food Specialties You Need to Try
What to eat in Bordeaux? Here’s the best food in Bordeaux, France – famous Bordeaux dishes, appetizers, cheeses, and desserts. The descriptions will help you decide if you want to try these specialties of the Bordeaux cuisine or not!
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1. Entrecôte à la Bordelaise
If you love meat, you can’t but try the Entrecôte à la Bordelaise. One of the classic recipes from Bordeaux cuisine consists of rib-eye perfectly seared and finished with a delicious local sauce. The Bordelaise sauce is made by mixing red Bordeaux wine, butter, shallots, and spices, simmered to let it reduce and thicken up.
The Entrecôte à la Bordelaise is served freshly cooked with french fries, mashed potatoes, or sautéed mushrooms. This Bordeaux food is perfectly paired with a bold and oak-aged red Bordeaux wine glass.
2. Lamproie à la Bordelaise
This hearty and rich stew is a traditional dish everyone in Bordeaux loves. The main ingredient of this Bordeaux dish is lamprey, a fish similar to the eel, which is common in the Gironde Estuary.
Even if you’re not fond of seafood, you should try Lamproie à la Bordelaise, as the slow cooking method doesn’t give this dish a fishy flavor.
Besides the fish, this stew contains veggies, local red wine, and a special ingredient, the lamprey’s own blood. Although this last ingredient doesn’t seem appealing, it gives the stew a richness that you will hardly find in another dish.
3. Crépinette
This flat-looking sausage is a traditional Bordeaux food served at Christmas and during the end-of-year celebrations. It is made with different types of meats, like pork, turkey, veal, and chicken, which are minced or ground.
The name of this sausage comes from its main peculiarity: the meat is wrapped in the “crépine,” or cual fat, the membrane that holds some animals’ viscera.
In the Bordeaux region, the Crépinette is enriched with truffles, parsley, and a touch of Armagnac or cognac, which makes it super flavorful. Sautéed in butter, Crépinette is then enjoyed with oysters and a glass of white wine.
4. Arcachon Oysters
Bordeaux is famous not only for its wine but also for the Arcachon Oysters. Located 60 km Southwest of Bordeaux, Arcachon Bay is the perfect harvesting site for oysters. Rich in minerals and vitamins, this shellfish has delicate and tasty flesh and is to be eaten raw.
Particularly popular on New Year’s Eve, the Arcachon Oysters can be enjoyed plain, with a squeeze of lemon, or a sauce made of red wine vinegar and chopped shallots. The Oysters are usually served with buttered rye bread and a glass of white wine.
You can taste Arcachon Oysters exclusively in restaurants and markets in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, as they aren’t exported or sold anywhere else. These Oysters are sold by the plate and are perfect for the apéritif!
5. Canelé
This famous food of Bordeaux is among the best desserts you can taste in Bordeaux. The locals love Cannelés so much that its recipe is legally protected in Bordeaux!
The history of this little sweet cake is linked with wine production: egg whites are used to clarify wine, so locals had to find a way to use leftover egg yolks. They cleverly came up with this dessert, where the yolks are mixed with flour, sugar, vanilla, and rum, and the little Cannelés cakes are baked in fluted copper molds, which gives them the typical shape.
Cannelés have a perfect consistency, caramelized on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside.
6. Merveilles
This delicious, centuries-old pastry was traditionally made for Carnival, but it is so beloved by the locals that it can be found throughout the year.
Merveilles consist of sweet egg dough deep-fried until puffed and finished with sugar. The dough can be “plain” or flavored with a spirit, usually rum or Armagnac.
Merveilles are best enjoyed when freshly fried, as the wait will make the dough soggy, ruining this dessert’s perfect crispy and chewy consistency.
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7. Puits d’Amour
This delicious Bordeaux dessert is a must-try while in Bordeaux! Consisting of a puff pastry vol-au-vent filled with redcurrant jelly or raspberry jam and topped with a pastry handle, the Puits d’Amour were incredibly popular at the court of King Louis XV.
Before serving, the cake is sprinkled with powdered sugar. Today you can find several variants of Puits d’Amour, with the hallowed pastry stuffed with vanilla cream instead of jam and the top glazed with caramel icing.
Whatever version of Puits d’Amour you can take your hands on, you will surely enjoy this dessert!