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Our Top 10
Check the Local Map grid reference for the location, and distances are from Château Bauduc.
| 1. |
La Table, Créon 33670 |
05 56 42 98 40, |
1 km, map ref C3 |
| In the main square of our local town, La Table has a small frontage but a large garden at the back with tables. A charming couple, Laure and Guième, opened La Table in 2007 and after mixed fortunes early on, La Table is now a firm favourite. The food, based on several recent visits, is superb, although service can be a little slow - so arrive earlier rather than later. The lunchtime menu for €13 is very good value, the dinner à la carte terrific and there's a good wine list too. Closed Sunday evening and all day Monday. |
| 2. |
La Poudette, Pujols 33350 |
05 57 40 71 52, |
30 kms, map G3 |
| An authentic, unfussy French country restaurant and worth the detour. Frédéric Jombart cooks delicious food and Sophie Cabantous runs the front of house with aplomb. Rural setting south of Castillon, in the valley below Pujols, with outside tables in the summer. Popular with the Brits out that way near the Dorgogne. Good if limited wine list. Closed Monday, and Tuesday out of season. |
| 3. |
Chez Hortense, Cap Ferret 33950 |
05 56 60 62 56, |
100kms - by the sea |
| On the coast and our firm family favourite in summer. Worth the long drive for lunch or supper when combined with a day trip or a long stroll up the beach. Super spot with views out to sea and great seafood – try moules cooked in oil, garlic, bacon and breadcrumbs, with frites, followed by fresh turbot. Relaxed and informal. Some good Entre Deux Mers and Graves whites and very fair prices. Weekends only out of high season and closed winter. Must book ‘sur la terrasse'. |
| 4. |
Les Sources de Caudalie, Martillac 33650 |
05 57 83 83 83, |
32 kms, map A4 |
| The best hotel in the region and well known for its fabulous Vinothérapie spa. There are two good restaurants – the Michelin-starred La Grand Vigne for a smart occasion, and La Table du Lavoir for a stylish brasserie - more so at lunch before some relaxing spa treatments. Good wine list too but very pricey in parts. We keep Bauduc at La Table du Lavoir in our private wine box (on display next to Pontet Canet's, no less), so Bauduc regulars who ask us nicely, well in advance, can have a bottle on us. |
| 5. |
Le Clos Mirande, Montagne St-Emilion 33570 |
05 57 74 50 16, |
32 kms NE |
| Newish, popular restaurant in a rural spot near Montagne, a few minutes north of St-Emilion. Take the Lussac road out of Montagne and Le Clos Mirande is marked further on. It's not cheap – we had the 42€ menu gastronomique – but the food and calm setting are top notch. Oddly, the wine list was a bit uninspired so I had to ask if they had anything else, which they did. Closed Monday. |
| 6. |
Logis de la Cadene, St Emilion 33330 |
05 57 24 71 40, |
25 kms, map F1 |
| Classic French affair with a charming vine-covered terrace area in this famous wine village. The Logis is in a lovely setting down a steep cobbled walkway. The food is tasty even if the menu hasn't been altered in a decade. Visitors are rarely disappointed here but look for values on the wine list, we'd suggest, rather than the expensive stuff. |
| 7. |
La Maison du Fleuve, Camblanes 33360 |
05 56 20 06 40, |
13 kms, map B3 |
| Stunning location in sunny weather, especially before sundown, right on the river Garonne, 15 minutes south of Bordeaux centre and the same distance from Bauduc. The food is pretty good without being exceptional although it's been good for groups that we've booked in. The wine list is adequate but if you ask them nicely in advance you can take a bottle or two of Bauduc. |
| 8. |
Le Lion d'Or, Arcins 33460, Médoc |
05 56 58 96 79, |
60kms (near Margaux) |
| Traditional lunch stop if you're visiting châteaux in the Médoc, north of Margaux on the D2 and worth a detour. Classic regional cooking and you can take a bottle of red but not white. Some dishes – lampreys stewed in red wine, whole calf kidney, pig's trotter - are not for the fainthearted but are very tasty. A classic. |
| 9. |
L'Entrecôte, Cours du 30 Juillet, Bordeaux 33000 |
No bookings, |
map A2 |
| A great place in Bordeaux for a family, next to Le Grand Theatre and opposite the merry-go-round. You have to like steak-frites and the wine list is restricted to one red and one rosé. The finely sliced beef arrives on a silver platter in a delicious sauce, the frites are dangerous, and there's a wide choice of yummy puddings. No bookings and as this is the busiest place in town, queue just before midday or at 7pm, or you could have a long wait. Proof that keeping it simple works if the product is right. |
| 10. |
L'Auberge de l'Ancienne Poste, Rions 33410 |
05 56 27 43 31, |
18 kms, map C4 |
| A new restaurant in 2007 in the charming old town of Rions near the Garonne river, just north of Cadillac, 20 minutes away. The côte de boeuf grilled on the open fire is superb, so book a table in the room with the 'Cheminée' or fireplace. Once a regular haunt of ours, we haven't been since the Auberge changed hands in 2009 but friends say it's still good. |
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