During our first night in Bordeaux, my wife and I didn't have any reservations for dinner, and kind of winged it by walking around until we found a place that looked good to us. We peeked into A Cantina since it looked lively with a lot of locals. They asked us if we wanted to eat at the bar or restaurant. Apparently, the lower level has a tapas style menu and the upper level has a more traditional dinner menu. We chose dinner and were guided upstairs.
The place was fairly small with home style tables and cozy decor. The two waitresses serving everyone were buzzing around and informed us that they did speak English and would be with us in a moment. Once our waitress was able to come and talk to us, she was very helpful in guiding us through the menu and making various recommendations. After discussing our options, we chose to start with the Tartare de Mulet and Figatellu de Felix Torre Grillé, with the Le Cochon Noir as our entree. The Tartare de Mulet is comprised of Mullet, which was a refreshing change from the standard beef tartare, and was very well seasoned. The Figatellu de Felix Torre Grillé, was explained to us as being a type of pan fried sausage that is unique to Bordeaux. This was a surprising dish because it tasted very heavily of liver, something that I have not really encountered in sausages. I really liked the dish since I have an affinity for liver, but my wife, not so much. After we devoured our starters, we were presented with the Cochon Noir. The Cochon Noir is a double cut pork chop that is cut in half when served at the table; a somewhat grand presentation considering the humble setting, but was pleasantly surprising and entertaining. Our waitresses also recommend various local Bordeaux wines that paired well throughout our dinner.
Overall, this was a very good dinner experience, which I would definitely recommend to others and try to come back to myself. read more