The Bordeaux Bistro Revolution

IN FRANCE’S MOST FAMOUS WINE CITY, A CADRE OF AMBITIOUS YOUNG CHEFS IS BRILLIANTLY REINVENTING THE RESTAURANT SCENE.

- Jane Sigal

EVEN THOUGH it’s been one of the world’s wine capitals for centuries, Bordeaux has never been a culinary heavyweight like Paris or Lyon. Not so today. On my most recent trip to the city—just a two-hour ride by high-speed train from Paris—it was clear it has become a trending destination. After a representative from the tourism office, several of my hotel’s staff, a couple of winemakers, and practically every chef I met had all revealed they were newcomers, I had to wonder: Is anybody in Bordeaux these days actually from Bordeaux?

But I could see why they’d put down roots here. Two decades of revitalization projects have transformed a dusky port into a pedestrian-friendly, optimistic city. I walked the UNESCO World Heritage circuit of merchants’ townhouses carved with lions and scallops and the arresting Place de la Bourse, whose Age of Enlightenment Stock Exchange Hall had shut early in the face of a yellow vest protest. Yet even that tumult couldn’t discourage a sea of people from strolling and riding bikes in the spiffy docklands to-park conversion along the waterfront on a sunny afternoon.

The city’s renaissance isn’t limited to architecture: Beginning about five years ago, Bordeaux started going crazy with good new restaurants. In particular, ambitious young chefs from around France and beyond sensed an opportunity in what was missing: a thriving, diverse food scene. Unencumbered by the city’s somewhat staid gastronomic past, they’re creating modern bistros with global sensibilities.