Bordeaux in Three Meals: SOIF, Baston, and Mets Mots

We did Bordeaux for three days in February 2025, a Valentine's weekend from Gatwick. The wine-and-chateau plan ended up being secondary to the food. Bordeaux is a serious eating city pretending to be a serious wine city.

Friday night: SOIF

22 Rue de la Devise, centre of the old town. Modern French bistronomy in a stripped-back room with bare wooden tables. The chef, Yannick Donias, worked at Septime in Paris before opening here. Book two months ahead.

Four-course set tasting at €68/person. Our courses: beetroot tartare with smoked trout roe, hand-cut steak tartare with crispy capers and pickled girolles, rabbit confit with cabbage and miso, soft chocolate fondant with roasted hazelnuts. Wine pairing €40/person extra (Cremant de Bordeaux, a Loire natural white, a young Saint-Estephe, Sauternes for dessert).

The steak tartare was the standout. Hand-cut, properly seasoned, the capers fried until crisp. Linda, who normally avoids tartare, asked for the recipe. The chef came out and told us.

Total bill with wines and a digestif: €240 between us.

Saturday lunch: Baston

Place du Parlement. The casual small-plate, natural-wine place that is Bordeaux's current house style. We sat outside at 8 degrees in the sun and ordered: six Arcachon oysters (€15), duck rillette with cornichons (€8), marrow bone with parsley salad (€12), and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc each (€7). About €60 for two. The oysters were ten minutes off the boat from Arcachon, and the marrow bone is something Linda has been talking about ever since.

The wine list is 80% natural, all southwest France. The staff genuinely know what they're doing.

Saturday night: Mets Mots

20 Rue de la Devise (same street as SOIF, two blocks down). One Michelin star. Seven-course tasting at €120/person, wine pairing €60. Total €360 for two with a digestif.

Standouts: single-bite foie gras on cooked apple with pear puree. A 24-hour braised veal cheek over polenta with morels. Pre-dessert of mango and lime granita with toasted pistachio. The wine pairings included a 2019 Pessac-Leognan that was the best single glass of wine of the trip.

This is the meal Linda would put in her top ten of all time. We argued for an hour walking back to the hotel about whether it was better than Loco in Lisbon (Loco wins on consistency, Mets Mots wins on individual courses). We're still arguing.

What else to eat in Bordeaux

Sunday breakfast: Fortiche Club near the river. Avocado toast, sourdough, single-origin coffee. €12/person.

The chateau: Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion. €40/person for tour and tasting, 90 minutes, two reds and a white. The cellar building is by Philippe Starck, glass-walled, and feels more like a tech startup than a winery.

The caneles: Baillardran on the way to the airport. €18 for a box of twelve. The genuine Bordeaux canele is dense and burnt outside, soft inside. Skip the supermarket version.

Bordeaux food weekend cost for two

Hotel: Mondrian Bordeaux, €260/night with breakfast, spa included.