Before visiting Bordeaux, I googled lots of “where to eat in Bordeaux”/“best restaurant in Bordeaux,” etc. blogs and read numerous Bordeaux restaurant reviews, and let me tell you, there are a lot of fabulous restaurants in and around Bordeaux, including a number of Michelin starred restaurants! Choosing the right Bordeaux restaurant can be quite overwhelming, and can take up a good bit of your time.

Almost all of the Bordeaux foodie blogs and Bordeaux “best restaurant” lists mentioned La Tupina in some capacity…  However, while being on all of those Bordeaux foodie blogs and Bordeaux restaurant lists, La Tupina seemed a bit touristy and received a handful of mediocre to poor reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp!  I went back and forth, but ultimately ended up making a reservation online at La Tupina before I left due to a personal restaurant recommendation from a friend, figuring that I could always cancel once in Bordeaux.  Let me go ahead and say, I am SO GLAD that I did not cancel!  La Tupina ended up being my favorite meal in France!

La Tupina is located in Bordeaux proper, about a 25 minute walk from the Bordeaux Tourist Office, and specializes in Southwestern French cuisine, which means savory, fat, farmhouse fare!  Lots of pig and foie gras on the menu (although there are vegetarian options).  In addition to serving Southwestern French cuisine, the interior of La Tupina is decorated as a French farmhouse, which did make La Tupina a bit touristy.  There is also super cute outdoor seating, but that books up very early!

Every table at La Tupina starts with a complimentary starter of fresh, seasonal vegetables and pâté de campagne, which is a country pork pate.  Ours came with in-season tomatoes, radishes and a large slap of butter for the accompanying bread.  The pate was great but the tomatoes were awesome!!  Their deliciousness prompted me to order my starter!

Since the amuse bouche tomatoes were so tasty, I started with the cold tomato soup.  It was AMAZING and the best single course of food that I had the entire trip!  The soup was served with a few bites of crusty bread and a few drops of oil.  DELICIOUS!!!  Sadly for those visiting outside of summer, I think this is a summer speciality.

For my main dish, I went back and forth between several dishes and ended up ordering Le Macaronade, which is a dish meant for 2 people (… oops) made up of rigatoni pasta, cream, foie gras, ces mushrooms and bacon.  Woah.  The dish was decadent and amazing, and definitely large enough for two people….  It was served in a Le Creuset cooking pot.  Below is just the portion that I put on my plate.

For Dan’s main plate, he ordered a steak, which came with the ubiquitous Southwestern white beans in a cooking pot!  The beans were tasty and he very much enjoyed his steak.

While full, I absolutely insisted on ordering dessert!  I went with the chocolate cake with custard, topped with strawberries!  Like the rest of our meal, absolutely delicious!

Finally, as with other nicer restaurants in Bordeaux, our check came with complementary canéles, which are local Bordeaux sweets.

STEAL OUR TRIP

La Tupina: 6, rue Porte de la monnaie, 33800 Bordeaux. T. : 05 56 91 56 37.  Reservations can and should be made online here. Be sure to make reservations at La Tupina and not one of its sister restaurants.  To ensure a reservation, make it 2-3 weeks in advance online.  The menu is available on its website.

ON A BUDGET

La Tupina is certainly not a “budget” option.  However, that being said, La Tupina’s the portions are very large and I think the quality of the food makes up for the cost.  Also note that while vacationing in Bordeaux can be pricey, it does have a number of inexpensive restaurants due to the fact that Bordeaux is a university town!