With its world-famous 18th-century architecture, Bordeaux is a heaven for travelers. Restaurants offering great food in a leisurely atmosphere are undoubtedly part of what makes this city so attractive. It’s then no wonder that the Bordelais have taken to brunching. Read on for our selection of the top brunch spots in the city.
France has a long-established tradition of brasseries – relaxed, unassuming restaurants open all day with simple but well-executed dishes. Le Tourny is a great example of this; the interior is unpretentious and the friendly owner immediately puts visitors at ease, making it a popular spot for a laid-back Sunday brunch. There’s a great variety of food to choose from, with traditional brunch dishes such as Eggs Benedict available on their own or with additions, and two brunch menus comprising all the essentials.
The restaurant in Mama Shelter, a hip, modern hotel in the center of Bordeaux, offers a surprising variety of brunch options every Sunday from 12.30pm to 4pm. No need to choose and risk missing out on the best dishes – brunch here is an all-you-can-eat buffet, offering continental breakfast, full English breakfast items, and a selection of sweet and savory options. Go for the setting as well as for the food; it’s a huge, sprawling space that feels like it belongs in New York or San Francisco rather in Bordeaux, with an agreeable rooftop terrace perfect for sunny days.
Les Fils à Maman, meaning ‘Mommy’s Boys’, is a charmingly retro restaurant with a simple concept; taking customers back to their childhood…and to their mother’s delicious cooking! Everything is straight out of the 1980s, with a nostalgic, slightly childish vibe – even the bathrooms are decorated with 1980s cartoons. French twenty-somethings are definitely the target audience but don’t let that keep you from an excellent brunch, consisting of a drink, a hot main dish served with fries and a dessert.
Fancy discovering the best of southwestern France? Head to Panpi & Mirentxu, a restaurant and deli full of Basque specialties in the picturesque Saint-Michel neighborhood. There are sweet and savory menus, both so filling there’s absolutely no chance of still being hungry afterwards. Since all products are fresh and seasonal, the menu changes every week but you can always count on ham, cheese, and Basque pastries, as well as freshly pressed orange juice.
Laure Bonnet and her companion, a Leeds native, opened this restaurant to offer authentic English food. This may not seem so attractive in a city so full of delicious French food but there’s nothing quite like a traditional full English breakfast for brunch. And, rest assured, this is the real deal; choose from crumpets, scones, toast, scrambled eggs with bacon or salmon, grilled tomatoes, and salad. Add a sweet dessert like a slice of cheesecake and a nice cup of tea for a quintessential brunch experience. Booking beforehand is recommended.
This whimsically named restaurant (‘The cocoa pod bird’) mostly uses only organic products. Brunch, served every Sunday from 11.30am to 3pm, is simple but filling. The ‘Big Brunch’ menu, for instance, is the perfect choice for fans of variations on traditional brunch food, offering a plethora of bread, butter, jam, muffins, eggs with bacon, a pancake with maple syrup, fresh vegetables, and an incredibly diverse tea selection. This venue is even better when visited in spring and summer, when clients can enjoy the terrace.
One of the trendiest brunch spots in Bordeaux, Plume lives up to expectations with its creative and healthy brunch fare. The menu depends on the season, guaranteeing the freshest of ingredients, but generally you can expect cranberry scones, a fresh fruit juice, fresh vegetables, scrambled eggs, cheese, jam, cottage cheese and hot drinks. The staff is also happy to change the menu to suit vegetarian and vegan clients, always a plus in a city where it’s not always easy to find good vegetarian food. Unfortunately, Plume doesn’t take bookings for brunch, so make sure to come early.
The atmosphere at this restaurant is as cozy as expected; leather sofas, boxes of tea and coffee everywhere, wooden shelves, and, of course, books and magazines clients can leaf through for as long as they want. The brunch offer is a set menu with a mix of sweet and savory delights such as omelettes, potatoes, muesli with cottage cheese, or, for a small surcharge, bagels with salmon. Another thing Books & Coffee does right is its great tea selection – sure, there’s English breakfast, but they also offer white or half-fermented tea as well, among numerous other options.
L’Autre salon de thé is mostly known for its delicious cakes and pastries but it also serves brunch every Sunday from 12pm to 3pm, with both sweet and savory dishes. The sweet part consists of brioche with jam and butter while savory options change every week but are always worth trying. Finish your meal off with one of their famous cakes for a perfect Sunday morning. Don’t forget to book.
Karl, on the lively Place du Parlement, is one of the few places in Bordeaux to offer a brunch every day. Sit down at the terrace in the summer or enjoy the beautiful interior with apparent stones and wooden furniture while savoring something between a Continental breakfast and a traditional brunch, gleefully pairing pain au chocolat with eggs and Scottish smoked salmon. No need to have a full brunch, it’s entirely possible to order just eggs or pastries — ideal for those mornings when a complete brunch seems too big.
