L'Escalette — Restaurant in Bordeaux

This place was fantastic! We're vacationing through France right now—Paris, Lyon, Nice—and our last stop is here in Bordeaux. L'Escalette is, hands down, some of the best food we've had in all of France, including a * Michelin restaurant in Paris.

L'Escalette is on the edge of the coeur of Bordeaux, with an unassuming and slightly quirky ambiance. The menu is small, and I suspect it changes frequently. There's a prix fixe option that we didn’t choose, but it sounded delicious.

The plates we ordered—duck and the fish of the day—were absolutely superb! The fish was cooked to literal perfection, and the satay risotto it was served on was nothing short of a culinary coup d’état—magnifique!

The duck was excellent, perfectly cooked, with the fat cap left supple and buttery.

Perhaps the best single bite we had was one of the entrées (appetizers): cured salmon over a bed of sweet beets. This was the chef-d'œuvre of the night.

For dessert, we had the butternut squash Catalan crème (a version of crème brûlée). I'm a sucker for a good crème brûlée, and this did not disappoint. The butternut squash added a subtle freshness, lightening what is typically a heavy dessert, and the compote that topped it refined this balance of freshness and creaminess to zen-like perfection.

I simply cannot recommend this place enough. It was a complete surprise and an exceptionally pleasant one. By the way, we did the recommended wine pairings with every dish. I usually prefer to choose my own pairings, but I’m glad I trusted them—the pairings were superbly matched to the unique flavors of each dish.

L'Escalette is a gastronomic tour de force! Give them a try—you won’t regret it!

Meric beaucoup a tout et a tous avec...

We stayed in Bordeaux for a week last October. We ate here twice and found it to be outstanding. It seems like a simple place when you walk in, not overly decorated, not plush at all, just a cute little bistro. But the food is anything but simple. It is heavenly (sorry I only have a photo of the wine bottle!) and the servers are very friendly and helpful. I'm sorry I waited so long to write this because I can't remember too many details, but I just found the business card and it reminded me to write a review. Kudos to L'Escalette!!! Thank you for two excellent dinners with super wine...

Great dinner hidden away from the main busy streets of old town. Modern takes on traditional dishes, and did not have one dish we did not like - in fact, every plate was cleaned! For appetizers - ordered the octopus & lentils, and the salty pain perdu. For entrees - some of the best salmon and potato salad I’ve had, and a creative take on braised beef with a pea purée and really good sauce. For dessert - really smart take on ice cream, but frozen yogurt (I think?) and some fruit purée. Each dish came with a recommended wine pairing, and you cannot go wrong. Awesome...