Les Halles Bacalan — Restaurant in Bordeaux

Average food, dreadful place to eat. I have no idea why this place is so popular or why so many people leave such rave reviews (manufactured hype perhaps). The whole place feels 'grubby' and if the toilets are anything to go by then I suspect the general hygiene behind the scenes is poor. And the toilets - as far as I could see, in the whole place, there are two cubicles for men (plus two urinals, one of which was blocked and thus, unusable) and two cubicles for women - and there must have been a few hundred people in the building when we were there (it's not often you see a queue outside a male toilet!) If you have a person or reduced mobility in your party, it is basically a horrendous, and very stressful experience (it took us 20 minutes to get to my wife in to a toilet as the disabled unit was being used by everyone). To be honest we were going to leave without eating as nothing was particularly appealing and the atmosphere everywhere was just manic. However we had made the trip here at the end of our few days in Bordeaux and had a long drive after. There is not enough seating inside or out but I eventually found a place for my wife to sit outside, and I chose the only stall with less than 6 people queuing. The food was passable (a rather dry rotiseree chicken) but nothing special. So, if you are staying in Bordeaux centre for a few days and thinking of making the trip here for lunch, my advice would be stay in town where you will find a plethora of better places to eat, that are clean, and...

Near La Ciudad del Vino Wine Museum, there's a food square, and it's the most cost-effective option for dining after visiting the museum.

🦪Oysters 🦪 This stall has the longest queues, a dozen oysters for €23.9. While it's pricier compared to coastal towns, it's a good value in Bordeaux. The taste is excellent, with the only drawback being that you might not get full.

🍤Shrimp and Cuttlefish Salad This one isn't very tasty; the shrimp and cuttlefish are overcooked, making them quite tough and losing the seafood's tenderness. The texture is poor, and the accompanying chili isn't good either. I wouldn't recommend buying this!

🍟The fast-food-style combo in the second picture, chicken wings with potato chunks, is popular among many people. But if you don't eat pork, be careful; there's bacon beneath the chicken wings! Don't eat it by mistake!

There are various food options available, but after 3 PM, many places have already closed, limiting the variety of dishes you can try. To the shop that makes éclairs, please take note: make more chocolate-flavored ones! Coffee-flavored ones are less popular, so consider offering more of what customers actually want.

One downside is that there are no vendors offering freshly squeezed fruit juices, and non-alcoholic beverage options are...

Bacalan is a modern, inside marketplace with a plethora of offerings from fresh fruits, vegetables, breads, pastries, meats and cheeses. There are also restaurants in the building if you prefer more of a traditional dining style. You'll find wine and beer bars, some with their own food offerings and others that allow you to pick up nibbles from around the Hall and have a "picnic" style meal which is a great way to do some serious food tasting. The Cité du Vin Museum is directly across the street so weary museum visitors can easily crossover to take a load off and relax and regain their tourist enthusiasm. Evenings are relatively quiet during the week but pop into Bacalan on a Friday night and the place is rockin' with young locals kicking off the weekend with a huge selection of freshly made tapas, cold beers and wines. I'm sure Bacalan will host the local community nightly with the warm weather ahead. I'd recommend at least a cold drink inside (or out, weather permitting) accompanied by a few thin slices of truffled ham, some good French cheese and of course, a...