Petit Mignon — Restaurant in Bordeaux

What an unexpected surprise…. Sort of. Before my weekend jaunt to Bordeaux, I bookmarked a few places I might like to try for a meal. Given I was in France (away from my home in Italy) I figured I would splurge on a fancy French meal. But, an hour before my scheduled reservation, the restaurant canceled. Being pretty late to make a fine dining reservation fora Saturday night, Petit Mignon had space but noted as “American Burgers” for cuisine it wasn’t what I was really what I was looking for but it had MANY great reviews so I booked. As I’m walking up, I first said to myself, the location was Uber-touristy and as I got closer, it was also probably the least fancy place for blocks. Too tired to research another place, I went in.

I ordered the petit mignon. From the Google photos I thought it was going to legit be a small steak, but it was a burger patty sans bun. OMG it was amazing. And a work of art! You have 4-5 options for the sauce, but I suggest going for the house “secret sauce” which I think has the best of all the rest — some cheese, some garlic, some mustard, et je ne sais quoi. Plus it goes great with the fresh fries which bountifully accompany, plus a salad.

Besides the high quality meat, sauce, and visual, what set this apart when enjoying is the delicate mix of flavors. While the photo probably doesn’t show it well, the top has several distinct quadrants of toppings — some you get together while other bits might be one alone, so every bite is an experience. Capers, finely chopped shallots, cornishons, sundried tomatoes, etc. I giggled with delight through the whole meal.

Oh, and the people who work there are really lovely. Despite being in Bordeaux, don’t expect much of a wine list, though my rosé was pleasant and well priced.

Don’t hesitate. Just go!!! “Unexpected surprise…sort of” given what I thought when I approached, but I should have known better given the many, many high reviews. Downside, no Wi-Fi and no service in the place — a challenge for a solo traveler. But this seems to be the norm here.

If you are later looking for a nice spot for a couple more glasses of wine after, try Le Bistrot des Frérots just...

Pretty surprised that this place has such high reviews. As soon as I walked in I could feel it was a tourist trap. The food was decent, but the place was small and not the cleanest. Maybe I would have stayed longer if I wasn't sweating so much because it was so hot in there or if I wasn't charged 4 euros for a small bottle of water when I asked for water. I'm also a little ticked off because I was asked to wait for a table for one when there were plenty of tables because the waitress wanted to see if there were any reservations. When another waiter saw me waiting he said oh a table for one? Okay sit here but then was admonished by the waitress for saying I could sit before checking if there were reservations (which was suspect). I was seated shortly after in the same seat the male waiter offered me. Once seated there were 2 couples who were seated right away without being asked to wait so that they could check if there were reservations. Upon leaving I questioned why I was the only one who they had to check availability for and was told that when I came (around 7:15) reservations had to be checked but not 15-20 mins late? Again suspect. I have no choice but to take the waitress's word on that , but if that is the policy it should be told to the customer to prevent any misunderstanding. So in short if you like so so food in a hot and small restaurant, with sus service, then this is your place. If not, I suggest you don't waste your...

This is the reason, why I give “only” 4 Stars if I really like a place: There has to be one star left for those truly memorable places that stay on your mind for good. To me, the Petit Mignon is one of them. I never guessed that I would end up saying that I had the best burgers of my live in Bordeaux, especially after living for some time in the US and eating fantastic burgers there. We came here due to the other ratings, even though we originally wanted to go for some classic French food. Well, what can I say - the next day we had planned to leave in the early morning to continue to Spain. Instead, we ended up staying till after lunch so we could once more have these unbelievably tasty and beautifully arranged burgers (on these pictures: Le burger du chef, please note that other burgers look different when it comes to the topping). Also, the tartar, the fries and the salad were very tasteful, as well as the recommended wine. The service was exceptionally friendly (even fluent in French, Spanish and English) and we were greeted as regulars when we returned the next day. Hence: Even if you dont think about burgers when you are in France: Go there, you...