Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Bordeaux for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Bordeaux for grown-ups.
Point Rouge in Bordeaux's Saint-Croix is the cocktail bar and restaurant in a wing of Chateau Descas, with a menu of around 100 cocktails that walks.
Signature drink: House cocktails across 200 years of history
Food: Tapas and charcuterie
Tip: The lounge upstairs is the calmer drinking room; the kitchen of chef Christophe Girardot is the dinner-only sister.
Symbiose Cocktail Bar in Bordeaux's Chartrons is the speakeasy behind the bookshelf at Symbiose, with homemade syrups, forgotten ingredients and a working.
Signature drink: Homemade-syrup signature cocktails
Food: Bistronomic small plates
Tip: No reservations on the cocktail side; arrive 19:00 to claim a stool or stay through dinner for a guaranteed seat.
Vintage Bar in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the Quai Louis XVIII rum bar with over 150 references from around the world, daily happy hour and one.
Signature drink: Aged rum flights
Food: Cheese, charcuterie
Tip: Daily Happy Hour 16:00-20:00; the bartender will build a comparison flight across Caribbean and Reunion rums.
ApOthEk in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the dim-lit cocktail bar on Rue du Cancera with a menu of refined creations and a strict no-Mojito, no-Sex-on-the-Beach.
Signature drink: Complex creations, no Mojitos
Food: Small bites
Tip: Strong dress code and no walk-ups after 22:00 on weekends; book a back-room table for the quietest setting.
ACC Bordeaux in Saint-Pierre is the cocktail collective on Rue des Bahutiers, a barteam-led room running house signatures, revisited classics and a rotating.
Signature drink: House signatures and revisited classics with DJ sets
Food: Bar snacks alongside the cocktail program
Tip: Open Tue-Wed 19:00 to midnight, Thu-Sat to 02:00; closed Sun-Mon. The intimate room fills fast on weekend DJ nights.
Bar de l'Hotel de Seze in Bordeaux's Golden Triangle is the hotel cocktail bar of the 18th-century townhouse on Allees de Tourny, with a leather-banquette.
Signature drink: Classic French cocktails
Food: Charcuterie boards
Tip: Best for a pre-dinner drink before the Grand Theatre; the bar opens to non-residents from 17:00 every evening.
Mama Shelter Rooftop in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the seventh-floor terrace of the Philippe Starck-designed hotel on Rue Poquelin Moliere, with one.
Signature drink: Spritz and aperitivos
Food: Wood-fired pizza and small plates
Tip: The rooftop opens around 17:00 from April to October; no reservations on the deck, only at the indoor bar.
CODE 23 in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the cocktail and jazz room inside a 16th-century convent on Rue Arnaud Miqueu, with a marble bar, Chesterfield sofas.
Signature drink: Classic and creative cocktails over live jazz
Food: Sharing plates and chef tapas
Tip: Jazz sets start at 20:30 Thu-Fri; the basement speakeasy is the calmer drinking room and rarely needs a booking.
Marikita on Bordeaux's Quai Richelieu is the Garonne-facing cocktail and tapas bar in Saint-Pierre, mixing creative cocktails against a street-art interior.
Signature drink: Street-art-inspired creative cocktails
Food: Mediterranean tapas and small plates
Tip: The riverfront terrace is the sunset drinking spot; tapas hour from 18:30 gets the best counter seats.
Le Castan in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the 1890 listed grotto-style bar by the Garonne (Andre Tournier's 1900 rocky decor, restored 2005), with a steady.
Signature drink: Wine by the glass
Food: Plateau de fruits de mer
Tip: Order the smallest plateau and a half-litre of white from the Entre-deux-Mers; the room photographs better in low light from 19:00.
Houdini in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the speakeasy cocktail bar on Rue Saint-Sernin with a magic-themed creative cocktail list, a tight set of seats.
Signature drink: Show-driven signature cocktails
Food: Small bites
Tip: Reservations are essential and only by phone; the magician-bartenders perform during the cocktail.