La Tupina in Bordeaux

[thelastsupper]

Hey all,

We leave in about a week for a trip through Bordeaux. We heard interesting things about La Tupina and plan on stopping there. We were also considering a place called Vieux Bordeaux . . . Any other recommendations?

We are going to be in Toulouse for awhile as well. Help would be greatly appreciated.

We are not in search of the top starred restaurants, simpler food please.

Thanks!

[Steve Plotnicki]

Here is exactly the info you want for Bordeaux

Gravelier/La Tupina

There is a more extensive review of La Tupina on the Patriciawells.com site

[thelastsupper]

Thanks Steve!

Gravelier sounds delightful. I am set on Tupina now.

[lizziee]

La Tupina is an absolute must. We loved everything about it.

Jean-Pierre Xiradakis is so warm and friendly - you feel like an invited guest to his home. As you walk in, there is a huge fire roaring in the fireplace in which chickens are turning on a spit, country sausages are sizzling, a huge iron pot has a simmering stew - it all reminds you of a grandmere's country hearth.

Be forewarned that if you are dieting, worried about cholesterol, or a vegetarian you won't like La Tupina. His french fries cooked in duck fat are meltingly perfect. The foie gras, the chicken with golden crackly skin, the parsleyed pork tripe, the sausages are all sensational.  I can't say enough good things about this restaurant. (I must add that the last time we were there was in 1997).

[Patrice]

While in Bordeaux, I had the chance to eat at Gravelier and la Tupina.   These 2 meals were very good and very different.

La Tupina is very rustic with his wood oven.  The food is quite rich ( lots of foie gras, pork...) but superb.

Gravelier his own by Yves Gravelier, the husband of Troisgros daughter.  It's a small but modern restaurant.  There's a big glass that make it possible to see everything going in the kitchen!!!

The food was very good and quite unusual: asparagus milk-shake with white truffles,  Foie gras in papillote with cèpes and green apples...

If you want, the chef can prepare for you a special 5 courses degustation menu for 250F...

[cabrales]

Linked below is an older thread on Bordeaux, including some discussion on La Tupina:

http://forums.egullet.org/ikonboa....;t=4970

[Bux]

We'll put in a vote for Tupina as well. We were there in the fall and the roast pigeon was excellent.

It´s a pity Amat is no longer at the St. James across the river. There are threads on that elsewhere, and it´s spilled milk or water under the bridge.

[weinhen]

We were in the sw two years ago so this info is admittedly not the latest but, here goes...

La Tupina was fun but not exactly what I expected. First off, it's in a rather shabby section of town, unless the area has been revitalized. To be safe, take a cab. Second, this is definitely one discovered restaurant. More than half the tables were apparently taken by tourists. Third, this is really minimalist food. My starter was foie gras mi cuit. It came as a foil wrapper on a plate. When you opened up the foil there was.... foie gras with salt and pepper, that's it. My entree was magret and, you guessed it, magret on a plate with a side plate of fries. To be sure, it was very good food, but so simple as to be a tiny bit disappointing (at least to me.) I guess I'm afraid that the place has been overhyped.

Weinhen

[thelastsupper]

Notes to follow.

[thelastsupper]

Okay. . . La Tupina.

There was a terrible, sudden rainstorm on our way to the restaurant, so by the time we got in the door our hair and clothes were dripping all over the place. We were promptly seated though. The chickens turning on the spit certainly warmed us up if in spirit.

While we read the menus, a little plate of radishes and cold cooked tripe appeared. We also got a small dish of fried crispy tripe. Really good. We put in our order and recieved bread and butter. The bread was taken away again after a couple minutes. A waiter had noticed that it wasn't warm enough. I came back nicely toasted.

To start, I had foie gras sauteed with grapes. This was monstrous! Certainly big enough for a main course. It was magnificent though. I realized that such a large portion allowed you to really concentrate on all of the complex flavors going on even though the dish itself was simple. It was also interesting to taste the difference in flavor as the dish cooled down. The sauce was (I think) the fat from the pan cooked down with a lot of grapes and then strained. It was extremely rich, unctuous (oh how I hate that word but that is the best way to describe it).

Partner's starter was duck boudin noir with sauteed potatoes. Also wonderful. But only had a bite or two.

Main courses were: Roasted Chicken with a garlic crouton, pommes frites cooked in goose fat. Slow cooked Lamb shoulder with whole garlic cloves and a casserole of White beans (also lots of goose fat). Both were amazing! The beans themselves made the place a destination in my opinion. Both were absolutely simple and tasted exactly like you would imagine them, but as close to perfect as I have ever eaten. There was a smal sprig of dried thyme on the plate with the lamb which deeped the flavor as I took a bite of beans or lamb. Little whiffs of something that was cooked with both things. Yum.

Dessert was nothing special. We had Prune and Armangac Ice Cream. Good, but not memorable.

The fat cooked in every thing was not a problem for me. But the staggering portions were. There was enough for two portions on each plate at least.

[jaybee]

TLS, nice report. Your experience mirrors the one we had two years ago. The moment you walk in the place you start getting hungry. We were stuck in the most absurd traffic geting there. Bordeaux is a driving nightmare, with all the construction, narrow streets and so many cars. But when you go inside, all is immediately forgotten. The sight of the food on the spit and those huge iron pots, very basic, very tasty food. Great place to go with four or six people, so you can share different dishes.

[peterpumkino]

HA!!!!! La Tupina, I was there some time ago and it was fabulous BUT it gets crowded so you MUST make a reservation.

[rmajumdar]

I visited back in July and had a very good meal.

I had chicken for my main course and got about a quarter with a meaty forcemeat, a huge plate of chips cooked in duck fat and a wedge of toasted bread in a pot of chicken juices with garlic.

Maybe because I also had a side of duck hearts and had started the meal with a salad of scallops and foie gras I ended up giving dessert a miss and finished with a Calvados and coffee. I visited on a Friday and the place was about 2/3 full.

Re quality of cooking I actually preferred Didier Gelineau a 1 star joint in the centre of town. The decor was a bit twee but the food (a seafood set menu) was excellent. The seafood (oysters, lobster, salmon) was incredibly fresh. This seemed to be the case in even very modest places.

Robin

[rmajumdar]

Re La Tupina's location, the area is not too far from the University and thus has a more casual, buzzy vibe but it's easily walkable from anywhere in the centre of town and didn't seem particulary sketchy.

Robin

[thelastsupper]

Yeah, I didn't think the neighborhood was that sketchy either. We walked across town to our hotel and didn't notice any creepy types in the immediate area.