Bordeaux: Kuzina

When he opened La Tupina in the Vieux Bordeaux quarter in 1968, restaurateur Jean-Pierre Xiradakis not only created one of the city’s most emblematic addresses—a charming bistrot specializing in southwestern French farmhouse cooking—but also gave this beautiful but forlorn and rather forgotten district a major boost. Today, Xiradakis’s restaurants line nearly a whole street in what’s become a thriving and fashionable neighborhood. The newest of them is Kuzina, a seafood restaurant with a menu inspired by the island of Crete, recalling his Greek ancestry. The mosaic-clad interior features an ice-filled counter displaying the catch of the day, just as often found in Greece, and the wood-topped tables are set with sheets of Greek fishmonger’s wrapping paper. For starters at a recent lunch, marinated swordfish was served with a yellow-beet “gazpacho”, and a velouté of red cabbage came with scallops and a spinach-filled blini. Next came beautifully prepared fresh cod steak with lentils, and sea bream cooked in a salt crust and garnished with shiitake mushrooms. Desserts were terrific too—caramelized clementine with chestnut sabayon, and lime-spiked cheesecake.

22 rue Porte de la Monnaie, Bordeaux. 05.56.74.32.92. Lunch menu €18, à la carte €50.

Prices are approximate, per person without wine.

Originally published in the January 2012 issue of France Today

Alexander Lobrano’s book Hungry forParis is published by Random House. www.hungryforparis.com. Find it in the France Today Bookstore.