Restaurant La Cape

The 3-year-old La Cape may be the most exciting restaurant in Bordeaux. Chef Nicolas Magie, 30, is creating pure magic, and you are advised to reserve two weeks in advance for dinner in the 14-table, 50-seat dining room, which is run by Magie’s wife, Marianne, and able waiter-cum-sommelier Cédric Fuster.


The location is hardly promising: a small suburban villa that overlooks a parking lot across the Garonne River from Bordeaux. But once inside, you are greeted by a burst of Provençal accents — the walls are painted purple and graced with busy, colorful paintings. A cauldronlike fireplace gives warmth in the winter; in the summer, service moves to a quiet terrace. Graceful Spanish serving plates of various sizes and textures emphasize the beautiful look of the flavorful, intense and surprising French-Spanish-Asian fusion cuisine.

Not to be outdone by the creative cuisine, the 140-selection wine list, tapped from a 3,500-bottle inventory, is filled with values from around the world. One surprising section, headed “bio-dynamic wines,” lists wines made without chemicals. Magie also boasts of using spices grown in a chemical-free environment.

9 Allée de la Morlette, Cenon 33150
Telephone: (011) 33-5-57-80-24-25
Fax: (011) 33-5-56-32-63-56 (no e-mail or Web site)
Open Lunch and dinner, Monday to Friday; closed holidays
Cost Tasting menus: $29 without wine; $61 includes a glass of wine matched with each dish
Credit cards MasterCard, Visa