A Cantina - Comptoir Corse

I simply can't stress enough, A Cantina is one of the tastiest restaurants I've ever been to. Their food made me cry, in the best way possible. If you eat meat and you're in Bordeaux, you should visit, you will not regret it.

-- Food --
The menu is in French, so I'm not sure what the exact translation is, but I ordered a marinated pork dish, served in a small cast iron pot with a home made broth. I chose the pork because we were seated next to an enormous red metal pig, and it seemed like their specialty. I certainly wasn't disappointed. It was perfectly cooked, unbelievably tender, and savory on a whole new level.

-- Drinks --
We ordered a bottle of Corsican red, per the recommendation of our waiter. It was delicious! I was going to order a Bordeaux (since the restaurant is in Bordeaux) but I'm glad our waiter steered me in a different direction. They have a huge wine selection, if you aren't sure what to get, just ask!

-- Service --
Our waiter made this experience so much fun. He was more than happy to translate the menu for us and provide some recommendations. He got to know us a bit and even gave us some recommendations on restaurants back in the US that his friends worked at. Small world!

We visited fairly late on a weekend without reservations and they had no problems finding us a table.

-- Atmosphere --
A Cantina has a small bar and dining area downstairs, with a larger seating area upstairs. We sat downstairs at a window table next to a giant red pig statue. The restaurant is dimly lit, perfect for a date night.

-- Stars --
Food: 2/2 Stars
Wine: 1/1 Stars
Service: 1/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 1/1 Stars
Total: 5/5 Stars

During our first night in Bordeaux, my wife and I didn't have any reservations for dinner, and kind of winged it by walking around until we found a place that looked good to us. We peeked into A Cantina since it looked lively with a lot of locals. They asked us if we wanted to eat at the bar or restaurant. Apparently, the lower level has a tapas style menu and the upper level has a more traditional dinner menu. We chose dinner and were guided upstairs.

The place was fairly small with home style tables and cozy decor. The two waitresses serving everyone were buzzing around and informed us that they did speak English and would be with us in a moment. Once our waitress was able to come and talk to us, she was very helpful in guiding us through the menu and making various recommendations. After discussing our options, we chose to start with the Tartare de Mulet and Figatellu de Felix Torre Grillé, with the Le Cochon Noir as our entree. The Tartare de Mulet is comprised of Mullet, which was a refreshing change from the standard beef tartare, and was very well seasoned. The Figatellu de Felix Torre Grillé, was explained to us as being a type of pan fried sausage that is unique to Bordeaux. This was a surprising dish because it tasted very heavily of liver, something that I have not really encountered in sausages. I really liked the dish since I have an affinity for liver, but my wife, not so much. After we devoured our starters, we were presented with the Cochon Noir. The Cochon Noir is a double cut pork chop that is cut in half when served at the table; a somewhat grand presentation considering the humble setting, but was pleasantly surprising and entertaining. Our waitresses also recommend various local Bordeaux wines that paired well throughout our dinner.

Overall, this was a very good dinner experience, which I would definitely recommend to others and try to come back to myself.

Tres bon! Loved the service and the food. One of the better places with great satin Bordeaux.