Visited a friend for a few days and she chose this place to dine. Upon walking into the establishment, you are welcomed with a round dessert table, neatly displaying various concoction in a glass cover. It was quite beautiful the way they displayed it. We head upstairs to where our table was and settled in a room that mirrors both bedroom and living room format which gives this like soft, warm charm. One of the staff mentioned they redecorated not too long ago. Service. As expected, service here is diligent and quite on point. Our conversations at the table were never interrupted and was waited until they had our attention before introducing the dish or providing service. Both my fiancée and I loved that so much. I actually dropped my cloth a few times due to my carelessness, but they were so attenuative that they quickly replaced it with a new one and with haste. I want to highlight this and say thank you to the service team for their work and effort around this. Food. We ordered the Jupiter course. Meaning, it had the most dishes presented to us. Think I was quite ambitious thinking that I can comfortably work my way through the dishes. I was so wrong. Food amount was quite overwhelming. Sad to say, wish I had more capacity and endurance to enjoy such a prepared meal. Volume aside, I want to get into the flavors. Some of the dishes were good, others were great. Individually, I think they will do well on their own. Some of the flavors were just so rich and heavy, it's quite hard to last through the entire meal even if the portion were smaller. I would recommend the chef re-evaluate the dishes in terms of balancing the dishes. Add light dishes in between. Something with citrus or light so you are not on an epic journey of heavy dishes back-to-back. This would have paced a patron's pallet more steadily throughout the meal. During the appetizer round where four small balls are balanced on Saturn, one of the balls was leaking of its center oil which caused it to slip and dropped to the table when placed down. I know little things like this happens but at an establishment as such, I didn't expect such detail to be overlooked. I did appreciate the Chef's creative sea urchin interpretation. That was one of the memorable dishes that captivated my night. The onion soup in the onion to honor memories of his father was also a memorable dish. Tasted amazing! Overall, the evening was enjoyed with great wine and company. I would recommend you make reservations in advance and plan out your day accordingly so you, perhaps, can enjoy the meal properly. Bon Appétit! read more

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We had this restaurant recommended by the young staff of the hotel Vatel nearby so we arrived with some trepidation. We ate upstairs in their intimate gourmet restaurant (there is a bistro downstairs that was very busy). First this is an excellent location right along the river front. The service was very attentive with complementary canapés and pre-dessert and post dessert chocolates. Make no mistake it is not inexpensive. A solid bottle of wine and a dessert sherry cost about 250 euros for two;however it was worth it. The sommelier and staff were very helpful never arrogant. I would gladly return. read more

Le Gabriel is a very elegant restaurant located in Bordeaux's beautiful 18th-century Palais de la Bourse on the Garonne River. There is a different dining experience on each of its three levels, with prices increasing each time you climb the stairs. On the ground floor is a café with terrace, the first floor is a bistro, and the top floor holds chef Francois Adamski's flagship restaurant which was awarded a Michelin star just eight months after it opened. I was shown to a beautiful private dining area with views across the river. There were just three tables, but I was the only diner at this stage. I ordered the degustation menu which at 120 euros cost more than my hotel room. A little tomato flavoured bread roll accompanied with sea weed butter arrived with my first course - Sturia caviar on a cauliflower and smoked salmon cream sauce, served in the Sturia tin. Lovely combination, with the sauce beautifully offsetting the saltiness of the row. Next up was seared duck livers on a bed of leeks mashed with oysters and a smear of black garlic purée on the side. The liver was perfectly cooked and the leek/oyster combo worked a treat, despite what you might think. Razor clams with diced sweet potato, squash and zucchini in tomato and ginger sauce followed. This didn't quite work for me - the clams were a little chewy, and I have a thing about mixing tomato and seafood (like, don't). Monk fish on a cauliflower puree and coconut, tomato and ginger sauce, sprinkled with little florets of cauliflower and broccoli was next. I really like the firmness of monk fish and this didn't disappoint. Perfectly cooked, very succulent, and although the sauces were quite different, both worked well with the dish. The Lamb arrived soon after, served with a tomato and Harissa sorbet along with a sauce made from mint and some of the juice from the meat, and a side of chickpeas and capers. I'm not a big fan of chick peas or capers, but the meat was really flavoursome and cooked medium rare as I asked. As with the monk fish, it was the two different sauces that made this interesting. The sorbet added an unusual texture, but the mint/jus sauce is what made it work for me. By the time they wheeled out the cheese carriage I was about ready to raise the white flag, but who can resist a good French cheese? I limited myself to three wafer-thin slices: a very mild chevre with an almost powdery texture, a mimolette that was similar to Edam or Cheddar but orange in colour, and a very flavoursome blue. As I'd had cheese for lunch it was probably overkill having more for dinner, but they were all good and in true French fashion served without any condiments. I was well and truly full by now, but somehow I can always make room for dessert. This was a layered affair with lemon cream on the bottom sprinkled with hazelnut strudel crumble and topped with a lime emulsion. Great combination for both flavour and texture and a great finish to a memorable meal. The food is good, the location lovely (the coloured lights on the opposite bank reflected in the water when the sun went down was magical), the decor elegant and the service impeccable. It's hard to find a chink in Le Gabriel's armour. Probably because there isn't one. read more

A friend who lives in Bordeaux had recommended Le Gabriel. The set up is a 3 story building in the middle of the palace area, with a bar on the ground floor, a bistro on the 2nd floor, and the more formal dining room on the 3rd floor. We went for the more formal experience, which had a la carte, a smaller pre fixe option, or the 7 course tasting for €115, which was pretty reasonable for what you get. The wine list is extensive, but the sommelier and our friend helped navigate us towards non Bordeaux options for something different, so we did a white burgundy and a red from a smaller winery, owned by one of the larger Grand Cru producers. Amuses: Bites - - Seaweed chip with a whipped herb cream on top - Shrimp coated in fried onion bits - Peanut marshmallow: interesting Then came a larger amuse of diced pears with parsnip and amaretto. For bread, we had various breads that they brought to go with each course - I think we had maybe 4 or 5 different ones. Tasting: 1. Carpaccio of sea bass with kohlrabi and oysters: a bit fishy for me, but it was a very intricate dish 2. Soft cooked egg: in a smoked mousse with rose oil and petit croutons. Super rich, great for dipping bread. One of my favorite dishes. 3. Charred octopus: with roasted carrots, carrot puree, fried capers, and ginger - lots of interesting flavors - I never thought to combine carrot with octopus 4. Pigeon breast and pigeon leg confit: taken out of a wood box where it was roasted with wood chips. It was served quite rare. I'm not a fan of pigeon, but I did try it. I like the other red onion and potato purees around it, but I just have a hard time with pigeon 5. Cheese cart: the standout was a special Comte they had. I also liked that they had some jams and other things to go with the cheese 6. Pear sorbet: with tonka beans, tonka mousse, nuts, and a mushroom shaped crisp - one of the more interesting desserts I've had on this trip 7. Mirabelle (yellowstone plum) with ice cream and honey drizzled over it straight from a honeycomb To finish: mignardaises. It is a more formal atmosphere, and some of the people working there were a bit more... stuffy, but it was nice to be able to have essentially a private room for 4-5 hours, and in the end, the price for the tasting is quite reasonable considering VAT and gratuity are included (though you can always round up for good service). read more