Café Lavinal

Gorgeous little café/restaurant in a serene and idyllic spot. Service was quick and friendly, and they did a great job of catering for vegetarians in our party. Food was pretty good overall, but dessert was the highlight - tarte tatin was extremely good.

We’ve been to Cafe Lavinal from a recommendation of our host of La Maison Reverdi. We both had the three course Lavinal Set-up Menu, where you can choose between two different starters, mains and desserts. Each individual dish was super delicious and the portions were bigger than we expected. The price was extremely fair, service excellent and the wine was as good as the rest of our experience.

Such a cute little restaurant next to Lynch Bages in Pauillac! Staff was very friendly. A glass of wine is cheaper than coke :) Food was average. Dessert was delicious though! Normal portion sizes.

We each had the gastronomic formula lunch with the duck with purée beet entree. The duck was excellent, but we each felt that the puree beet detracted instead of complimented the duck. The service was mostly very good, but in the middle of our lunch we had to request additional glasses of wine several times before they were actually served. It was unclear what was causing the delay. Lastly, we had previously visited Lavinal 11 years ago. It was just by chance that we stumbled upon the cafe and had a tremendous lunch on that occasion. Although we did not have a reservation like we did on the recent visit, we were welcomed and sat in the bar area and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming and the food and service were outstanding. We felt like we had discovered a hidden gem. On our recent visit we didn't get the same feeling. The tables in the bar area are minimal and seem more like a second thought than an area to welcome additional guests and make them feel appreciated and cared for. In summary, based on our recent visit we would say that the food and service are good, but it’s not the same “special” place that we first visited a decade ago, and for this we are a little bit sad.

Had a lovely lunch here with friends this week. Good food and great service. Some excellent wine obviously with the usual mark ups but overall a great experience.

Staff never seemed welcoming or appreciative of our visit, it was a bit like a conveyor belt. Food was mostly great, but rare duck turned out to be well done and no one asked. Impossible to engage in a conversation on the chateau’s wines. Not sure I would really recommend.

Amazing restaurant. Was able to get the “ last “ table outside. Had Lavinal menu. Beautiful food with reasonable price. Starter, main and dessert for 27 euro!!!They recommend you wine which will go with the dish. Service was amazing. If I have a chance to come back to Bordeaux again, would definitely come back.

Adding to my wine education brought me to Bordeaux and dropped me, among other places, at Chateau Lynch-Bages for a spectacular tour of their new production facilities, a tasting and lots of historical details. Turns out that the current owners of the winery and vineyards surrounding it unknowingly also received the "town" immediately adjacent to the winery with their acquisition. Upon discovery, the family renovated or rebuilt all of the structures in the tiny town just steps from the winery to complement the business and provide housing and services for the employees who were willing to live within a two minute walk of their employer. Café Lavinal is THE restaurant in town. Make no mistake, this is not an afterthought to the wine operation. It is an upscale establishment brimming with the ambiance and atmosphere that befits the marriage of the region's passion for both wine and food. We took lunch al fresco on a warm, sunny afternoon under the shade of patio umbrellas. Ordering from the Lavinal lunch menu provided sophisticated three-course options that were as artfully prepared and presented as they were creative and satisfying. Not unexpectedly, ingredient quality reigns supreme and deft hands in the kitchen transformed them into delicacies that were worth sharing with everyone in our party, making sure our choices covered the widest range of flavors and textures possible. Service was impeccable and appropriately timely, keenly aware of our pace and responsive when we were ready to depart. I selected a very approachable white Bordeaux from the Chateau's second label and was reminded that it's not at all hard to pair food and wine in the region. Reservations are a must as it's literally the only restaurant in town. But it's worth planning. Definitely a surprise find.