Le Petit Commerce

I had an excellent meal here with fresh and flavorful oysters followed by well seasoned and perfectly cooked monkfish. It’s in a touristy part of town, so there were fewer locals than I like to see. But, other than that, c’est bon! [PS. Regarding the flies, almost every restaurant I’ve gone to in France for the last 3+ weeks has had fruit flies. We’re not used to it in the US, but it’s common here.]

For a seafood restaurant, the dishes tasted a bit average and not as fresh as I expected. The razor clams were cooked well, though the flavor itself wasn’t that impressive. The atmosphere could be improved too—there was quite a strong kitchen smell, and while we were eating, flies were constantly buzzing around and landing on our seafood. We had to keep shooing them away, which made the hygiene standards feel questionable and the meal rather unpleasant. On the bright side, the desserts were a pleasant surprise—the crème brûlée and ice cream were both really nice. Service was fine, nothing outstanding but perfectly okay.

Traditional French “pecherie” with a modern twist- let’s say the only one restaurant we visited twice in 9 days in Bordeaux (even considering ten extra minutes walk) Erwin was our waiter each time and his recommendations were spot on! Gazpacho and the escargots were the best we got in SW France including some Michelin stars we visited ( for a fraction of the price). Highly recommended!

We visited this place 3 times! Best one in Bordeaux. Oysters and crab are incredible! If you want to eat fresh delicious seafood - go here right away.

Variety and quality of Sea food was very good. Quantity with respect to price is still a question mark for me. Sitting environment could be more improve. Staff was very polite and friendly.

Happy hour oysters (€1) between 4-6pm. The oysters were fresh and delicious, the recommended wine was great, thank you! Great street for people waking, away from the square.

In my opinion, a good chef can prepare good vegetables, even one specialized in fish. I do not eat fish, but my friend does, so we went to this restaurant. She assured me the fish was excellent, so no remarks on that. I however, ordered the only vegetarian main dish, which was room temperature gazpacho and a piece of toast. This cost me €20, even though it was tragically the same dish as the €12 gazpacho entrée. Honestly, I'd really like my €8 back so I can spend it some carrot sticks and hummus from Carrefour, because I would rather eat that than go to this restaurant again. My wallet and my digestion are crying. Edit November 2025: from the reaction of the owner you can tell a lot of things. Like from comparing the picture I posted to his description of the meal.

They serve up really good seafood. Everything on the menu is solid, no complaints. We managed to try quite a lot as the portions weren’t huge and there were a few highlights: the 12 oysters (3 different types they select) were outstanding, best dish by far. The razorclams were also notable as well as the Cuttlefish.

Let me get the bad stuff out the way first: If you sit on the terrace, your fish is going to get an additional smokey flavor!...from the cigarettes. Yes, I understand this is how things are In Europe and especially a big city like Bordeaux but it truly lowered the quality of my experience. Nonetheless, that had nothing to do with the restaurant but I'm just leaving here for others. Overall, the servers are pleasant, all English speaking and want you to enjoy the food. The sardines are phenomenal as well as the razor clams. I've had lots of sardines before and this restaurant's were actually pretty friken good. If you're here, please don't eat a meat dish and take advantage of the specialties at this restaurant: the fish. Nothing mind blowing about it as a whole but I would recommend it to a friend.

Delicious experience. The assorted seafood was 28 euro, and a glass of Entre deux Mers Blanc 5.5. Great stop for a light bite during a stroll around the area.

We had unbelievably good oysters here. Wish we'd ordered more appetizers as these all looked delicious. I recommend the grilled trout which was tender & moist, but the grilled white tuna was quite dry. The wine selection isn't huge but has all the key options. The staff was friendly & helpful, the street setting makes for great people watching. All in all a good experience. Call ahead to reserve, especially if you want an outdoor table.

Excellent seafood restaurant in downtown Bordeaux. We tried oysters, Burlot, 1/2 crab, dorade and everything was perfect. Service was great too.

1€ Oysters between 4pm-6pm everyday!!!!! Try them with the saunters and spend the two hours there reordering oysters & vin and people watching

Fresh fresh fresh seafood in a humming, full-of-nice-locals spot. Dropped in for lunch, took the day's recommended local oysters au naturale (no 2, quite large so I ordered just six). I followed off the menu with the sardines a la plancha (grilled sardines). My waiter recommended a crisp glass of white to go with it. Friendly service delivered with a smile to an English speaker, and when I discovered a friend in another part of the restaurant he was all to helpful moving me and my plates to her table. My friend had mussels and a half crab. Wow, just wow. She told me she was returning that night to try their escargots and some fish. I don't blame her! Not cheap - but you get what you pay for.

If you want fresh seafood cooked in a right proper way then this is the place in Bordeaux. If you need great attentive service this is not for you. Just take a seat and enjoy the parade of beautiful food and chilled white wine from the area!

Seafood paradise! Ohh mon dieu. They have a long list of tapas, various fishes of the day (whole or portion), and a few other entrees. And wine, duh. Get a few tapas and one of the featured fish plates. The turbot is melt-in-your-mouth heaven. Highly recommend. You MUST get the escargot!! And the squid (blanc de seiche a la planche)!!!! You will be hard-pressed to find better escargot anywhere. Tender as f*ck, and garlicky garlic goodness. The squid come in tiny crescent slices, and are perfect. Sweet, a little smokey, and creamy and chewy at the same time. PERFECT. This is France, so don't expect snappy ass-kissing service. Especially when they're busy. Overall, 4 star experience. But the escargot and the squid were so fucking good that I'm going to award this place a rare 5th star!

This place came recommended to us by a friend in the US. We had a misunderstanding with the server (nobody's fault, really, just a language barrier... so probably our fault) and sat where they asked us not to, apparently, which got us some cross looks. From there, however, it was smooth sailing. We had great oysters, a nice plate of cod, and the best cuttlefish we've had to date. Our only regret was not getting the prawns or razor clams, which others had and looked incredible.

Fresh local fish, prepared carefully but simply. Extraordinary staff! Primarily high-energy young wait staff who are friendly, knowledgeable, and so very hard working. Enjoyed our dinner very much but we were squeezed in so tightly next to the next table. Not a place for a quiet leisurely dinner, but more of a loud fun scene in which the street blends with the rooms (restaurant is in both sides of the street).

I loved the vibe here - such a cool little venue. Our server was incredibly sweet. Unfortunately, I can't recall if she spoke English, as most of our group also spoke French. The food was incredibly fast to be served and I felt it was reasonably priced. I spent just over a week in France and this was by far the best food that I ate all week. I'm a huge seafood lover and this did not disappoint. Most memorable were the razor clams (so smokey, so delicious!) and the Oysters. I can't recall what we had but there were about three different varieties. I am from East Coast Canada on the Atlantic and have indulged in my fair share of oysters. The oysters at Le Petit Commerce were unbelievable - like nothing I have ever had. They were so unique to the flavours I have tried back home. We enjoyed our meal with a white house wine if I recall correctly. Though I am not much of a white wine drinker, this one was quite excellent. I wish I was a little closer to Bordeaux. 10/10 would recommend.

Wonderful, simple place in the hear of the old town. Make sure you have the seafood platter as a starter (sharing!) with snails, crab and oysters. Grilled fish is excellent and wines very reasonably prices. Not a fancy place to be but completely dedicated to serving fresh seafood and fish mainly from the nearby coastal towns. Clear recommendation.

Here's the locals' spot for seafood! Fresh, fresh fresh. They have a great selection (on chalkboards) that includes Arcachon and Cap Ferret oysters (among others.) They have indoor and outdoor seating with a friendly, knowledgeable staff (who are patient with your slow French and are willing to speak English when you give up on your French!) We are from the US and are non-smokers...Tables are very close together - and the smokers blow their smoke at YOU rather than at their dinner companions. Can't really fault the restaurant for that.I had Brill, Trey had swordfish. Flawlessly prepared. Bread was fresh. Sides were unique and tasty. House wines are perfect - Have the local Graves white wine with your oysters! I am surprised that other reviewers were offended by the casual atmosphere (chalkboard menus in BOTH English and French, servers who don't rush you)

Loved the "ibirico bellota (ibirico ham appy) and "tartines de cepes" with smoked duck. Oyster menu is great... Loved the atmosphere and wine menu too! We will be back!

Food was good however I had to cancel a main course that took so long... More than an hour. They simply forced me "verbally" to pay for it even if i didn't touch it. We were exhausted and we didn't want to argue with the waiters...

This is one of the cool modern places of Bordeaux's old town. It's definitely not one of those typical tourist places. The prices were not unreasonable. The wine in particular was quite good and very reasonable. The roasted veggies and potato we were quite good. Unfortunately the fish dishes were rather bland. They mixed up my order and then didn't do anything about it. Fish soup was not good all - I have eaten fish soup all over France this was the worst surprisingly.

The food was OK. Way too expensive for the quality of fish and service. Some were fresh while others tasted alright. When we asked for a menu in English and in French, they brought in chalkboards that were smudgy and hard to read. Young girls are working as the waitresses. This would be fine if only they had showed proper business etiquette. One couldn't determine the fish we pointed at, another stared at us in disbelief as we handed her plates to take back and clear space on the table. We ordered all of our food and just as we were almost done eating, we recalled that they had forgotten a dish. They brought the seabass towards the end, after all of our plates had been finished. They charged us for sea whelks that we had ordered but never received. Towards the end, we were trying to force ourselves to finish all the food because it was not favorable. I did not enjoy eating here and I do not recommend it to anyone.

*********************4.5******************** I was debating to give it a 4 or a 5 but 4.5 is perfect. This place is all about FRESH seafood and this is where all of the local eat at. It is extremely hard to found because it took me a few times before finally founding it and eating it on our last day here. The menu is on the chalkboard so we order the crab soup, grill pawns, squid, oyster, a bottle of wine and a couple of beers. The best thing that I really love was the crab soup because the flavor was so intense w/seafood. The squid was super tender inside and the outside was crispy w/out adding anything......Proably the best squid that I had so far in my life. The grill pawns was hugh but that was ok...nothing to brag about, the oyster too. I would recommend anyone to come here. The service was fine w/us and we didn't speak any French but I can see why some people might get bad service so it is very spotted I guess but they was very nice to us.

Amateur Hour! We were drawn to this place by the look of the mussels and were happy to get a table on a Sunday, as many restaurants were closed. This place was a disaster. Our server was on another planet. We ordered sole, she returned to say they were out of sole, we ordered another fish, only to have her return saying we could only get something cold, either shrimp or salmon tartar. We settled for the shrimp which were nothing special. We thought our fish would eventually come, it never did. While hot plates of fish seemed to be finding their way to tables all around us. They also messed up the orders of the table next to us, who were also not at all happy. If you are short of time in Bordeaux, this place is a real gamble!

Le Petit Commerce has amazing food, amazing wine (both moderately priced and expensive Bordeaux classics), and an amazing atmosphere in one of Bordeaux's pedestrian alleys. Try the tuna tartar and the amazing Moules (mussels).

Very delicious food. We ordered grilled mussels and clams. Try the Creme brûlée with tea it is amazing! Service was great all the staff very friendly and helpful!

Went here tonight very delicious but no menu in English . Worth a trip for fabulous tapas and great wine selection. It is best if you know some French or have a dictionary. We had the plate of assorted cut meats, shrimp with mayo , mussels planca simply delic plus a bottle of grand cru St emillion all for 55 E

My favorite restaurant in Bordeaux. Food was awesome. The staff was lacking as I believe the owner was wearing all the hats that day, so if your looking for quick it may not be the place depending on the day. We enjoyed it because we were looking to relax and enjoy ourselves with good food and wine.

Food is above average, atmosphere's great. Wine list is very respectable. What I didn't like was the way menu was set up, the items were placed on 4ft tall chalkboards and the server would just leave it by you. I find it amusing but felt the design promoted lazy behavior. Our server was a bit snooty too, though she did leave an English board, but, No smiles, no recos, just us and the board. In the end I was more impressed with our wine ( Rolly Gassmann Auxerrois, I know, not regional wine either ) than the food (grilled sea bass), and the coldness of our server didn't help.

My favourite restaurant in Bordeaux. The service is efficient and very friendly, also to us who are far from fluent in french. They try to accomodate all guests, even when the place is packed. The food is straight forward, cooked to perfection and very very good. We have had fish and seafood on both visits to the restaurant and it has been excellent. Accompanied by good advice on the best wine to the food. Hope to be back soon!!

Great place to go and have a nice dinner. a little bit too noisy by certain persons standards but the fish are great and there is a nice selection. There's no menu which is too bad but overall it's a great place to go.