Loco By Jem's

We were recommended this restaurant as one of the best in Bordeaux, so we booked a lunch for our last day in the city. Unfortunately, it fell short of our expectations. The staff were friendly and accommodating when we arrived. Second impressions was that the bottle of water they brought us was dirty. I asked for a wine to accompany my lunch, the wine was not poured in front of me to taste and the wine glass was also not clean. For a savignon blanc it was a bit too acidic for my liking, but okay. We asked several times to have the food explained to us, but the waitress had only basic knowledge of English, so I'm not sure they understood our ask. I would expect more of a restaurant with such high reviews. They then tried their best to translate, but we mainly had to use google translate. In the end we ordered a starter and two main courses. The starter indicated it was a ceviche, but it was more like a toast skagen on top of fennel instead of bread. It would have benefited from some acidity as it lacked a freshness element in the dish. The celery lacked dressing. The creamy skagen salad was too heavy/salty. For the two main dishes we ordered the haddock and the risotto with eggs. The risotto lacked in flavor overall and the rice was undercooked. The haddock was well cooked but its components were disappointing. The baked potato was hard, I had one bite where I thought I'd bit into a stone and had to spit it out. There was a strange bitter taste to the topping of the potato, which consisted of hazelnuts and herbs, almost like anchovies. Maybe some of the hazelnuts had gone bad, which sometimes gives a bitter taste. Sadly, we could not finish any of the dishes we ordered. The food looked pretty, but the flavor is what matters.

Very few restaurants leave us with a lasting happy memory. Everything about our experience here was wonderful. We were so thankful for finding this place on the Michelin-recommended list during our short visit to Bordeaux. We went here with our 1-year old, prepared to apologise to strangers for the noise and chaos she might cause. Jeremy, the restaurant owner and head chef, went out of his way to make us feel comfortable. We had the wine-paired tasting menu, which was incredible! The last tomatoes (appetizer) made a statement. Loved the chicken with armorican sauce too! He even booked us a cab since we didn't have the right app to do so.

The food was delicious and attention to detail was evident. The chef was very friendly and helpful which added to our experience. I liked seeing the open kitchen and how busy they were. Our favorite restaurant experience so far!

High quality food at a reasonable price. Ordered a 4 courses menu. The food is very good and with a nice presentation. Service is good as well. The wine paring choice probably a bit too bold. But considering the price, I would say it is a good value of money. Worth a visit when you are in Bordeaux!

Bold flavors and beautiful plating! Although not at the very center of the city, we were really glad that we chose this restaurant over other ones that were closer to us! Everything was great and we can see how much they care about customer experiences. Recommend for the value and quality.

The food was delicious from start to end, a staggering array of flavors all complimenting each other, make you savor every little bite. Wine pairings were perfect in both nose and taste. Souses were heavenly. The only problem was that it all came to an end eventually and we had to go home. What a night! We had a 3 course meal with aperitif and a cognac at the end and enjoyed every bit of it.

It was my first time trying a tasting menu. We had four-course meal. The food was very excellent and it exceeded my expectations. The ingredients are of great quality and fresh. Each meal is bursting with flavors.

I can’t argue about the quality of the food. We had the full 5 course degustation menu with the reasonably priced wine pairings. Each dish was delicious and well balanced. The wines paired well, though portions were a little on the small side. The reason for the drop in stars was the service. It was pleasant but the mark of a quality restaurant is how they handle issues. The evening started slowly 15-20 mins between ordering and receiving the amuse bouche and starters but then something went wrong. There was almost 1 hour between the starter and the next course. We were not alone as almost every table was sat waiting for their next course. We had been given our next pairing wine already (white wine) which we obviously did not want to finish it but meant by the time the food arrived had gone warm. Staff did not explain the reason for the wait, no apology and the reason given at the end of the night was everyone turned up at the same time. I am sure there was an issue in the kitchen. Whatever the reason for the delay a simple sorry we have had an issue and it will take time to bring the next course and then a free glass of wine while you wait is how we have been treated in many restaurants over the years. This is a simple gesture. We did not complain as we could see the whole restaurant was in the same situation and we were enjoying each other’s company. We arrived at 20:00, amuse bouche 20:25, starter 20:45, next course 21:42, then 21:58, 22:24, dessert 23:00.