A European walk through Bordeaux 17

 

The Restaurant of the Kings.

5, rue Montesquieu.

 

Le Chapon fin à la Belle Epoque.

 

It was in the late 19th century that Joseph Sicart and Louis Mendiondo turned this establishment into not only the most famous restaurant in Bordeaux, but also, for many, “the best in Europe.”

The Chapon Fin and its famous cave began as a unique and unusual setting, in 1900, comprised of a natural rockery and greenery that, according to some, created “a room that is something of a mix between an aquarium and a rock garden.” Father Sicart welcomed his guests there, with his long white beard, surrounded by a wall of the most prestigious vintages, classed in ascending order, from bottles to magnums to jeroboams to imperials. Above and beyond its cave and winter garden, the establishment has always owed its well-deserved celebrity to its delicious cuisine, whose aroma was quick to cross the boundaries and unsurpassable riches of its cellar. Thanks to this address, Curnonsky, a strong fan of its cèpes à la bordelaise, decreed Bordeaux the “capital of good food.”

Having been crowned by the “Prince of Gastronomy,” the establishment would go on to become the restaurant of the kings. Its threshold has been crossed by a succession of royal visitors, from King Manuel II of Portugal to the future Edward VII, still Prince of Wales, not to mention King Alfonso XIII of Spain, who was a regular customer and, legend has it, had his own personal cellar. All Europe’s celebrities came to enjoy its cuisine, from Toulouse-Lautrec to the Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio and the Czech artist Mucha. People came, and returned, attracted by the enchanting spell of its filets de sole florentine, its albufera chicken and, of course, its eponymous and royal chapon [capon]. Alfonso XIII was ever faithful to its pudding glacé, Sarah Bernhardt to its ortolans en caisse, and Aristide Briand to its lamproie au vin rouge. As for Sacha Guitry, he regularly devoured a tournedos diplomate. Anatole France took delight in a Château Margaux 1869, echoing the toasts of English diners at neighbouring tables as they rose their glass to their monarch: “God save the Wine.” Its reputation was such that its manager, Louis Mendiondo, even had to have a petrol pump and car park installed at the turn of the century. A myth had been born. Clemenceau, Poincaré, Herriot and Auriol were all seen there. The tree, which had been kept after the destruction of the former convent of the récollets and which stood proudly in the middle of the room at the beginning of the century, has now disappeared. But the cave and the white columns that made the establishment so famous still remain. The Chapon Fin has its place in history.

It has also witnessed some tragic events, the kind that will never be commemorated by a plaque. There were two such occasions, first in the early days of the Great War, at which time it served as a headquarters for Parisians having fled to Bordeaux, then during the debacle of 1940, when it served as a refuge for celebrities from all over Europe.

In June 1940, when the government was in Bordeaux, all the heads of government in exile, the generals, the ministers and the ambassadors of the city would gather there. At least all those lucky enough to find a place. On 17 June 1940, when Marshal Pétain called for an armistice, at the exact moment when he was inviting France to “cease the fight,” Count Sforza, exiled by Mussolini, British Ambassador Sir Ronald Campbell, Edward Spears, the envoy of Winston Churchill, for whom the restaurant was the “best” in Europe, and writer Louise Weiss were all dining there. Weiss would go on to say: … …

 

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Le Chapon fin à la Belle Epoque.

Le Chapon fin à l'époque du "platane".

Le Chapon fin in 1980.

 

Le Chapon fin à l'époque du "platane".

 

Go to the Marché des Grands Hommes, cross or bypass it, then go

into Cour Mably to enter Rue Mably.