INIMA: A Gastronomic Fine-Dining Experience in the Heart of Bordeaux

INIMA, which means “with all my heart” in Moldovan, is the creative fine dining restaurant by Moldovan chef Oxana Crétu. And with one meal at INIMA, you’ll come away feeling that Oxana delivers beautiful dishes with complex flavors lovingly labored over with a deep passion. Each dish is a story on a plate.

In Moldova, there is a saying: “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are.” That saying resonates with every plate at INIMA.

Chef Oxana Crétu

Oxana is the chef and owner of INIMA. From Chisinău, Moldova, Oxana moved to France in 2006 and has two restaurants on Rue Palais Gallien with her first restaurant, Cromagnon, formerly occupying the space of the re-imagined INIMA.

Oxana is a former product designer, but her true passion was always food from an early age. Essentially self-taught, Oxana did complete an apprenticeship with l’École Ducasse before venturing in to opening her own restaurant.

Impressively, Oxana is the only Modovan chef to be in the world to be listed in the Michelin Guide.

The MENU

INIMA’s menu is a tasting menu only with a selection of 6, 8 or 10 courses offered through three menus named Angelique, Lily Rose or Elyn. Chef Oxana’s signatures are smoked food, and you’ll often find bold and unexpected flavor combinations that are a reflection of her own creativeness and personality. The dishes offered are primarily fish and seafood based, with the flavors inspired by Oxana’s travels around the world.

Sustainability is the philosophy at INIMA, and the majority of products are sourced locally from small producers within the Nouvelle Aquitaine region. Oxana has a passion for both fish and smoked foods, and in addition to sourcing products locally, she rigorously selects certain products that carry special meaning from elsewhere.

We opted for the 8-course Lily Rose menu. The menu changes frequently to showcase the freshest seasonal products of the region, and you can view the latest menus available on INIMA’s website. Wine pairings are available, though we opted for just two glasses.

Each menu begins with Oxana’s amuse-bouche named the garden of the sea and is a signature of INIMA, though the individual dishes in the garden of the sea change regularly. On our visit, our garden of the sea included an oyster tartare with pomegranate, cuttlefish with wasabi, mackerel in a corn and tonka bean cream, and a smoked gruyère croquette topped with caviar on a bed of black garlic aioli that was quite possibly the most heavenly bite you will ever taste. There’s also bread that is practically a work of art, and some of the best butter you will have in your life. It’s all beautifully presented – the oyster tartare in a cup resembling a broken egg shell, the mackerel in corn cream served on a plate of corn kernels, and the butter presented in a dish with the cover resembling a beehive.

The 8-course Lily Rose menu includes three starters. We began with scallops in a white butter sauce with calamansi, which is a type of hybrid lime that is cultivated in the Philippines.

Perhaps one of my favorite dishes of the dinner, the Breton blue lobster followed. It was a surprise of flavors with tomato, vanilla and umeboshi. The pickled umeboshi fruit is typical in Japan and is most like a salty plum.

Our final starter was amberjack with cèpes, amanites des Césars, and thai broth. The amanites des Césars is a type of mushroom, and it was grated over the amberjack table side and the thai broth is also poured over table side.

The sommelier suggested Château Chênevert Pessac Leognan Blanc 2023 to pair with the garden of the sea and starters.

The menu includes two main courses dishes. We started with the halibut with azuki beans and black Kalamata olives.

For the second main course, we had a choice between red mullet with butternut squash and eldeflower or duck from the Landes with fig and shiso. We selected one of each dish to be able to try all the offerings. The duck was exceptional and my absolute favorite dish of the mea

For our main courses, a red Moldovan wine from Fáutor Winery named Aurore 2022 was selected. I basically fell in love with this wine and the fruity notes were a perfect compliment with the duck with figs.

Not one, but two courses of dessert followed. Fresh strawberries in a sauce of poppy and bergamote tea with a meringue and sorbet were a refreshing transition from the savory meal to a sweet finish. A crumble with citrus and orange blossom concluded the meal.

For an elevated gastronomic experience, INIMA offers a memorable meal in an elegant and refined setting. You can find INIMA’s latest menus on their website.