San Jose > French

The Barrel Bistro And Wine Bar

The Barrel Bistro And Wine Bar

★★★★★ 4.6 (801)

Jeff T. "Barrel Bistro was a great choice for our small start-up's holiday luncheon (16 people). The tables were set up when we arrived, while the food and drink choices for both the appetizers and main menu items appeared promptly and together which is tough to do for a large party and a hallmark of a well run backend. Most importantly, everything tasted excellent!I ordered the skirt steak while others at my table had Lobster Risotto, Seafood linguini and the hamburger sliders. That's a wide range of choices so we were joking about who would have "order envy", wishing they had chosen someone else's menu item rather than their own. No one did - all items looked and tasted on point.For appetizers we ordered a cheese sampler (good, but didn't stand out) and an excellent Chorizo Shortbread that disappeared quickly. Wines by the glass and beers arrived with this first round.The wine list was excellent with some affordable choices along with higher end choices that had higher end prices (Side note, it may be a while before I drink Silver Oak, Deep Cliff, or Caymus again! I loved it when they were lesser known and at the upper end of affordable). The wait staff was professional and attentive without being intrusive. Barrel Bistro was a great choice for us and would also be an excellent choice for anyone else that wants something special for lunch or dinner in downtown San Mateo. Five stars!"

Wine Bars
Chez TJ

Chez TJ

★★★★☆ 3.8 (818) • $$$$

Sonu N. "We went here for Valentine's Day, and could not have been more impressed. A cute home converted into an upscale restaurant made for a romantic homie ambience. Service is formal and attentive. The menu was an inventive journey of courses which they made vegetarian for me."

Popular French Dishes

Short Ribs

Short Ribs

Taste our savory short ribs, braised to perfection and served with creamy garlic mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and a rich demi glaze sauce. A true comfort food delight.

$46.99

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Chocolate Croissant

Chocolate Croissant

$1.95

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Lobster Bisque

Lobster Bisque

Smooth and creamy lobster reduction with lobster pieces

$10.00

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Vietnamese Beef Stew with Rice Noodle

Vietnamese Beef Stew with Rice Noodle

Stewed beef, rice noodle, carrots, herb broth.

$22.00

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South Texas Antelope

South Texas Antelope

garlic saucisson, Conrado Farms beans, Padron peppers

$46.00

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French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup

Classic onion soup with natural swiss cheese, crouton (no pastry)

$12.00

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Cajun

Cajun

Cheddar, Beer, Shrimp, Spices

$52.00

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Douce France Cafe

Douce France Cafe

★★★★☆ 3.9 (706) • $$

Eva L. "This is such a great spot to have a quick bite and get your morning coffee! I really enjoy their outdoor tables and the dining space here. I love grabbing a book to read sitting outside because they have lots of tables available. Their salmon crepe is my favorite here, and I love how soft their crepe batter is. The iced vanilla soy latte is my go-to here, and everything tastes delicious."

Bakeries Creperies
Left Bank

Left Bank

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (976) • $$$

Francisco M. "This was my second--and likely last--visit to Left Bank.Here's what we ordered: * Prawns Provençale: Tasty, but $20 for just five pieces felt overpriced. * Beef Bourguignon: Full of flavor and worth returning for. * Pork Chop: The waiter recommended this dish to my wife and mentioned it would include two slices of pork chop. However, she was served only one--and it was overcooked. We initially thought the waiter might have misspoken, but later, we saw another patron served two slices. When we pointed this out to the waiter, he responded, "Oh, the cook made a mistake, but you should have told me earlier--now I can't do anything." There was no apology, discount, or offer of a complimentary dessert, as many other restaurants would provide when mistakes happen.The only highlight was the live jazz band playing during our visit. Without that, it would have been a thoroughly disappointing experience."

Cocktail Bars
Zola + BarZola

Zola + BarZola

★★★★☆ 4.2 (571) • $$$

Claudia S. "Good food, small portions. We came on Valentines weekend, ordered oysters and French oinion soup for starters. My husband got the monkfish and I got the gnocchi. Both were good. Dessert was a raspberry bomb, which was nice."

Wine Bars Cocktail Bars
Le Petit Bistro

Le Petit Bistro

★★★★☆ 4 (472) • $$$

Donna G. "Love Le Petit Bistro. Very authentic French Bistro food. Service is very friendly and you feel like you're in France!"

Recent Reviews for French Restaurants

Kelsey S.

★★★★★

Feb 20, 2025


I don't remember how I found this place, but I wanted to go somewhere new for my birthday, and decided to try this place. I booked a reservation on yelp for 7pm on a Thursday, but my fiance and I took Caltrain and ended up getting here a bit early. The woman who greeted us had no problem seating us and took us to a table by the expo window. The downtown area was pretty quiet, but this place was PACKED. All of the workers were moving quickly, navigating through the tables, and it was a bit loud from all the guests and workers. Despite the noise and sheer number of people packed into this place, it was still a pleasant evening. The workers are quick, efficient, and super friendly. Since I was by the expo window and bar, I was watching all of the servers run back and forth. All of the servers worked together to make this an amazing experience. They helped each other serve food, run drinks, and clean tables. Our server was also super pleasant and attentive. As for the food and drinks, it was all AMAZING. We started off the night with the berry mojito and the passion fruit martini. My fiance actually ordered the berry mojito, but it was sooo good I had to steal it. Both drinks were refreshing. The berry mojito was on the sweeter side, but it tasted like it had real fruit juice in it. The passion fruit was tangy, but had a nice sugar rim to balance it out.For appetizers, we ordered the sautéed prawns and they were in some sort of lemon butter sauce. They were creamy, rich, and lemony. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and tasted great with the bread. I told my fiance I could eat a whole plate of these. My fiance and I also decided to get the meat sampler which was an amazing idea. All of the meat was cooked perfectly. They also gave us three different sauces to dip the meat into and each one was amazing. I liked the chipotle aioli and lemon herb sauce. My fiance liked the teriyaki sauce, which was good, but definitely a light flavor. The asparagus was perfectly seasoned and cooked. The potatoes were good, but nothing special. Lastly, we got the chocolate lava cake, which was light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet. It was served with a coffee ice cream and whipped cream. My fiance also ordered an espresso martini, which looked great, but tasted even more amazing.The only let down was that they forgot it was my birthday ha ha. I put it down in the reservation, but they seemed to have forgot. They sang to quite a few other parties, but not me. Oh well, I still loved this place. Also, if you're looking for a quiet, intimate dinner, don't come here... but if you're looking for a pretty perfect dining experience, you should come here because the food is all amazing!!

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Nikhil M.

★★★★★

Sep 8, 2024


Phenomenally experience here, highly recommend. Chez TJ has just renewed their Michelin star and does not disappoint. From the moment you walk in, you are completely taken care of and begin a fantastic blind tasting experience. From the little table for your bag to the timing and alignment of the plates on your table, everything looks put together. The food is also amazing and there are so many courses. The seafood courses were full of flavor, the duck and wagyu were cooked to perfection, and the desserts did not disappoint.

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John F.

★★★★☆

Dec 18, 2023


Great place to have coffee or lunch. Had a café latte with oat milk. Very good ! Also, ordered pastries which were delicious too. What makes Douce France Cafe so special is the whole package. You have good food, inside or outside sitting areas, and boutique shopping afterwards. Service is good but it can get crowded most of the time. It is a popular local spot ! This is my wife and I's local go to for a morning breakfast and shopping. If you are thinking of lunch, they have a good array of options but more cafè style then restaurant style. Depending on the day and time you should be prepared to not find a table. Keep this in mind so when a table becomes available, you might want to have your friend or family member sit while you place the order. Outside of this, prices are reasonable and ambiance is like a local Paris cafè !

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Allyson R.

★★★★☆

Jan 11, 2025


Paid by card. Left Bank is located on the corner street and offers some street parking. I went here on a Tuesday night for a private, corporate event upstairs. The restaurant was decorated nicely for the holidays and the servers were attentive. This was great for a group event since we got our own space and bathrooms upstairs. Appetizers, drinks, main dishes, and desserts were served and the food was good. I would recommend this place and would go back again.

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Monica H.

★★★★★

Feb 24, 2025


Came across this place while walking around trying to get some food before a movie. We didn't have a reservation, but we were able to get a table right away. We tried the Parisian Gnocchi and the Roasted Chicken. Both were delicious, we really enjoyed the food. We also tried an old fashioned and bees knees. The drinks were also great! Will definitely be coming back again.

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Celina G.

★★★★★

Oct 4, 2024


My favorite restaurant. I can't complain on food everything is so delicious I've been there a few times and service is really good and amazing place.

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Danny K.

★★★★☆

Dec 16, 2024


Had our holiday company dinner this year at Elements after trying it one night just before they closed. It's in a strip mall off of Almaden in South San Jose. But once you walk inside, it feels classy with a big glass wine cellar to the right, and an open kitchen towards the back. The restaurant is family-owned and operated. The chef and his father both work there, with possibly more family working other positions. It was packed with patrons on a Friday night. Their fusion cuisine is quite unique in that it is more French and Western than Vietnamese. So there are dishes such as Salmon Wellington that you would never see at a Vietnamese restaurant. For appetizers we ordered fried softshell crab, spring rolls and green salad. All solid in terms of taste and freshness. For entrees, each person at our table ordered a different dish. I ordered the Salmon Wellington, which was nicely breaded, in a plate of cream. There was a thick cheese inside the breading surrounding the perfectly cooked salmon. I tried the Australian rack of lamb, also well cooked and seasoned. The desserts were not quite on the level of the entrees. My colleagues had to chip away at the peach sorbet because it was frozen solid. The chocolate cake was spongy and tasty, but the ice cream on top was ordinary. The drink menu was somewhat of a surprise in that they didn't have any cocktails. Unsurprisingly, they had a wide variety of wine and some beer, but I had expected some creative cocktails given the food menu but I guess I didn't see a bar there. If you happen to be on the south side and want to have a unique French-Vietnamese meal, I recommend Elements.

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Farrah J.

★★★☆☆

Nov 23, 2023


My sister and I ate our Thanksgiving meal here. Pros: Service, service, service!Cons: Ambiance is very 80s. The decor and atmosphere make me want to listen to Tears for Fears and vote for Reagan. As far as the food, I liked that the selection went beyond turkey and stuffing. It was cooked well but pretty standard. A bit overpriced but we were grateful to have somewhere decent to go for the holiday.

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Elements Restaurant

Elements Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4.2 (381) • $$

Veronica C. "We've been back a few times for dinner since my last review. The last dinner we got, the chef was willing to make us pho even though that was a lunch item menu. It was so delicious, clean, and the meat was so good quality, we thought we'd try our luck again.Unfortunately, this time, our server said they weren't serving pho despite us calling at lunch time to check if they would serve for dinner. Since we were already there, thought we might as well get a good dinner in. We tried the butternut squash soup, the garden mixed green salad, the half rotisserie chicken, and the salmon wellington.While all the dishes were good, refined, well cooked, and well seasoned, each had a factor of slight disappointment. The soup was yummy (avoid if you don't like cinnamon), but small portioned and expensive at $15. The garden mixed salad promised orange, pear, and bleu cheese among other things, but we somehow missed all those ingredients or flavors, and instead there were beets. No real complaints about the rotisserie chicken (except that pho wasn't available); had a crispy skin, tender and juicy, mashed potatoes were creamy, au jus had a good flavor, and the veggies were nicely cooked and seasoned. The salmon wellington, also good, and while we knew it might take a little longer for that one to come out as indicated on the menu, we didn't realize it would take 45 minutes. The server should have informed us (the table next to us were informed of the wait and their dish was immediately put in, but by then, we had already been served our food). We were sufficiently full and opted out of dessert. While service was fine, for a restaurant that touts on being more upscale, there were a few misses. Maybe we need to stick to their lunch menu and come then. We did order a chicken banh mi to go, which was decently priced at $9 - the bread was nice and crispy, plenty of chicken, but could have used more pickled veggies."

Vietnamese Asian Fusion
La Mere Michelle

La Mere Michelle

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (194) • $$$

Tim L. "Holy smokes. Everything you would expect. Excellent service. The food was incredible the Chef even came out to check on our meal. We will definitely return. Amazing"

Firehouse Bistro

Firehouse Bistro

★★★★☆ 3.8 (136) • $$$

Ilana Y. "Lovely birthday dinner with my hubs! The food was delicious, especially the desserts! They even gave him a dessert with a candle for his birthday.It was a little on the pricier side, but I would definitely go back again. it's a super cute venue, not too big and cozy vibe."

Salad Cocktail Bars
Plumed Horse

Plumed Horse

★★★★☆ 3.9 • $$$$

Emily C. "Came to celebrate a big birthday for a family member. Late reservation at 8:30pm but we got seated early around 8:10pm. We waited for a while for anyone to come and offer water or go over the menu. I figured it was because we were early than our reservation. There was some confusion with who was going to take our order and who would go over the process for the 4 course prix fix. It was fine but a little awkward. Once Alex got involved, everything in terms of service got much better!The ambiance is lovely and we liked the music in the background which wasn't silence or too quiet. It made it feel very relaxed than other equally michelin'd places. Relaxed yet quiet lux.The food was amazingly good. Creative, delicious, perfectly prepared and gorgeously plated. The pork chop stood out as the sauce served with it was savory, comforting and memorable. The parmesan and black pepper souffle was everything I had hoped it was. I will definitely go back again for the beautifully prepared canapes (beef carpaccio puff was crave-worthy,) the side dishes and the breads and butters, which were absolutely dreamy, the souffle, and the outstanding Paris Brest dessert. The creme caramel was just ok. Would also want to see how the menu will change each season to time our return. 100% worth the splurge on expensive wines and port (4-figure price tag for 3.) Oh and I loved that they had awesome NA options for our birthday guy- a NOgroni (NA Negroni) was excellent and a witty surprise!"

New American
Papillon

Papillon

★★★★☆ 3.9 • $$$

Ed S. "Me and my wife celebrated our wedding anniversary at Papillon. We booked our dinner online and made our reservation at 5:30 am. They have ample parking space and you'll not miss the big sign in front of their restaurant. Once we checked in, we were immediately seated at our table. The place is nostalgic and the ambiance is quiet and pleasant for a romantic dinner. Since they just opened, we saw only a few patrons. The menu has a lot of options and this place is very famous for its steak, fillet mignon, classic beef Wellington, ribeye, rack of lamb, short ribs, salmon, etc. All of the items from their menu are highly recommendable. For starters, we ordered their crispy tempura calamari and their house salad. We also had their Blue Paradise Margarita and Tequila Sunrise. For our main course, we ordered the Grilled ANGUS RIBEYEin Marinade of Olive Oil, Roasted Peppers, Basil, and Roasted Garlic Puree, served with Sautéed GarlicMushrooms and Grilled ATLANTIC SALMON with Hero Potato Puree, Warm Spinach, and Cranberry Reduction. While waiting for our orders, we were served with their warm bread. The calamari was fresh and good. The salad was just served right and the dressing was good. The margarita and Tequiela were the perfect alcohol for the night. And finally, the main course was perfect. The ribeye was soft and tender and the Salmon was fresh and delicious. The portions were huge and were cooked the way we wanted. The meal was so huge that we didn't have any more space for desserts. However, when they found out that we were celebrating our anniversary, they presented us with a nice piece of cake with all the trimmings around a plate with an anniversary message. They were so thoughtful and made our anniversary special. The owner, Charlie, approached our table and greeted us on our anniversary. He told us the story of how the restaurant started and how long they've been in the business. With the great service they provided and the excellent food they provided, I would see them prospering for another decade. This was not our first time celebrating our anniversary here and we see ourselves celebrating more anniversary at this place."

Wine Bars
La Fondue

La Fondue

★★★★☆ 3.8 • $$$$

Lakshana A. "Best. fondue. experience. ever.I really loved trying this place! Prices are definitely a bit steep as expected, but the fondues are so tasty and if you're a cheese/chocolate lover this is the place for you.I really liked the dimly lit ambience. It honestly made the place so much more classy and cozy.What I really like about this place is that they start you off with salad and each person gets their own plate. It's a really good portion size and honestly I feel like you could get decently full just eating that. Also makes you feel less guilty about eating all that cheese n choccie!Their drinks are wonderful too, and pretty strong so you definitely get your money's worth. If it's a special occasion, they usually give you a champagne glass on the house! So thoughtful of them!After you choose your cheese blend, they whip it right over the stove in front of you! So so cool. Ours was nice and garlicky (the stinking rose), and they give you a bunch of bread and veggies to dip into it. You can also ask them for dipping item refills whenever!I would *definitely* not skip out on the chocolate fondue, but again, these portions are huge so don't be surprised if it's too much for 2 people! (well maybe the cheese.....we did finish that somehow LOL)The flaming tortoise (chocolate flambé) fondue was so good and they gave us sooo many things to dip, from cheesecake bites, pirouette cookies, apples, strawberries, brownies, toffee, and more!Would definitely come back for a special occasion!"

Seafood
Left Bank - San Jose

Left Bank - San Jose

★★★☆☆ 3.3 • $$$

Susan F. "I would've given it 5 stars this time. Except one large flop. Go to the website and check out the awesome happy hour menu. It is so far from what they actually do. The actual happy hour menu is a lot smaller. That bwing said our server was awesome. Our food was delicious. The calamari was seasoned super well, nice and crispy, and the sauce- so yummy! The oysters were huge and fresh. Then we also got the short ribbon fries, holy moly. So freaking good. We went on a Wednesday night and it was dead. Over all a great experience minus the misleading menu online."

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