Le Petit Bistro

My husband and I got engaged in Paris on New Year's, so it's been our tradition to have New Year's Eve dinner at a local French restaurant. Not many of them were open in the South Bay for NYE unfortunately, but we're always willing to take a drive up the peninsula for new experiences. I found Le Petit Bistro from a Google search and verified that they would be open. I made a request for a reservation a month in advance, which the restaurant accepted. My husband and I had reservations for 5pm. We were one of the first few parties that were at Le Petit Bistro, but the place was filled up by the time we neared the end of our dinner. The restaurant was cute and simple. It didn't exactly give me the Parisian vibe, but it did feel rustic and cozy. That being said, I found that the food at Le Petit Bistro was the most authentic French food since my husband and I spent a month in Paris. Great customer service. Michelle was our main server, and she was the sweetest. The other staff members were also friendly and attentive. When Michelle was running around tending to other tables, I had no problem seeking assistance from other waiters. The food came out in a timely manner, which was a huge plus. Le Petit Bistro offered a prix fixe menu for the evening, but there were a few appetizer that could be ordered a la carte including smoked salmon salad, paté, and escargots. I'm a huge fan of escargots, so I was pleased that Le Petit Bistro had them. The snails were plump, but I did find the butter sauce a bit bland. I got the butter lettuce salad with walnut oil dressing, which was refreshing and a nice palate cleanser. My husband ordered the lobster bisque, and we both agreed that it was top 3 of tastiest and most flavorful lobster bisque we've had. I was expecting it to be thick and creamy, but it had a much thinner broth-like texture. I ordered the scallops as my main course, and it was fantastic. Funny enough, my favorite thing I ate in Paris was a scallop dish. The scallops were sauteéd in an amazing sauce with mushrooms. I also thought that the veggies were steamed perfectly.My husband got the filet mignon. I forgot that the French do medium rare differently than Americans (à point). This was something I didn't miss when we were in Paris, because the meat ends up being slightly rarer than medium rare I'm used to - still very edible though. That being said, the filet mignon was great.For dessert I got the chocolate mousse and my husband got the opera cake. The chocolate mousse, which was so smoothe and silky, was my favorite as I've had better opera cake elsewhere.

Mousse de Foie de Canard 4 duck liver, paste apply to bread, medium flavorfulEscargots de Bourgogne 3 snail, garlic butter, garlic taste too strongDemi Canard Roti a I Orange 3 roasted half duck, slightly dry, orange fruit sauce, not flavorfulLamb Chops 5 crusty outside, tender, flavorful crustGrand Mariner Cheesecake 3 strong alcohol taste

It was Valentine yesterday, I'd booked a reservation on Monday last week, but when the time to confirm my reservation, there was none. I've made reservation online many times and never a failed one except here. I called a few times and only answering machine. Anyhow, it was a disappointment but luckily we found Chez Christina not to far away and we had a great dinner. I was glad that the reservation system failed me, because if a great establishment shouldn't have inferior booking system. Yes, I filled in name, hour, email and phone #.

Instead of going to Left Bank, go to Le Petit Bistro. They have popovers (instead of bread), an excellent selection of French wine, and daily specials. The scallops in béchamel were life changing--perfectly sautéed scallops in a creamy, white sauce. French onion soup was appropriately cheesy, and the escargot was perfectly garlicky. The duck was tender w cheesy scalloped potatoes on the side. A massive portion of duck, including a leg and cut up breast in a delicious sauce. Was too stuffed to get dessert.

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

We have been to this restaurant many times and typically we give it a 5 star. Tonight the food fell short and was not up to our high expectations. The onion soup was excellent but the coq au vin was not their typical excellent recipe. It was a slice of chicken breast in a thin chicken broth. It wasnt awful, but it wasn't coq au vin in a rich brown sauce that is flavored with red wine and lean bacon, chicken stock, garlic, onions, mushrooms etc. The chicken pieces are typically dark meat. We will return, and if we order coq au vin I will ask if they are serving the classic dish made with a recipe that Julia Child's would recognize. Service and ambiance was fine, as usual.

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.

Delicious food and great ambiance! They helped me touch up on my French as well.Delicious food and great ambiance! They helped me touch up on my French as well.

No idea why there are such good reviews. I have never eaten French food that was not good. Old dry rolls, butter in foil wrappers, dry meat, under seasoned and overcooked vegetables, dry cake for dessert. The bathroom was disgusting. For paying $400, we would have expected more!

Food and service were great. I had the duck and it was delish! My date had the coq au vin - also great. We skipped dessert but we should not have!