Left Bank - San Jose

I love coming here for lunch! The ambiance really makes you feel like you're in Europe. My go to is a glass of sparkling rose with the Niçoise salad *chefs kiss*The service is always great too. Friendly staff and everything seems to come out pretty quickly once you get your order in. Definitely recommend!

We have enjoyed Left Bank quite a bit in the past. Tonight's experience.. was less than stellar and I don't know if I may ever care to return. All of the staff seemed to be self-absorbed among themselves, from the host checking our reservation to our waiter who was too busy hanging out and cracking jokes with the bartender. Sure, the food came out fast.. soup, salad, appetizers and entree all came at once, but they forgot the charcuterie board. Waiter never checked in on us and towards the end of finishing up our meal, we first tried to flag down a female manager who just walked by and ignored us. Finally got the attention of another busboy to find our waiter and by this time, just told him to cancel the forgotten item, get us a box and the check. *Strong warning to pass on the beef bourginon unless you like stringy, boiled, not braised meat. Should be fall off the bone, melt in your mouth experience but instead it's chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew.. And then finally try to swallow and make it go down your throat. Flavor was ok, but very hard to eat..

"Jerry: I thought we were going out?Holly: Well, after you scarfed up my mutton I had the irresistible urge to make pork chops for you. I said hello to Franco for you." - Seinfeldda Scene: been wanting to check them out, so reserved a table for brunch and headed out. Santana Row was busy on a Sunday afternoon, but timing is everything & snagged street parking. Kinda an old school feel, nice bar as you walk in. A disinterested host verified our res. and walked us to our table.da Service: Started looking around trying to catch someone's attention, to no avail... enough time had passed that we thought about walking out. Finally a gent stopped by and offered "ready to order?" He seemed bothered having to serve us, really surly disposition. Ordered up Charcuterie, and Asparagus soup to start and some wine. Then the Steak Frites and Moules Frites for mains. After a few minutes, before anything showed up, our surly server returned and asked what the mains were, which we repeated. Needless to say, we were skeptical about how this was gonna go... thank goodness we got a server change and Christina W took over. An introduction, a smile and genuine thoughtful service... it matters when droppin' $200 on brunch for 2.da Grub: Pretty solid, not "wowed", good not great. Chicken liver mousse was good, served with only 2 points of toast, ordered up more. Soup again, was good, could've used an infusion of herbs or a dab of oil or cream... something. The steak was perfect temp, but quite tough. Glad I got the Bordelaise (which was very good) needed it. Mussels were plentiful, but the sauce was a bit flat/watery, not rich and luxurious as it should be.Perhaps it's the brunch service, not their "A" game maybe? Just lacked attention to detail and the "ooomph" you expect from an iconic spot. Host and 1st server pretty much set the tone unfortunately, Christina ALONE saved this from being "meh" rating, kudos to her! Will try again on a weekday evening for dinner service and hope to bump this review up.

Such a nice experience here. We were greeted right away and taken to our table. They made sure we were comfortable and then the rest of the service was great even a busy evening. The food was amazingly delicious. The vibe was very enjoyable and made our evening a very pleasant date.

3.5 stars. We had a reservation with a birthday noted and got sat at a booth in the bar. They didn't have any other tables available so didn't seem like making a reservation made a big difference as most folks around us were walk ins. The booth was a bit broken and torn up. Since we were in the bar area, our server was also the bartender.Food was generally tasty but the burger was well done despite asking for medium. We flagged down a manager after we couldn't get our server's attention (he was watching a playoff game on the tv in the bar). The manager didn't even need I to ask and said "Is the burger overcooked?"They brought out a new burger and it was cooked perfectly and tasted great, fries were a little stale and not hot. Fish entree was very tasty.Service and ambience left something to be desired. Would try it again if in the area but wouldn't go out of my way for it.

(Chris Helmsworth w/ a French accent voiceover)The vibe is Parisian cafe right on Santana Row! Cosmé warmly greeted us and served us. Beet Salad! Soo good. Healthy. Sports performance! Incroyable!Nicoise Salad! Perfectly seared Ahi! Great salad!Porkchop! Remarkable! Très delicieux!Thanks, Cosmé!Part Deux:Kimberly warmly greeted me! She is a one-woman-army! Beet Salad! And yes, reproducible fantastic phenomenon. That's science!Steak Frites! Hearty! Super satisfying! Would order everything again! Merci, Kimberly!The Left Bank is always the place to have an epic meal! Bien sur!Woohoo!

My mom & I were looking for somewhere to eat and Santana and our last stop was Left Bank. We both had never tried and were convinced by the cheese fondue we saw on the menu. The host was really kind and informed on the menu and convinced us to stay! They also do half off bottles of wine under 100 on Monday which is an awesome deal!!We didn't get wine but we did get cheese fondue, the Niçoise salad, and butternut squash raviolis. They suggest even adding veggie sticks for your fondue! All of them were AMAZING and beyond expectation. Service was kind and the restaurant vibe was great. Will be back!!!

The lunch special is definitely worth it! $25 prix fixe menu of an appetizer, entree and dessert. I got the cauliflower soup (YUM) and the chicken. The chicken was a little dry so it definitely needed the sauce but the mashed potatoes were on point.The ambiance is upscale and lively. Service is really good. I sat at the bar and the bartender, Dan, was really attentive and great to chat with.

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.

Well I love the location and all the outdoor seating is very reminiscent of Paris which I miss! But I only tried one dish - the ahi tuna tartare. It was just mediocre flavor but at least it was fresh! Good ish service. Weather is cold but the sunlight and people watching was on point :)