Beausejour French Restaurant
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Dressy
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
239 reviews
Saratoga, CA
"-great service (constantly refilled on the water and vino) -picked the fondue feast for my girlfriend and I -chef's salad and the…" read more »
16 Reviews for Beausejour French Restaurant
This place is the worst restuarant ever!!! The food are frozen, or either the put too much MSG on food. Went to the bathroom several times. I went there to celebrated my two years anniversary with my boyfriend. The services was terrible and I could hear the waitress speaking vietnamese about their customers eating too slow. I didnt appreciated thier comments. I enjoy thier dessert!!! Steak was rare and bloody. The scenary was elegant and romantic. Services was SLOW!!!
Gordon Ramsey ..We have a Kitchen Nightmare for you!!
No restaurant I have ever been to deserves fewer stars than this one.
What a horrible, horrible place.
We decided that we would make the best of it and enjoy what a great story it would be. The staff was inept, the food was straight from Costco, the chairs were uncomfortable and one of the staff was having some sort of attack right outside the window of our table.
Dreadful. Unspeakably horrible.
This place has been around for quite some time and the premises are definitely dated. It feels as if you're walking into someone's house for dinner. The restaurant is owned and run by a Vietnamese couple and the food is definitely more Vietnamese French as opposed to more traditional French cuisine.
The crowd is definitely older... I think they do some early dinner specials for seniors since there were people already getting dessert when our party of 4 was seated around 6:15 on a Saturday evening. The prices aren't too bad considering the prices I've seen at some other French restaurants... Le Papillon or Marche.
That said, the food is decent, but they definitely need to work on their service. We were seated relatively quickly, but were not given any menus. About 10 minutes later, we had to ask one of the waitresses who had been running around to bring us some menus and to get someone to open up our bottle. By the time someone came by to take our order and to open up the bottle, 30 minutes had elapsed. I feel that they weren't used to having the restaurant more than a quarter full since the waitstaff seemed to be running around. The place was at about 3/4 capacity that night.
I really do feel that this place could be much better if they had a more professional waitstaff and the pacing was better executed. It's not the kind of place where you can people watch (unless you like watching old folks), chit chat, and sip on wine to pass the time. While the place was nearly 3/4 full that night, you could still easily pick out conversations from the neighboring tables. Not a very lively place.
Where has everyone else been going? I didn't even make it to the main course. It took about ten minutes to get my wine, the I had to reming the waitress about my guest's drink. Then, he got his salad and ten minutes later I had to ask for mine and when she finally brought it out it was the wrong one.... nightmare. The only good thing was we got hot oven-fresh bread yum! Sorry guys, step your game up.
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One wonders just where the chef came from. Certainly not France. I found the deep friend avocados absurd. The atmosphere is very stately and decor quite interesting. The food leaves a lot to be desired, however, and each dish leaves your palette baffled. There was no seemingly sense of adventure. Maybe that is because they cater to a rather older crowd, at least when we were there.
I came here on a Sunday night and was surprised to find we were the only guests in the entire restaurant. Los Altos was eerily empty in general on this night, but being in such a large restaurant without a single other guest was very strange.
The decor is a pastichey French, filled with pastel colors and items you might find at a wealthy grandmother's house. All too tasteful Bach fills every room. And this stuffy feel is amplified when you are the only guests in the restaurant.
Overall, the food was pretty good, but considering how many better options there are for the high prices, it'd be hard to recommend it entirely enthusiastically. My rabbit dish was very enjoyable, though somewhat plain. My friend's seafood linguine and salmon were both underwhelming. My girlfriend's swordfish in coconut was a standout, but it was a special, so it wouldn't always be available. Their souffles were tasty, though giving the ingredients, this wouldn't be unexpected. They were quiet large and eggy, but the chocolate didn't stand out like it does in other restaurant's souffles and molten chocolate cakes.
The service was decent, though our waitress wanted to rush us since our 8 PM reservation lasted till 30 minutes past closing (9 PM). After leaving my friend's girlfriend informed us that the wait staff was complaining in Vietnamese that we were eating too slowly.
If you are looking for a quiet stuffily romantic French restaurant, you'll probably be happy. But if you are a looking for really great food or good ambiance, I'd look elsewhere (Le Pot Au Feu in Menlo Park [stuffy but better food], Chez TJ in Mountain View [more expensive but with much better food], or Anjou in San Francisco [better in every way]).
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Beausejour is a French restaurant owned and run by a Vietnamese couple. Thus it's probably more Vietnamese French than European French. It's definitely more of an old timer place considering the menu doesn't change much and most of the times I go there, the guests are more elderly. Nonetheless, the food is pretty tasty, and my mom sometimes finds discount coupons in the Palo Alto Daily. It has a nice romantic atmosphere, but definitely more old school. It's the kind of place you go for a nice, quiet dinner and not to "be seen".
Additionally, they have a buried treasure of a meeting room downstairs that is absolutely beautiful complete with full bar. We had our wedding rehearsal dinner there and they did an awesome job. I highly recommend it for any special parties. Also, the food for the rehearsal was way more decadent and fancy than what I'm usually served when we just go for dinner. It was really impressive!
I visited on my birthday and I had high expectation.
With the mind set of going to a nice French restaurant, I was suprised by a wanna-bee French restaurant. The waiter told me they are owned by some folks from Hong Kong. I had the snail & venison and my wife had the onion soup & orange duck. Services was quite bad too. I bought my own wine and I was told a $15 cockage fee upfront, that was fine. But later, the hostress came back and said this is a bigger bottle and would normally have to charge $20. It's not a magnum, it's a heavier bottle, that's all. My point is why even bother to mention this to the customer. We are the only table in the dining room and we never saw the waiter or waitress other then the delivery of our plates. Taste of food are all rather boring. We had the souffle also, it was deliver before I finish my main course and while it look quite nice but a look of inside, it's was a mushy scramble egg, it was rather a disaster. Sadly but this place I won't go back again.
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The decor is very cozy and has French colonial style. I like the privacy since groups of tables are segmented off within different rooms.
The food is VERY affordable where you can get a soup/salad, entree, and dessert for only about $30/person. The special they had the night I went was ostrich and it was really good! The escargot was flavourful, the seafood soup had a delicate philo top with a pipin' hot soup on the inside, and the duck was tender with crisp skin. Although I was overall satisfied with the prices, food, and service, I was disappointed with the roasted beet salad so I don't recommend ordering it. Spinach, tangy roasted red beets, thinly sliced mango, and blue cheese just don't have a cohesive taste.
I thought the desserts were good and safe. Out of the chocolate mousse, creme brulee, and caramal (flan) cake, my favorite was the chocolate mousse.
To start, the building and set up is really neat. Reminds me of being inside an old victorian house. The service was ok. We went with clients so we had about a 10 person table. They were "out" of a lot of stuff that people ordered. I got the chicken ceasar salad and it was the best I have ever had. I highly recommend getting that when you go. YUM
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I went here for a company function Monday night.
The space they have is wonderful, right in downtown Los Altos. When I first walked in, at about 6:15, I was greeted by a man sitting in a chair. He didn't stand and ask me if I needed a table. I wasn't sure if he worked there or not, finally I asked him about my party. He pointed me to the back room. Maybe he thought I was foolish to ask, as we were the only party there.
I walked back and took my seat. A women came and poured a glass of wine and handed me a menu. I ordered a steak frite and onion soup. She didn't tell us the soup of the day, or describe the specials. After, I found out they have souffles available, but you have to order them with your meal. Would have been nice had she mentioned that.
My soup was nicely browned on top, and had decent flavor. Other people had house salads which they seemed to enjoy, or cream of broccoli soup, the soup du jour.
The entrees arrived, although they came out a bit staggered. We had to wait about five minutes for everyone to get served. My steak was good, but not great. A NY strip with spinach and fries, with a decent sauce over it. The woman to my left had a salmon fillet. She said it was OK but not cooked medium rare, like she had asked. The fillet mignon looked good, as did the fruit di mare.
For dessert we were give 3 choices: chocolate mousse, cream caramel, or lemon cake. I was told the cake was very good. The mousse was good too, with a little cookie and some raspberry sauce on it. I didn't realize there was a separate dessert menu, I guess she figured that we were all taking the "dinner combo" which included the choice of 3 desserts and soup or salad.
Overall, a decent experience, but not great. I am just glad I wasn't paying as it seems a little pricey for what you get. Must be paying for the space.
I agree with the first review. Yesterday I had the french onion soup and a caesar salad with lots of anchovies, a great lunch. I have gone there for years for delicious dinners. They are also open on Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners when most others are not open
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Old style french food, with a menu that seems unchanged since the restaurant opened 20 years ago.
The food was not bad, but as at least one other person noted, it's not especially French.
Onion soup made with vegatable stock instead of beef stock? Err, ok. Lamb made with a glaze that's sweet (but tasty). Chocolate mousse that seems to have been pre-made a few days ago.
Ambiance reminds me of any number of dull French places in middle America. I'm 40, and the day I went, I was the youngest person in the restaurant by about 10 years. So, not exactly a hip joint either.
Prices were reasonable, and reasonable French places are in short supply in the south bay. Still, I doubt I'll return.
This is a casual/elegant contemporary french restaurant owned by chinese. Very romantic place. Reminds me of sitting in a traditional flowery dining room. I have always enjoyed the food although it is definately not "traditional french". I would highly recommend this place for a quiet dinner.
Excellent French food in downtown Los Altos, don't forget to order a desert souffle at the beginning of your meal !
It's really strange that the last 2 reviews were 5-stars for this place because French food in France, whether it be traditional style or modern day does not really taste like this. Having said this, it doesn't mean the food here isn't tasty. It just isn't very French. It reminds me of the 'western food' I was introduced to as a child and ate throughout my childhood in Asia. This type of French food (or any European food for that matter) is what my parents grew up with in Shanghai. It brought back many memories eating here, but once again, it's not French. The decor is really quaint and cozy and the food is good. My Nicoise salad had canned olives and canned beets, something which you will not find in a Nicoise salad in France. The French onion soup had a great 'crust' but the broth part was missing the punch of caramelized onions. Service was good and not intrusive -- William was very very friendly. All in all enjoyable. but not where I would go for French food.
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