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Fraiche
Categories: Restaurants Italian Restaurants French Restaurants American (New) Italian, French, American (New) [Edit]
9411 Culver BlvdCulver City, CA 90232
Neighborhood: Culver City
(310) 839-6800
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Street, Valet
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Classy
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
689 reviews for Fraiche
Review Highlights
"I had steak frites which was superbly prepared."
(in 72 reviews)
"3) Lamb Spezzatino, Ricotta Gnoochi, Gremolata."
(in 31 reviews)
"Very good: Pistachio Creme Brulee."
(in 12 reviews)
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689 reviews in English
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Review from Sydney S.
Los Angeles, CA
2/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place is HEAVENLY. My mom got a Groupon deal where we had $40 to spend and a free dessert so we splurged a little bit here last night when we came for dinner. Our waiter was very knowledgable, a bit too chatty but nice nonetheless. We started off with the mussels, which were so incredibly good. The sauce that they came in was absolutely spectacular and was great to dip our extra bread in. My mom got the agnolotti and I got the short rib ravioli, both of which were phenomenal. I will say that the portions were a bit weird, the appetizer plate of mussels was fairly large and were good to share but the pastas were a bit on the small side but I was so blinded by how good the food was, I didn't really mind. And for the free dessert, we split the Chocolate Coulant, which is basically a really fancy term for chocolate lava cake but very tasty and rich nonetheless.
Every single time I come to a new place in downtown Culver City, I fall in love with it more and more and Fraiche is just another reason why I will probably be spending more time down here in the future. -
Review from Keila N.
My friend gave me a list of three French restaurants in Culver City and I chose this one because the pics on Yelp look appetizing. There is a French restaurant in the west side where there are hot guys who are flirtatious, but I wanted to avoid that distraction because I really needed to talk to her about some important issues.
Our reservation was at 6:30. There's valet parking, but there's also 2 hour complimentary parking in the back alley. The parking structure accepts cash only.
Service was flawlessly executed. My water glass was always full. I ordered the monk fish $26. I didn't care for the flavor. I thought it was over priced in relations to the portion. -
Review from Joseph S.
2/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
Just came for dessert and drinks. Wanted scotch served neat, and they served it in a frosty cold cocktail glass. Kinda weird.
The desserts were pretty good. Got the chocolate hazelnut purse and the trio of sorbets and they were both really enjoyable.
Service was good too. Can't complain. -
Review from frank w.
Los Angeles, CA
2/2/2012
I should have read the recent reviews by other Yelpers before heading to Fraiche tonight.
We tried their DineLA dinner menu, and it was very disappointing. The portions were ridiculously small. The Fraiche salad was three bites. The fish in the entree was merely 4" by 2". The veggies that the fish was sitting on top of were barely visible underneath. The dessert cheesecake was decent, but the chocolate "purse" was filled with too much melted hazelnut and chocolate and not enough dough to enjoy with that goo.
I had to ask for a second serving of bread just to fill myself up.
Before the desserts were served, the waiter came by to ask if we were ready to order dessert. We kindly reminded him that we already did order at the beginning. 15 Minutes later -- and still dessert-less -- I had to wave him over to ask for the check because we were just tired of waiting. He did apologize, but it really made no difference at that point. Our dining experience was already sub-par and not worth the $34/person tab, or close to $100 for the two of us.
Fraiche management: If you are monitoring these Yelp reviews, you should notice that there's a trend here. Stop charging people the high prices and not deliver. DineLA is a great semi-annual event, but your establishment has taught me a lesson: Not all DineLA-participating restaurants are made equal. You, are at the bottom end. -
Review from David W.
Updated - 2/9/2012 Seated via OpenTable 3 Check-ins Here
I'm sorry the truffle burger was off the menu for a short period of time maybe? Thanks for the quick response, now I'll have to come back for sure!
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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9/8/2011
I have been adventuring out to a lot of Hamburger joints in LA just following everyone on Yelp who… Read more »
Comment from Amir O. of Fraiche 2/9/2012
David, The Truffle Burger has not been taken off our menu!… More » -
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Review from Tony L.
We came for dinner during DineLA since we didn't feel stuffing ourselves at Libra next door with our other friends. The place was pretty empty even for a Saturday night so we got seated immediately even with our RSVP's. The service was pretty spotty however the entire night. The table next to us was also complaining the whole night about almost everything ranging from overcooked rock hard fries, water down drinks... and simply bad communication with the kitchen as they brought out the wrong dishes to our table. Or tried to serve us two first courses.
We had the DineLA dinner menu which was actually very disappointing and not what we had expected at all. The portion sizes and flavors just weren't that memorable. First of all the complementary bread was not very fresh at all and ice cold as if they just left it outside all night server with a small cup of olive oil. I mean cmon where's the balsamic vinegar or even butter?? The fruit salad literally was like a 3 bite salad, the fish was a tiny 4" thin sliced cut with barely and veggies on the bottom. Sadly the desserts were the best part of the meal. But we were still abit hungry after :( So we literally had to ask for more bread to fill up.
I would definitely say skip this place if you're looking for traditional french cuisine or at least don't come for DineLA as it's not a good representation of good eats especially for the $34/person price tag. -
Review from Deborah K.
Los Angeles, CA
Updated - 1/30/2012
I went for brunch this time. Really surprisingly affordable and quite delicious. I had the farro salad and a caesar salad. My friend had an omlette and a charming side salad. All very light and tasty and, again, surprisingly affordable. I want to go back and try the egg sandwich. I love egg sandwiches.
But that hostess. Damn. She is one slow girl and a slooooooooowwwwwww talker. I wondered if she got the job because she was someone's half-comatose niece who was otherwise being kept off the streets and out of trouble. She was ssssssllllllooooooowwwwww. I would say she was stoned, but it was 11 AM. Well. Maybe she was anyway.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/8/2008
Some stuff was absolutely amazing.
Some stuff was just bizarre and not terrific at all. It was very… Read more »
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Review from Seung Eun C.
Los Angeles, CA
1/10/2012
Happy hour is from 5 to closing so you don't feel the need to rush like you do when it's only for a couple hours.
We sat at the bar.
I'm only 5 feet tall and was wearing super high wedges but I still found the stools to be a little uncomfortable. My feet barely touched the foot rest bar thingamajig!
The truffle burger was only $9 and it was pretty good. The patty was moist and very beefy! I like I like!!
And the chickpeas were amazing!! Think fried fritter on the outside and a tender chickpea on the inside. I was hesitant to squeeze the lemon, but it was much better with it! At $4, these are totally worth it!
Cheese plate wasn't anything special.. 3 different types of cheeses, a single slice of prosciutto, some bread, and a sweet fig mixture jam.
The scallop dish had comes with two huge scallops. My cousin devoured them both. She enjoyed them!
Fries are delicious. They are comparable to In N Out, but much much better!
House wines are $6. They are average pours. I didn't really care for the chardonnay but the pinot grigio was much better!
Our server was also the bartender. She made sure my glass was always full =)
3.5 but thanks to yelp, I'll round up to 4!! -
Review from Vickie C.
1/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
I made a last minute decision to come celebrate New Year's Eve at Fraiche with my family. I literally made the reservation the day before, and I was still able to snag a table for 8 people!
They offered a 5 course prie-fixe meal for $55 per person. Even though the portions looked tiny, it still filled us up!
First course: I opted for the foie gras terrine. They prepared the terrine different from other places, and they complemented it with some brown sugar bits. The portion of this dish was more like an amuse bouche. (The other choice was a chestnut soup.)
Second course: I opted for the black truffle risotto. This was to die for!! They were definitely generous in laying the freshly sliced black truffle on top of a bed of warm gooey risotto. The risotto was cooked to perfection and there were plenty of mushrooms in the risotto as well. (The other choice was duck dumpling, which was also delicious from the bite I tried from someone else's dish)
Third course: I chose the Chilean Turbot, which was complemented with blueberry sauce. This was delicious, but I thought the fish was a little bit overcooked. (The other choice was a John Dory cooked in a light broth).
Fourth course: I chose the short rib ravioli. This was my least favorite course the whole night because the ravioli skin tasted a bit undercooked, as it was still hard/tough. Also, as the main course, there were only 3 tiny raviolis on the entire plate. There was not even any sides or veggies on the same plate. (The other choice was a lamb chop, which my mom said was delicious.)
Fifth course: I chose the Chocolate Hazelnut Purse. They used a super thin crepe to wrap warm gooey melted chocolate and hazelnut pieces into a pouch-shape. There was also a scoop of fresh vanilla bean ice cream. This was soooo sweet, definitely perfect for those who love rich sweet chocolate. (The other choice was a deep fried pistachio gelato.)
Service: I did have one complaint. The server never gave us new utensils when we got a new course. We basically used the same fork and knife for all our dishes. The only time he changed the utensils was right after the 3rd course, and that was only because he forgot about the 4th course and thought we were going straight to dessert.
Overall, the quality of the food was worth $55 per person, especially on NYE. Service was not bad. We sat outside in the covered patio and the heat lamps eventually made it really warm.
Parking: Valet for $6.50. There is also the public parking structure close by (not sure how much it costs though). And if you are lucky, there is also street parking. -
Review from Adam I.
Los Angeles, CA
1/15/2012
Not worth the money or hype. Food is OK, but not spectacular and it should be at this price point. Steak was not cooked specifically to order.
Atmosphere is nice. Service was OK. This place might get three stars if the food measured up to its atmosphere and attitude.
I think your money is better spent elsewhere. -
Review from Catherine G.
Los Angeles, CA
1/6/2012
The restaurant looked nice and crowded, so I figured it must be decent at the very least. The ambiance was enjoyable, but the service and food were awful. We had to wait 5 minutes for the menus after we were seated and none of the waiters would acknowledge us when we asked for things since we were not in their areas. Even our own waiter nodded at us and then walked away on several occasions.
We had the duck and the pot roast, both of which were HIGHLY recommended by our flippant waiter. Both dishes were bland and overcooked.
On top of that, our waiter charged us for two glasses of champagne that we never ordered and refused to take it off the check.
I really wanted to like the place since it is close to where I live, but overall, it was a big disappointment. -
Review from Seena A.
12/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
Being a single lady means no fancy dinner dates, so when my sister came to visit me I decided it was the perfect occasion for a fancy dinner.
Our meal:
Heirloom Tomato salad
Steak Frites
Wild Mushroom Risotto w Shaved Black Truffles
Wish we would have skipped the salad. It was nothing special, a bit bland, and definitely overpriced. The rest of the meal was great! Steak was cooked perfectly, and the risotto.... The risotto was DELICIOUS. It was my dish but my sister ended up stealing most of it. She's lucky she's my blood relative.
The service started off very slow, but our waiter ended up being the BEST. The other employees were also nice and when they found out it was my birthday dinner they brought out TWO desserts and sang... Pretty embarassing but still so thoughtful. The chocolate purse was hard to eat but good, and the chocolate cake was yummy but I wish it came with more ice cream.
Overall this is a great place for a date... or when your sister comes to town. -
Review from Marko M.
12/15/2011
I ate at Fraische about five years ago and would have given this classy joint a five star review. I made a big hype about this restaurant because of my prior experience. I came here tonight to have dinner with my work colleague, and left the place a bit dissapointed.
First, we walked in the restaurant at 7:00 and the hostess (Asian gal with fake colored contacts, and an even more fake English/Brittish accent?) gave us both a very snooty look. I very politely asked her for a table for two and she continued to shuffle paperwork to avoid giving us a table. I asked again for a table for two. RING - saved by the bell, the phone rang and she quickly answered it. Avoided us again! When she was done with making a new reservation for the person on the phone, she then turned to us and gave a very fake "hello". She eventually seated us with a HUGE attitude. How pathetic and sad she got our dining experience off to a bad start. Comeon, there were 3 tables occupied in the entire restaurant! Hostess Grade: F!
Our server for the night was Laura. She was absolutely WONDERFUL! Laura was very friendly, helpful in ordering, patient and professional. She gave us several suggestions on what to order and did a great job! Service Grade: A+!
We started with two 16 oz Beers for $7 a glass (brand was a Little Yellow something that was produced in Littleton, CO.). They had about 6 beers to choose from. Nice selection! Drink Grade: A-.
For an appetizer, we started with with the Brisket ($14). It was a well prepared beef brisket stew, served with finger potatoes. The meat was well seasoned and tender. It tasted like a very mild beef bourguignon. Nicely completed. Grade: B+
There were two main dishes that we shared: The first dish was the Monkfish Francaise ($26). The waitress, Laura, described this dish perfectly! It was the "poor mans lobster". The white fish was very flavorful and tender, with a bounce to the meat. It was prepared as three medalions of meat, served on warm spinach and a heavy cream over a potato puree (like mashed potatoes). The dish had a strong citrus / acid to it, combined with white wine. It had a fresh taste as it was served with fresh Italian parsley. Grade: B
The second main dish was the Seafood Pasta ($26). This was a dish served with mussels, clams, salmon, and shrimp. The pasta was a nice and bouncy spaghetti noodle that soaked up the white sauce from the seafood. This dish was nice and "expected". Grade: B.
For dessert, we had some kind of mango pudding. It was a cocktail cup served with nice mango pudding. YUM! Flavors were fresh and creamy. It was served with fresh mango (?) on top. Very nicely created dessert! Grade: A!
We finished off the meal by having coffee. The coffee wasn't anything memorable, as it was very thin and not acidic. Grade: C.
Hostess Service Grade: F.
Food Grade: B.
Table Server (Laura) Grade: A+
Dessert Grade: A!
Note: I would have given this review a 1-star review, because the hostess ruined the dining experience. The food was too pricey for it's average quality and preparation. But, the great service from Laura bumpped it to a two star rating. -
Review from Kiesha R.
1/5/2012
A strong 3-1/2 stars...
As others have remarked, I was not aware of this cute enclave in Culver City. Fraiche occupies the space nicely, and mostly meets the expectations of the environment.
I was very disappointed my desired entree was unavailable. The stand-in risotto was okay, but I doubt it lived up to the signature dish it replaced. However, the dessert made up for this miss. The chocolate superstar slice of heaven I do not recall the name of is apparently famous, and with good reason.
The friendly service rounded out an overall solid experience. -
Review from Heath W.
Los Angeles, CA
1/12/2012
I recently experienced this place for the first time, and I must say I am impressed.
I took my girlfriend here before a movie we were going to see.
We decided on having an appetizer and some drinks, so although we did not have a genuine sit down, I'm sure the service is equal at both bar, and table.
I had the salmon tar tar. It was extremely delicious. For my taste buds , I feel there was too much avocado which masks the buttery goodness of the raw salmon. However, I feel it is a great dish and highly reccomend it, especially those new to tar tar dishes. The bread was a bit tough, and I feel it should be toasted less.
My gf had the Turkey Burger, which we ended up sharing. It was fantastic. Nothing too fancy, and the flavors were there. Very filling too.
The staff was extremely polite, and courteous. Definately made me wanna come back.
In my personal opinion, fraiche has thee best menu in the dtcc area, besides rush.
This is a must, for those who love classic modern food with big taste. -
Review from C L.
Los Angeles, CA
1/11/2012
I love this place! It's one of my favorite restaurants in L.A., if not my favorite.
I love their wine and discovered one of my favorite vineyards - Justin's- here!
The truffle burger is OMG! The Orecchiette Bolognese and the Lamb Papardelle are tied as my favorite dishes there.
The ambience is great, very relaxing and you don't feel rushed at all. It may not be in West Hollywood, but that's what I love about it. If you're not looking for it or stumble aross it, you'll miss it. Which makes me love it even more.
The brunch is amazing as well - definitely go with the French Toast!
Highly recommended, especially for a date night! -
Review from adrian robert h.
Beverly Hills, CA
40%
So-so, $34, 3-course Dine LA dinner
***Short Review
Came to a DineLA dinner at Fraiche (Culver City branch) in Oct'11
Menu seems a bit conservative.
My steak frites were pretty good overall.
The quality of meat was good, and I enjoyed the generous portion of well prepared fries.
My mushroom salad was about average.
While the ingredients were good, I felt the aggressive vinaigrette was too overpowering.
My cookies were completely forgettable.
Value seems relatively reasonable.
Portion sizes are generous, and the ingredients are good.
Happy hour looks to be a good value, and I intend to return for that in the future.
(Did recall enjoying their truffle burger for less than $10 a lot some time ago before I began writing reviews).
Service is good.
My waitress and the bus-boys were attentive and efficient, if not enthusiastic.
Ambiance is comfortable albeit interior decor is very generic LA.
Overall a dining experience closer to average and mildly enjoyable, although far from impressive.
Detailed Review will look into the dishes sampled further.
***Detailed Review
'Mushroom Salad'
warm mixed mushrooms, chopped yellow endive, frisee, citrus vinaigrette dressing garnished with shaved parmesan
(Dish Rating, 40%)
Okay salad overall. Not terrible or great. The concept is a bit conservative, but some elements work. In terms of the good, the leafy greens and tasty mushrooms are quite fresh, and generous. The addition of generous Parmesan cheese slices were a welcome addition, giving the greens some welcome flavor. Portion size was quite generous.
Where this salad didn't work for me was the aggressive and over-powering sour acidic citrus heavy dressing. I thought LA restaurants stopped doing this back in the late 90's (main reason why I didn't use to care for salads in general), but I guess not. With the dressing, it was much more difficult to savor the more subtle flavors of the greens. Without it, it would have been a pretty good salad, even if not quite great.
Steak Frites
Prime flat iron made to order, served with herb butter pomme frites and baby arugula in balsamic vinaigrette
(Dish Rating 55%)
http://www.yelp.com/us...
Pretty good steak frites. Meat quality is generally good. There was no noticeable excess gristle. Meat was quite juicy and lean. The herb butter was welcome giving the steak a slight buttery character. Flavor of the steak was a bit more robust relative to most flatiron cuts I've tried. I requested the meat cooked 'rare', but it came out closer to medium rare, which is acceptable enough for me not to send it back. There was no noticeable sear on the edges of the meat unfortunately. Overall I'm also more neutral about the flat-iron cut of beef. It's not my favorite, but I don't mind trying it every now and then.
Portion of steak a bit small, maybe 8oz or so, but I felt it was reasonable given the better quality of meat, and price.
On the side there's a generous portion of arugula greens. Unfortunately again it has the harsh acidic vinaigrette dressing. There's also a generous portion of medium cut fries on the side, which were very good. They're a thicker cut, not unlike a McDonald's cut, but relatively light and crisp. They're also nicely herbed, and seasoned nicely on the subtle side. The fries are quite low on grease
Overall pretty good dish, but not quite exceptional.
Cookies.
http://www.yelp.com/us...
Piccolo Pastic
house made confections
(Dish Rating 20%)
This was a selection of cookies which weren't particularly memorable or special, but not quite inedible. They could have been from a tin can at Ralph's super-market, and I wouldn't have know the difference. It was just boring butter cookies, one dimensional in flavor and heavy. I think it was a poor choice to serve something like this at any restaurant. One of the worst desserts I've tried this year.
Will return to try their Truffle Burger, but thus far I can't recommend their Dine LA menu. -
Review from Linton A.
Los Angeles, CA
12/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
Spent Thanksgiving here with the family. Place had a great atmosphere and nice low lighting. Food was delicious, with their special Thanksgiving meal.
The staff was a little flustered due to the lack of employees during the holiday. But all and all, it wasn't a bad service. -
Review from Loic C.
*****Fraiche's MOP (Meal in One Pic)****************
http://www.yelp.com/us...
************************************************** ********
Probably 3 and 1/2 stars. The food is great, the service attentive.
Before the meal starts bread is brought to the table. It is a decent bread nothing to rave about. Save it for later if you have a sauce with your dish.
http://www.yelp.com/us...
The open kitchen invites guests to look at the dishes that are being sent under the heat lamps. It is a great way to decided on what to order. The dishes are good to great. While most of the dishes have a strong Italian influence some of them might be closer to French cuisine or French comfort food.
We tried:
Mussels
http://www.yelp.com/us...
Black mussels with fennel and wine sauce. It is a generous portion of mussels. The mussels are nicely cooked, and cleaned. They are small black mussels and taste great. The toasted bread has a great flavor but it is even better to dip the bread brought to the table at the beginning of the meal. Nice mussel dish.
Brisket dish
http://www.yelp.com/us...
It is nice pieces of brisket on top of a cheese fondue made with gruyere and fontina. Fingerlings potatoes are dispersed in the dish, and nice pieces of garlic and tomatoes elevate the dish. It is a really heavy dish (Cheese fondue + Brisket) it tastes great. Share it!
Risotto with pancetta
http://www.yelp.com/us...
It is a longer grain rice risotto (?) or rice dish. It has large pieces of pancetta, and kale. The cheese added at the end is fourme d ambert. It is a well balanced dish as the fourme d'ambert is a blue cheese type and could have ruined the dish if it would have been added in large amount. It is a large portion of risotto though. The dish tastes great, it is creamy and flavorful but the consistency is not really right for a risotto.
Mango Cheesecake
http://www.yelp.com/us...
Nice and light dessert with mango icecream and mango flavored cheesecake. It is a small portion that is great to share to finish the meal on a sweet note.
The food at fraiche is good but a bit on the heavy side. The menu changes often and the specials are interesting. It is not too expense as some of the dishes can be easily shared. A good restaurant in Culvert City.
The cardiff parking lot has an exit next to the back entrance of Fraiche ( through the wine bar)Listed in: Italian Food, Traditional French Cuisine
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Review from Jon F.
Los Angeles, CA
12/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
okay, 5 stars for the food, 3 stars for the service.
I had their roast duck ravioli on special and it was fantastic. I only had a manhattan from the bar but it was pretty good.
service wise, we had to ask for a menu after being seated (strange), and our napkins were dirty.
other than that, I really enjoyed myself. maybe the service was just an off night, but the food was spot on. -
Review from Anthony N.
Playa del Rey, CA
***Despite the many chef changes, Fraiche remains a reliable and consistently good upscale restaurant***
When Jason Travi helmed Culver City's Fraiche (and his wife was the pastry chef), it was one of my favorite Los Angeles restaurants. I had one of my favorite all time pastas here (a take on frutti di mare) as well as one of my all time favorite desserts (a Napoleon with a sour cherry compote, chocolate mousse and vanilla gelato). They have gone through many chefs since, but they've kept the menu roughly the same--big focus on pastas and fresh ingredients. And the results are still good even if it is not as great as it once was.
The complimentary bread was a sliced ciabatta (not served warm); it was okay. Olive oil accompanied the bread (instead of the olive tapenade, which they used to have here).
We had their warm calamari salad, which came with calamari (not fried), radishes, some micro greens, and a pesto. It was a light dish and pretty good (nicely seasoned).
I had the Monkfish Francaise, which was good. It was kind of a take on a chicken piccata. The monkfish medallions were lightly breaded and lightly sauteed. The monkfish was moist and tender and the breading was good (I would have preferred a slightly more crisp outside though I like how they keep the breading from being too thick or overly crisp/crunchy).
The monkfish was served with warm spinach and a very creamy and smooth potato puree. There was also a nice white wine sauce. It was a rich dish, but it was good.
I also had a little bit of the steak frites and the flat iron was juicy, flavorful and tender. I liked their French fries, which were of the double fried variety.
For dessert, we had the spiced apple cake, which was served with caramelized apples, caramel and a cinnamon ice cream. The spiced apple cake was like a banana bread. It was very dense and dry. The flavor was mild. It was okay, but it was the kind of easily-prepared-beforehand-dessert that I try to avoid.
The caramelized apples had a great caramelized crust. The cinnamon ice cream was okay.
We also had the cheese plate, which was a small portion, but it included a good manchego and a good blue cheese. There was also a strong goat cheese. The cheese came with a little bit of bread as well as a dried fruit in honey garnish that went well with the blue cheese.
The manager comped the desserts and cheese because she felt the portions were smaller than they should have been (a very nice but unnecessary gesture). Desserts are always a tough one at nice restaurants because a lot of people don't like desserts and small kitchens make it difficult to put out elaborate or more made-to-order desserts. I have had good desserts here in the past though I am not sure if the restaurant (in its current setup/style) will be a strong dessert place in the future.
Service was good. The waitress Lianne was pleasant, personable, polite and attentive. The food came out at a good pace and finished plates were promptly removed.
Prices are about what you would expect to pay given the type of restaurant that Fraiche is. Entrees range from the low $20s to the mid $30s for the bigger and more elaborate dishes. Fraiche does participate in a lot of online deals/discounts so you might be able to save some money on your total bill if you do research before going.
The atmosphere at Fraiche is nice. The decor is upscale, contemporary, lively, and very warm. I like the Culver City Fraiche decor much more than the Santa Monica Fraiche decor, which is rustic and feels less vibrant.
Fraiche is a good and consistent spot and it has both a strong kitchen and a strong front of the house. There are a lot more upscale restaurants in Culver City now with places like Lukshon, but Fraiche remains a satisfying upscale restaurant for the area. And if you are debating on which Fraiche to try, I would suggest this restaurant, which is the original location.
There is a parking structure just west of Fraiche that offers free parking for the first 2 hours.Listed in: Ranking Restaurants In The 09…, Ranking The 75 Best…, Ranking Jonathan Gold's 99…, Ranking Eater's 38 Essential…, 5 Star Starters And Main…
9 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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10/7/2011
***After all these years, Fraiche is still a good spot for an upscale meal (though it is not as good… Read more »
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Review from Matthew K.
Venice, CA
11/30/2011 4 photos
One Word Description: passss
Pro:
great service
Con:
mussels
So I used to diner here quite a bit when Ben Bailey was the executive chef and I would have given it 5 stars if he was still there... but unfortunately he's not and nor will I. I stopped by recently to use up my groupon certificate and I was quite disappointed with the food. It looked like they had similar menu as before but the food didn't taste the same.
oh FYI, if you want a truffle burger, the Santa Monica location basically has the same burger for half the price
Price:
$40 per person -
Review from Carissa U.
Long Beach, CA
Grabbed dinner here with a girlfriend of mine since I purchased a GROUPON. And since Emily C. is a foodie as much as me, we ordered:
Charcuterie Plate
Black Mussels "Provençale
House Made Agnolotti
Risotto (truffle mushroom? I can't remember)
Crème Brulé
...whew.
The plate was good, but I don't think it was worth it and I wouldn't order it again. The mussels were good, but kind of small and the sauce was great. Especially when the bread is dipped in it. Mmm... The agnolotti was really good. Ate it allll up! The risotto was really good too. Cooked perfectly. And the crème brulé was nice and smooth, very delicate. You can see the vanilla beans. YUM.
The service was on point. We were seated by the open kitchen so it was nice and warm. The feel of the restaurant is nice and lively. I'd definitely come back. Maybe even for their happy hour... -
Review from Martin S.
Los Angeles, CA
1/23/2012
Fraiche is a nice restaurant, located in downtown of Culver City. Nice walking distance to the near by shops and theatre. I went there for with a groupon for dinner with a couple of friends to try it out.
My first impression is that I like the big open space, the setting is nice, some what modern, but as we were seated I realized that we were so close to the next tables, it's a little difficult to go in and out.
We were pretty happy with the bread that they served us, it's really outstanding, we had to put them away so we didn't get stuffed by the time the real food came.
As a starter, we had Black Mussel Provencal. I love the taste of the sauce, the mussels are also cooked perfectly, although they're a bit on the small size, it was really good.
Then we jumped into entrees, since none of us are big eater, we skipped the pasta round. I ordered the Steak Frites while my friends ordered the Monkfish Picatta and Duck Confit. I think the highlight of tonight's entrees was the Monkfish. The meat was very juicy and the texture is just right. I would come back for more of this. My steak was pretty satisfying, cooked well, but I wished to have more sauce on it. There's nothing special about the fries that came with it. They put arugula salad on the side which I didn't really care much of. The disappointing dish unfortunately was the Duck Confit. We felt like the duck leg was over cooked and has very little taste. Although, I like the fact that they put the duck on top of a fried polenta and slices of mushroom. All in all, it was an ok dish.
We had a Chocolate coulant with toffee and peanut butter gelato for dessert. Again, I'm not a big dessert person, but I enjoyed it. The Chocolate is wrapped in a bag of deep fried wafer(not sure if this was the correct term), which looks awesome, but it got really messy when you break it, especially when you share it with other people.
The service was really good, we were seated right away since we had a reservation. Our waiter is always around, helpful and very friendly.
3.5 stars for Fraiche. I would like to come back and try their pastas next time. I think the price is a little bit on the high side, but I don't really mind if I were to be completely satisfied with their food. -
Review from Michael V.
Los Angeles, CA
Updated - 1/12/2012
After suffering through a chef change or two, this place really bounced back. It's still not quite as good as it was when it opened, but the new regime has added a few excellent new dishes, especially the black truffle risotto. It's $30 and worth every penny.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/13/2010
The end of a great, albeit brief, era for dining in Culver City. The new chef, as they will do, has… Read more »
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Review from Simon X.
Los Angeles, CA
1/10/2012
Great food.
Ordered the Truffle Burger & Monk Fish,
Monk Fish was great as usual. Very fresh and tasty. Nice touch matching it with a potato puree and spinach.
Truffle Burger... wow.. dare I say it? Might be better than Father's Office. Burger was Juicy and Flavorful, the bread was buttered and toasted to perfection... The burger was perfect. It's a must try. -
Review from Jessica G.
Los Angeles, CA
1/25/2012
My first review on Yelp...sad to say it has to be a negative one.
Went here for DineLA Restaurant Week with a friend and the service was horrible. We were a few minutes late for our reservation and the hostess was very rude about it. Also our server was very slow, our lunch took almost 2 hours for a 3 course pre fixe. The food itself was pretty plain at best. We had one of each of the pre fixe courses on the DineLA menu and were pretty disappointed. If the food had been good, the wait would have been worth it, sad to say it wasn't. My friend ordered the spaghetti and her portion was ridiculously small, the only thing we could really do was laugh about how we waited so long for a kids meal. I enjoyed the farro salad and the chicken sausage orecchiette I ordered, but I wouldn't say that either dish was worth the wait nor anything extraordinary.
If you must come here for lunch, I would recommend having their regular lunch pre fixe that's $15 vs. the $21 DineLA one, its essentially the same thing and a few dollars cheaper. I was really excited to try this place but due to the poor service, ordinary food, and just all around bad experience I do not believe I will be back, especially since there are so many amazing restaurants surrounding Fraiche in Culver City. -
Review from Jerry O.
Westlake Village, CA
2/4/2012
Awful! Dine L A menu was not given to us. We had to ask! The waitress said it was company policy to not volunteer the menu! Weak! Get this! I asked to start with a beer. No beer! Zero! Huh!! I ordered a glass of wine $10 bucks, sorry all sold out but we have a comparable for $ 15! Go someplace else that is all in and treats the customer fairly.
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Review from Helen O.
Los Angeles, CA
1/19/2012
Lunch at Fraiche today with a friend, I had the Mahi Mahi wth pureed Turnips and Putanesca sauce, good except for the fact that it had a very fishy smell which equals not so fresh fish, friend had seared scallops with Black rice and bacon, delish but also had a somewhat fish smell as well, the concept of food they serve is pretty good except for the quality $18 a plate for each entree $4 for beverage and also shared a cheesecake with passion fruit puree and a scoop of cherry sorbet= yum for the cheesecake and yuck for the cherry sorbet tasted too much like medicine. Overall don't think I will be going back , but they do have a prifix meal deal for $15 which includes a choice of salad or cup of soup, entree and I think a beverage.
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Review from leeanne j.
Los Angeles, CA
1/29/2012 1 Check-in Here
came here a while ago and all i remember is that the pasta was excellent!
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Review from Sandy D.
Los Angeles, CA
2/3/2012
I dined at Fraiche last night with a friend because their DinaLA menu looked appealing. I agree with other reviews (below) that the portions (with the exception of dessert) were very small. I had the fish and I simply cannot believe it was their regular portion. Literally, it was a very thin piece, perhaps 1.5" x 4"..... 4 bites at the most. Service was extremely spotty. There were long periods of time during which we saw no one. When we poured our own wine (no problem, usually) the waitress suddenly appeared and said "I'm so glad you did that......I was hoping I wouldn't have to do it". Perhaps she was trying to be humorous, but it wasn't funny that it took more than 2 hours to eat 3 short courses, and that our bill contained an extra $25 charge for an entree we didn't order. (It was immediately corrected when I pointed it out to her) This was a restaurant I have long wanted to try because of its reputation for good food. I won't be returning. This is not what DinaLA is all about. Most restaurants participating in DineLA give you a good deal and fair portions, wanting return business. Fraiche did not.
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Review from Sokey L.
10/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
Nestled in the heart of downtown Culver City, Fraiche is perfect date night location! The overall energetic mood and romantic lighting made everything look and feel amazing! The bf and I thought it was awesome how they had chalk drawings on the wall. One was of Randy Marsh of South Park, with his creme fraiche quote. Very cool! Without a doubt, 5 stars for the ambiance, service, and venue.
The food, however, is what brings the rating down. My sea bass, although presented beautifully, was underwhelming. For what we paid for, I expected more. More flavor, more juice, more oumph! Alas, no. The bf had their burger and fries, which was nothing to write home able.
Great date night spot for the atmosphere, not so much for the food.Listed in: Downtown Culver City Eats
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Review from Lorraine P.
Los Angeles, CA
10/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
Well aren't you all sorts of loveliness?! The inside is sophisticated but not too serious with an energetic, open kitchen. Outside, you'll find an uber romantic patio, complete with white twinkle lights. The atmosphere has date-night written all over it.... It's like the official restaurant for e-harmony or match .com!
The food is decent, even though it seems the exec chefs keep dropping like its hot. What stood out the most was the service...especially considering our group of 12 not so quiet, not so sober ladies! Our server and runners were on it. I had the arugula salad with Heirloom tomatoes and Burrata ($14) good, just nothing special. Then, the house made agnolotti stuffed silly with wild mushroom/ mascarpone/ truffle butter ($16). Great pasta texture, and flavor was nice, but tiresome after a while. Overall, not a bad choice for wining and dining. Parking is easy in the structure around the corner (off Watseka Ave.) AND the first 2 hours are free!
Good for groups, very first-date friendly and they have a happy hour that I want in on. -
Review from Sue Z.
Updated - 10/26/2011 6 Check-ins Here
I had lost my faith in a lot of restaurants in 2010.
The notion that once a restaurant gains notoriety, it can just 'coast' on its reputation, while still fleecing its customers is just short of obscene. And for at least over a year, I had crossed Fraiche off my list of go-to eateries. Some business of switching chefs or what not had tweaked the taste of kilter, and leaving me dissatisfied and grumbly.
Recently, I had procured a few groupons, and decided to give it a shot. why not. it was only 20 dollars.
the service was excellent as usual, (I always book ahead via http://opentable.com), and we were seated promptly. I took a gander around and saw they had changed the decor. It was much more relaxed, with chalk art everywhere, i even spotted the Chef from southpark. I noted that they had a different chef, if not a whole new team of people.
I started with the black mussels. They were perfectly opened, savoring in a broth of white wine, basil, tomato and garlic. I continued with the monkfish, on a potato puree. The fish gave in when my tongue touched it, and I was in heaven. The spinach was not overcooked, with a slight bitterness and texture that was desired. Next up was the Shrimp Taglierini. Pasta that was probably made just a few feet away, with hearty shrimps that could have been caught that morning.
give it a shot yelpers, give Fraiche a little more faith.Listed in: Top Restaurants
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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9/17/2009
you can call it whatever you want. addiction. habit. need. it'll get you in the end, and you'll come… Read more »
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Review from Daryl B.
Los Angeles, CA
1/19/2012
What a wonderful place....the atmosphere and the food were fantastic...the service was perfect...the waitress was on her game bigtime....serving size was good and everything tasted great...I normally like my meat rare, but this night I tried the steak tar tar, It was so delicious...free parking for 2 hours around the block was pretty cool too.....really had a good time here and giving 5 stars....
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Review from Peter D.
Pasadena, CA
12/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
Came here for my company Christmas Party, you know the cattle call of people sitting all at once, but Fraiche was up to the challenge. I can't have any dairy in my diet , but they didn't blink and were all very friendly. So friendly, I invited Mixologist Vanessa to be a guest on my radio show show on Sunday at 12 Noon!!
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Review from Steve V.
11/1/2011
This is a beautiful restaurant with great food. The inside is much larger than it appeared from the outside. There is outside seating as well and the inside has high ceilings. The staff is super friendly and will go out of their way to make sure your experience is great.
We had the scallop appetizer and I had the truffle burger. The truffle is key and the burger itself is one of the best I've had. The bun is also crucial and the bun here is so soft and buttery. The desserts are also well prepared.
The restaurant is in a great location and perfect for any occasion from a casual dinner to a birthday celebration. -
Review from Maggie M.
Santa Monica, CA
12/7/2011
I wish I could give this place a negative 9. We were very excited to take out of town guests here for a very special occasion and almost everything was horrendous. I say almost because the hostess was very nice - everything else was horrible.
The food was completely inedible. The waiter told us it was our mistake - that "poached fish is always a cold dish" - um, no, it's not. The wait staff had NO training. None. They did not know their own menu, they didn't know how to take an order, they didn't know how to open a bottle of wine, they didn't know how to serve and they didn't know how to apologize for egregious mistakes. The manager finally came over to apologize but still presented us with a bill with the charges for the waiters mistakes still on it. We had to ask to have those removed.
I have no idea how this restaurant has received the positive reviews it has. Perhaps it was once a good restaurant and service, food and management has taken a nosedive. One thing is clear though, it is a terrible restaurant now. -
Review from Vivian J.
10/24/2011
Meh. Like really meh.
My high school friends and I came here for a DineLa reunion earlier this month. The restaurant is darkly lit and has nice decor but is SO LOUD. We could barely hear each other and we had to practically scream at each other to address everyone at the four-person table. The music is WAYYY too loud and there's too much din coming from the open-area kitchen.
As for the food, it was just alright. For how expensive Fraiche is on a normal basis, I would not come here any other time. They were out of the corn soup, so I had the potato soup instead, which was very salty. The salmon was somewhat bland and the portion very small. There's not really a way to mess up creme brûlée, so that part was fine.
I hear they have a great all-night happy hour deal, but Fraiche isn't really a place I'm looking forward to coming back to with my girlfriends. -
Review from Chris A.
***This review is only for the dessert***
Today was the last day of my Winter Break, and some good friends of mine stopped here for some dessert to leave the end of my break and the beginning of the New Year with a high note. Although we didn't have a reservation, it was no problem for us to find a table. We even had the option of sitting near the bar if we wanted happy hour, but we were just here for dessert, so we sat in the front patio area. Even though it was a somewhat chilly night, it didn't feel cold inside the canopied patio area with heat lamps.
Service was just excellent, as our server tonight was Mark. He was also quite humorous and made the atmosphere more lively. Our table even received some bread despite stating that we just wanted dessert. We actually ended up eating a lot of the bread with fresh olive oil. Water was also promptly served. Although they were out of ice cream for the evening, we decided to go with the Dessert Platter, which was supposed to be 3 desserts of the chef's choice. But Mark let us in on the secret and let us pick what we wanted since he "knew" some people in the back, haha. This was perfect for 4 of us to share. So we chose the Sorbet Trio, Chocolate coulant, and Passion Fruit Cheesecake.
-Sorbet Trio: This consisted of raspberry, coconut, and mango flavored sorbet. In addition, there was also some ground bits of graham cracker that added some nice texture to this. It was also very refreshing and the flavors mixed well together.
-Chocolate coulant: If the coulant is included in the dessert platter, it becomes the "Chocolate purse" because phyllo dough is added to hold this plate of coffee ganache and chocolate served alongside some caramel ice cream and caramel sauce. Although this was a little messy to share, the flavor was quite good. The addition of the phyllo dough made a big difference as it paired well with the less-solidified nature of the chocolate. It also provided something to absorb some of the dense flavor.
-Passion Fruit Cheesecake: The flavors were incorporated well into this cheesecake. Also, the texture and consistency was surprisingly lighter and not so heavy like a lot of other cheesecakes. This was served with a raspberry and mango sauce, and a scoop of mango sorbet on the side. There were also fresh strawberries on top and on the side. This was my favorite of the three.
I definitely want to come back to try their happy hour and dinner entrees.
