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Mon-Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
"amour au premier morceau. ditched the DAT menu and ordered off the regular one. smoked trout salad with fingerling potatoes was divine.…" read more »
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Quiet, elegant interior.
Amazing food (if you like foie gras, this is the place for you...i think about 50% of the dishes have some form of the tasty treat in it!).
Perfect service.
This is the second time I have dined here and had a wonderful experience.
The restaurant is quiet and relaxing, however it could use a face lift, as the interior is starting to be a little dated.
We decided to have the five course chef's selection, which was very good. It started with foi gras prepared two ways. Seared with turnip and as a soup. I love foi gras, but felt the soup was a bit rich to start out a 5 course meal.
Second up was Hawaiian Butterfish, this was perfectly cooked, light and delicate with a uni-ginger sauce. My dining partner who is not a fish fan thought it was one of the best fish dishes he ever had. I was a little concerned I would not like this dish, as I'm not an uni fan, but now I'm a convert.
Third course was venison, which again was perfectly cooked medium rare, super tender and flavorful.
Fourth - Melted super stinky cheese with croutons. Damn I love me some stinky cheese! (was excellent with the wine).
Fifth - some really pretty chocolate concoction. A small globe of delicate chocolate cake covered in shiny chocolate ganache, several sauces adorned the plate as well as some whimsy sugar art.
Overall the dishes were just beautufully prepared. The plated dishes simply look like artwork. You take a bite of this, a bite of that, then all the components together and it's like a symphony. Such thought goes into each dish!
We also shared the sommiler wine pairing. Each wine brought out brought out the beautifully prepared dishes.
Service was excellent.
La Folie is a destination restaurant, quite expensive. Would be perfect for a super romantic night out. There are some great bars in the area too.
This place is amazing.
Well, the food is amazing. (Read everyone else's reviews below.)
Well, most of the food was amazing - there were a couple misses, but it might have just been too subtle for my palate.
Oh, and the decor is clean but feels like it's missing some accent.
It did suck, though, when Roland came out as we finished our dinner, broke a chair over my head and stole my wallet, only to run up hundreds of dollars in charges.
That's what it felt like, anyways. I'M NOT MADE OF MONEY, TASTY RESTAURANTS! DO YOU HEAR ME????
I am still a fan after first visiting this place more than 10 years ago! Both of us requested the 5 course menu including: warm pig feet (a must), seared foie gras (good), venison, lobster, quail and squab roti (a must), lamb, cheese and desserts, portions are generous, great espresso, superb service, helpful and knowledgeable sommelier, gracious wait staffs, we enjoyed a bottle of 05 Hermitage, plus a bottle we brought (corkage $25). Chef Passot came out at the end of the evening for a lovely chat, he is still passionate about food and wine and it shows, there is everything to love a La Folie. Valet is $15.
If you want a quiet, elegant yet casual dinner w/ your honey, this is the place. I can't go so far as to say that this is my favorite spot, but this isn't bad. Compared to other French spots int he city, I find this restaurant a tad lacking. The one thing that surprised me was the fact that they serve rabbit. My dinner companion ordered it but I was reluctant to try it since I owned rabbits at the time. But he didn't say that it was all that. However, a definite plus for some people is that they carry excellent wine menu. So for all you wine connoisseurs out there, I'm sure you'll enjoy their expansive wine list [half bottles available].
Simply stated: fabulous and authentic French food.
Three items you have to try
- foie gras filled mini burgers with truffle aoili sauce
Key steps to making an AMAZING mini burger?
1. Start with a regular burger
2. Fill its inside with foie gras
3. Truffle Aoili sauce on the side for dipping
Seriously, how can this POSSIBLY go wrong?
- deviled egg
This dish comes with three different deviled eggs,
1. Regular
2. Salmon Confit
3. Truffle oil
Win, win and more win.
- cheese souffle with petite madeleine
Best cheese souffle I have ever had, the balance is just right -- not too creamy and not too sweet, yet flavourful and fluffy. It's perfect.
Yeah, this was not my favorite fine dining experience. The food was okay, but it was pretty stuffy and I'm not a big fan of the decor at all...it doesn't say "romantic" to me...I think there was too much heavy fabric throughout...very upholstered, a la Aqua.
However, it was surprisingly less expensive than we thought. The portions also seemed pretty large for the five courses--had assumed it would be similarly sized to a tasting menu. Left very, very full...also not very "romantic"...
The service was good, and overall the experience was pleasant. The restaurant seems to be a favorite of many, including my boss, who recommended it to me. Just not quite my cup of tea. Glad he's not trying to romance me!!!
Overall, i had a very pleasant dining experience at La Folie. I went out w/ the family to this restaurant to celebrate my dad's birthday. Normally, we would prefer Ritz's Dining Room or Gary Danko's, but we decided to try a restaurant we have never been for this special occasion.
First things first...the food. 5 course meal for 95 bucks, a relatively good deal considering the quality and class of the restaurant. Here is what i ordered and some comments (in sequence):
1. Appetizer - dungeness crab salad - relatively satisfying amount of chilled, cooked crab meat on top of a rectangular-shaped cauliflower panna cotta. A solid flake of curry and drops of curry for dipping were also on the plate. Excellent dish - good combination of flavors.
2. Appetizer 2 - Lobster and mushroom risotto - my favorite dish of the evening; perfectly-cooked risotto immersed in a light lobster broth with complimenting oyster mushrooms (and possibly truffles? i forget), topped off with lobster foam. Smallest proportion of food in comparison to other dishes i was served, although i felt it was still very tasty.
3. Seafood - seared day boat scallop - single scallop (are you surprised?) perfectly seared and placed on top of a super delicious pile of wasabi-like, truffle-mixed mashed potatoes. There was also a very large chunk of bacon (forget what type of bacon) that was meaty and tasty without an enormous amount of fat.
4. Meat - roti of squal/quail- rolled in a potato sheet, stuffed with mushrooms, and served with a mixture of delicately-plated root vegetables. The quail/duck was on too much of the rare side for me (the meat was tender, but the gamey taste also came through).
5. Dessert - huckleberry baked alaska - never tried a baked alaska before, so i can't really compare sorry haha
Secondly, besides the food, the service was also excellent. Kudos to our waitress. She is probably one of the rare five-star restaurant waitresses/waiters to walk the fine line between polite, proper, knowledgeable and arrogant, patronizing, and stuck-up. She was very knowledgeable, yet truly demonstrated a sense of care and service for the people at our table. She quickly adapted to our level of comprehension of the food on the menu (level zero haha) and explained the components of the dishes in a way that everyone at our table could fully understand.
Overall, i believe my family and i had a wonderful experience at this fine dine establishment. While the food was not 100% perfect, it was, on the whole, in my top category of french cuisine restaurants in the SF area.
Food didn't disappoint, especially the dessert (warm cheese souffle with bacon bits on top...mmmm). Lobster and mushroom risotto was buttery and absolutely delicious. Service was attentive without being overbearing or intrusive. Wish they didn't have the long banquette seating along the wall though, which I'm personally not a fan of... someone inevitably ends up staring at the wall (or their companion, which may or may not be good thing). Tables, especially on the banquette seating, are close together so you can hear the next tables' conversations. Wouldn't be too bad if you get lucky and sit next to someone who has the real scoop... Would request a free-standing table next time. Oh, and I requested that "happy anniversary" be written on our dessert plate, but it didn't happen for some reason.
Right as we walked in, the lady in the front says, "Happy birthday Michelle! May I take your coat?" I thought, wow. This place is pretty pretty good. She took our coats and we were quickly seated. Immediately two glasses of champagne appeared on our table :)
What we ordered:
For the appetizer I ordered wild mushrooms and lobster (I can't find it on their menu right now) and for the entree I got 'Butter Poached Lobster on a Butternut Squash Ravioli, Toasted Almonds, Celery Root and Apple, Truffled Poultry Jus.'
My boyfriend got the same appetizer but he chose "Le Boeuf", Beef Tenderloin, Braised Beef Short Rib, and Burger Rossini with Truffle Madeira Sauce' for the entree instead.
We got two desserts: The 'Warm Edam Cheese Soufflé with Fromage Blanc Sorbet, Crispy Bacon, White Sesame Tuile Assortment of Fresh Sorbets and Fresh Fruit on a Palette of Fruit Coulis' and a strawberry sorbet fluff thing that I can't find on the menu anymore.
What it was like:
This has got to be one of the best dinners I have ever had in my whole entire life. Everything was paired perfectly from the pomegranate + mushroom purée to the bacon + warm edam cheese soufflé. I wanted to cry while I was eating my entree because I knew everything was going to be downhill from that point on. The total meal + 3 glasses of champagne was well over two hundred dollars so be ready to spend some big cash.
The ambiance was polite and quiet. They could have had some soft music in the back but I didn't mind the silence. The waiters were very well primped and every so often, they walked around to remove bread specks on our table. The employees were very welcoming and friendly and even the chef came out to see if everyone was having a great time. I loved the experience and if I had the $$$$, I'd definitely come back again!!
LF gets 5 stars for excellent service, delicious food, and wonderful ambiance!
I feel so bad not giving La Folie 5 stars...I really wish that I could. I've dined at many Michelin starred places, and I expect leaving the restaurant with a big smile and happy belly, but no...my tummy was unhappy. Service was Excellent, food was good, though the amuses-bouches weren't very impressive. And it all has something to do with the GINORMOUS Foie Gras.
Lobster corn soup: was perfectly balanced with the sweetness, the creaminess, and the swimming chuncky lobster. Loved the natural sweetness from the corns.
Baked snails and bone marrow served in the bone: excellent dish, loved the variety of textures, some crispiness on top, slightly chewy snails, creamy marrow...yum!
FOIE GRAS: When it arrived, I was shocked, 1.5x my palm size, 1.5"+ thick, seriously, it could be larger than any fillet mignon served at a french restaurant. It was served on top of a toasted brioche bread, huckleberry sauce, and aged maple syrup. I was SO excited about it. After eating the first 1/3 of it, I was done. I ran out of the tart huckleberry sauce, and the balance of the dish went off, too greasy, too sweet, and my plate was covered with a huge mess of fat. This is what over-the-top is. The foie was cooked perfectly, sauce was excellent, but it was just TOO HUGE.
Now I craved a spoonful of sorbet to refresh my taste bud...but it kept going...
Lobster: perfectly cooked, nice cream sauce, salad was bland.
Duck breast: perfectly cooked, medium rare the way I liked it, but my taste bud was numbed by the greasy foie gras. Still craving for something refreshing...so the bitter greens served with the breast actually tasted awesome.
Rack of lamb: yum, clean and simple. You could taste the premium quality of the meat, like a classy gorgeous lady.
FINALLY, something refreshing arrived, a tiny spoonful of strawberry jam with cardamom cream. It excited my sense again after the foie coma.
Chocolate Fondant: "Foie Gras and Chocolate Fondant cake are not to be ordered in a same menu" should be mentioned on the menu. Its center is nice and gooey, top slightly crispy, great, but after finishing the melty part of the cake, which is about 1/3, it gets so dense that it tastes dry to me. Again, it has so much to do with the previous foie, maybe it'll taste differently otherwise.
Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT restaurant, Rolland is an amazing chef, but the dinner left my stomach unpleasant for the next 24 hours. Thinking back, it's all about BALANCE. If the foie was 1/3 of the size, the meal might have been much better balanced, and I would be going back again and again for one of my favorite foods on earth: foie.
Sorry La Folie...can't give you more stars, but I'll keep coming back.
My bf sent me an opentable invite for a "romantical time" at La Folie last Saturday. It was quite nice.
We arrived a little bit early for our 9:15 dinner reservation so killed some time in the La Folie Lounge next door. This is a good idea for those restaurants that have a very small bar area that quickly gets crowded for the next round of diners waiting for the tables to turn. Our cocktails, rum & ginger and cucumber caipiroska, were prepared promptly and were very tasty. I thought it was a nice touch that the server/bartender gave us waters without us asking.
I took one star off for the wait. It was at least 30 minutes before we sat down at our table.
We had 2 amuse bouche: the first a fois gras mousse (yummy!) and the 2nd was a poached egg in the shell; also yummy and I loved the presentation!
He had the 4 course menu and I, the 3 course menu.
Bf's dishes:
1st - beef & oxtail consomme. This was very tasty; i thought the bouillon cubes were an interest touch.
2nd - warm pig feet, sweetbread, and lobster terrine; i wasn't impressed with this dish.
3rd - daurade; fish that was similar to sea bass - loved the crispy skin!
4th - quail and squab; beautiful presentation and very tasty.
mine:
1st - lobster corn soup; very creamy flavorful soup, the chunks of lobster meat complemented the soup but i could've done w/o the claw meat.
2nd - seared hudson valley foie gras with huckleberries & maple syrup. Becky! OMG look at the size of that...LIVER!!! the last and only time i was wowed by foie gras size was at Taillevent. This foie gras had to have come from a goose! so huge! So I understand Yuchi's gripe about the foie gras being so huge that it overpowered the rest of her meal. One thing i wished the server had told us was that we could share our plates which we realized when my bf's 3rd course came out. I thought i'd be playing with my bread (served warm btw) while he enjoyed his fish course. If one chose a 3-course menu and the other a 4-course or even 5, the server will bring out extra plates so you can share, for a 2-top anyway. So this foie gras was made for sharing! The only complaint was the toasted brioche was too hard to cut through. I was happy with the fois gras by itself though!
3rd: lamb served 2 ways. I remember the rack of lamb with the long bone that begged to picked up like a caveman. Oh and the lamb tongue, that was délicieux!
For our meal the sommelier recommended 2 wines: the Goldeneye Pinot Noir from Duckhorn and the Châteauneuf-du-Pape (which I would've chosen). The pinot noir ended up being the perfect accent to our dishes.
Sadly we had no room for dessert as the cheese souffle looked pretty tempting. Hopefully we'll get a chance to come back as we kept looking at the other diners' dishes. I like La Folie!
I forgot my camera so took pics with my iphone and uploaded what I remembered to take pictures of.
As for upscale restaurants in the city this is as good as it gets. Far better than Gary Danko, Farallon, Jardiniere, et al...
Everything we had there was prepared perfectly! As for the wine selections, they were OK, I do not know as much about French wines as I do California or Italian so I cannot speak to it as much. If you are looking for somewhere to celebrate or are just a foodie, I would definitely recommend La Folie!!!
I wish I'd gone to this restaurant more when we used to live in this hood! This is absolutely delicous "special occasion" cuisine with very unique and artful presentation. The staff was very attentive and friendly and gave great recommendations.
We started out with a couple of the aged wines as aperitifs, and my favorite was a sweet aged wine (ambre) from the south of France which had a very distinctive taste.
They gave us a nice variety of on-the-house amuses-bouches and palate cleansers between the courses that were unique and tasty, like the carrot-ginger soup and the soft-boiled egg with cauliflour cream.
As far as what I enjoyed the most: The Hudson Valley foie gras was the best I've had here. The Butter Poached Lobster on a Butternut Squash Ravioli, Toasted Almonds, Celery Root and Apple with Truffled Poultry Jus was exceptional. The duck was well-prepared, but a bit more gamey than I usually prefer; I assume this is strictly a matter of taste.
I was also pleasantly surprised at the amount of non-pasteurized cheese choices they had. I ordered two of my old favorites: the Comte and Bleu d'Auvergne, and also ordered the extremely nose-strong Epoisses which they fortunately serve with a spoonful of onion sorbet as a palate cleanser at the end. So that I didn't end up with the strong cheese to finish off the evening, they served us a variety of tasty petit-fours as well, which was much appreciated.
We were in the bar annex. We didn't taste the appetizers but they smelled sooo delicious. The wine was top notch. The bartender was quite pleasant but the guy cooking the apps was either in a bad mood or not a people person.
My boyfriend ate there to celebrate my birthday. I ready Yelp and the review for La Folie was great and I was looking forward to eating there.
Turned out that neither the food nor the service were good. The server was attentive, but I can't stand waiting the food to come out.
Originally, I ordered 4-course meal and my boyfriend ordered 3-course meal. Since I waited around 10 - 20 minutes per course, I decided to take 3 courses. Gosh... Why did it take so long to serve the food. La Folie completely ruined my birthday dinner.
Won't come back again and not recommended!!
Appetizer:
I had "Sauted Burgundy Snails" -- too salty
My boyfriend had "Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras" -- crazily salty and I've had a much better Foie Gras.
(Then we asked the server to tone down the salt level. Surprisingly, the guests on the next table also said the food were too salty. It's not just us.)
Fish/Shelfish:
I had "Butter Poached Lobster on a Butternut Squash Ravioli" -- Very good. This one is recommended. The lobster is perfectly cooked and the butternut squash ravioli is the perfect complement to the lobster.
I can't remember what my boyfriend had.
Poultry/Meat:
I had "Quail and Squab stuffed with Mushrooms" -- It's not that good. The quail & squab tasted almost the same.
My boyfriend had "Niman Ranch Lamb Loin" -- Nothing special. If you're feeling to eat lamb, go to Kokarri, they have a very yummy lamb.
Because I waited so long for each course to come out, I canceled the dessert. We spent $100/person.
I'm giving 2 stars instead of 1 star because one of the amuses-bouches (the egg) was soo.. good and my lobster butternut squash ravioli was also good. Also, the server was attentive, but the timing for serving the food was unbearable.
Oh La Folie, La Folie, how I wanted to give you 5 stars but.....
we went here for our anniversary dinner, got all dolled up and made our 6:15pm reservations. The dinner menu format is similar to Gary Danko's pick 3, 4, or 5 course dinners for 75, 85, 95 respectively...
we got greedy so each of us had the 4 course and we only got 1 dessert to share...
we heeded the recommendations for our lovely server and between the two of us we got:
sweet corn soup with chantrelle mushrooms, sweetbread, lobster
foie gras
lobster x2
trio of rabbit three ways
rack of lamb
warm pigs feet, sweetbreads terrine
chocolate fondant dessert
I had high hopes for the sweetcorn soup, but that being the first course it was just way too rich for me. The corn soup was a very thick very rich soup base wiht a piece of lobster, sweetbread and himeji mushroom in it. The soup was lovely, but just way to rich as a starter. The sweetbread was deep fried and a bit hard for my taste, it wasnt as light and fluffy as it should be at other places I've had. The piece of lobster was a part of the lobster claw-just fine.
2nd course was the much anticipated foie gras. There was a $10 supplement for this which was fine for me, I always eat foie gras when we go out for a special occasion, and definetely at a french restaurant! Well this foie gras was tasty, with a hucklberry and maple syrup reduction. BUT the foie gras was the size of my palm, or the equivalent to a large filet mignon! It was so thick and so big, that it was just so hard to finish. It definetely is enough for 2 if not 3. I didnt think that I would ever complain about recieving TOO much foie gras, but this was over kill. I wish they would have porportioned this better, along with all the other dishes.
the warm pigs feet and sweetbreads terrine was good, but my BF didnt realize it was a terrine which he doesnt really enjoy, but he said it was OK. He'd probably rather try the frogs legs or the escargot. Nothing to write home about here, tasty but not mindblowing.
The next course was the lobster which we both got and was good, light, refreshing after the ginormous foie gras and corn soup.
Lastly, both the trio of rabbit and the lamb were cooked to perfection. The rabbit (teeny little rack of rabbit) was so cute and SO tasty! I wish they could just give us a place full of those. The lamb was cooked perfectly and very well seasoned, but had a bit too much fat around the actual meat so there was barely any meat to be had, but by then we were so full from the overly rich courses we were OK with this.
Lastly, the chocolate fondant, like a warm chocolate lava cake, was good but not mindblowingly good. Best dessert is still the warm chocolate bread pudding crossaint at chaya brasserie.
Total with tip $$235 w/o any wine or beverages.
Overall, a good evening, good service, good ambience, but I just wished that they made the porportions a bit better to go cater to the overall meal. I stil think Gary Danko is still the best, with every bite better than the last. We were completely stuffed but then about 2 hours later at the hotel we felt like we were still lacking something but just that we ate waay to rich of a dinner. Hard to explain, but I dont think I would frequent this joint again...there are too many other places to try like jardinere, or michael minas.
Also in between courses they gave us a amuse bouche- a light cantelope cold soup and some sort of egg yolk steamed with creme, that was pretty rich too!
I dunno man... I was pretty disappointed recently, esp since I remembered this place to be more cozy (decor, atmosphere) and culinarily memorable when I was last here 5-11yrs ago.
I honestly like the old decor better, when the place felt more intimate. There's more space now and they're going for a certain look, but it's not necessary if the food is superb... The aura of the staff didn't help much either. Our waitress's spiels and the serving timing with her people didn't really flow, and one server was careless, bumping into my table wares (point deduction noted).
The entrees and the dessert were fine (not necessarily to die for), but the seafood appetizers, esp the roe, were so diappointing!!! They used hijiki and anchovy and other ingriedients that's less common in french cuisine, so I was curious to see how they would taste. But I've tasted much better elsewhere (for less, I'm sure)... The lobster risotto tasted good, but it was weird how the smell and taste didn't go hand in hand.
It just felt like they were trying too hard, modernizing too much, Iron-Chef-ing it but not making the fullest of each ingriedient. Frankly, they're more into the appearance, and even the compliments didn't shock my tastebuds as you would think. There's something about their use of vegetables that wasn't enticing. All veggies looked and tasted the same on every dish... why? I want every dish and every sauce to be inspiring and creative; I didn't get that. Even if we didn't order the entire Chef's menu, the fact that we are at a French restaurant means I want that authentic, ONLY-in-french-cuisine-can-we-get this kind of feeling when you taste your food. Hmm.... I'm going to have to think real hard if I were to return again.
Good food and atmosphere. Relatively reasonable prices.
I've been to LaFolie a number of times and decided to just drop in without a reservation again the other day around 730pm to celebrate my GF's birthday.
The restaurant wasn't busy (a sign of the times) and got seated at a table next to a large group. The group was too boisterous for us and I discretely asked to be moved, which was handled very well. We took a quiet table in the corner at the other end of the restaurant and were much happier there.
If you haven't been to LaFolie before, you'll be perplexed by the seemingly endless choices of interesting things to eat. There is usually a prix fixe tasting menu, currently offered at $85, which didn't appeal to us this time. So, we spent a considerable amount of time to choose our own, which you can do for $75 (3 courses), $85 (4 courses) and $95 (5 courses).
We were pleasantly surprised that the 1st item on the list was a corn chowder made with Brentwood corn. It was amusing because we recently toured farms in Brentwood where we live and were directed to G&S Farms where we bought a case of 48 ears of "bio-corn" (hybrid yellow & white kernels) because my GF just has a "thing" for "bio-corn." We also noticed a salad featuring tomatoes from Smith Farm, which is another Brentwood food producer.
Having just purchased such a large amount of Brentwood corn as well as some Brentwood tomatoes, we decided not to try those dishes. My GF chose the seared foie gras (another of my GF's faves) with a braised peach in a peach sauce that we decided to "split" because our waiter said that it was a very large serving, frog legs w/a frog leg mousse and and a roti (round) of quail & squab stuffed w/mushrooms and wrapped w/crispy potato strings. I ordered the dungeness crab salad on a fruit gelee, snails uniquely stuffed in a hollowed beef bone w/a not too garlicy butter spread, poached lobster tail and a cheese souffle (which we also shared). Since the pricing of the meal favored ordered more dishes, only $10 more for the 4th and 5th dish, I also ordered the "lobster knuckles" with raw oyster and raw tuna.
The foie gras was huge, so huge in fact I think that they actually gave us 2 individual orders. The foie gras was perfectly seared and the flavor of the foie gras blended wonderfully with the peach sauce and the braised peach was a perfect compliment to the dish.
The generous serving of frog legs (about 12 of them) were neatly arranged in a spoke wheel pattern on the dish around the frog leg mousse. I've had frog legs before and, as they say, they tasted like chicken. The dish was fine but seemed bland in comparison with the other dishes we chose which we found much more interesting and flavorful.
The flavor of the squab and quail roti was wonderfully robust and complex in comparison. The only negative to me being the too garlicky potato string coating around the roti, which distracted from the excellent taste of rare (my preference) squab and quail meat. The small slices of truffle were a surprise that gave the dish an extra punch.
The dungeness crab salad was shaped in a rectangle. There was a nice serving of fresh crab above the fruit gelee and topped with a pineapple chip. The taste was light and delicate and I only wished the serving was larger.
The snails stuffed in the vertical beef bone was a real surprise. I was expecting the normal snails stuffed in snail shells slattered with garlicky chopped parsley butter sauce, but what was served was much better. There was a light garlic parsley butter spread over the top of the bone, which didn't overwhelm the taste of the snails stuffed within as is the norm.
The "lobster knuckles" it turned out were not actually being offered that day -- it turned out to be abalone instead with the raw tuna and oyster. Because of this "mistake" the waiter brought us a 2nd order of this dish for FREE!, which was wonderful because the dish was actually quite small (not much food) but what was there tasted divine.
The poached lobster dish was 1/2 a lobster tail coated with a buttery sauce accompanied by greens. Not much you can say about it except that it also fabulous!
The flavorful cheese souffle was perfectly baked in a small ramekin and was accompanied with a small serving of sorbet. Again, I wish there was more. We should have ordered two.
The entire meal was accompanied with a very reasonably priced and excellent tasting bottle of Alsatian Cremant (a non-Champagne sparkling wine) that only cost $45 -- the cheapest sparkling wine on the list.
The service was attentive, but not cloying Glasses didn't go long without being filled. On top of that, chef Roland Passot came out into the dining room and spoke with us among others. Simply a wonderful, wonderful meal!
I can't recommend LaFolie more highly. It's not cheap, but not extraordinarily expensive either considering the quality of the food presented. Nonetheless, it's probably a "special occasion" destination for most people. Don't miss it!
Finally, a perfect 5 star place.
Its hard to go wrong with La Folie for that special occasion dinner.
The 3 or 4 course meal here is a LOT of food, with the free complimentary bits in between.
Great service. Good ambience. LOVED the food.
Having the chef stop by our table was the perfect ending to a great night.
Time for a revisit to La Folie. My first try was about 6 years ago with a former fighter pilot/wine group - yes an oxymoron. It was a mess. The food was great but the service was SOOOO slow.
This time it was a table for two and we walked out wowed. The fresh tomato salad was the best I've ever had. Fresh heirlooms, fresh figs, fresh beets and light cheese - definitely seasonal but incredible.
Other highlights were the boef plate (I'd kill for the mini foie gras burger) and the lobster risotto. It was quite possilby the best risotto I've ever had.
Great service too. The only downside was the portions. I thought I'd accidently been transported to Texas. Get the three course unless you are over 200#s.
Bring down the price just a tad La Folie and I'll give you your 5th star. Deal??!
French food isn't on the top of my list but I couldn't deny all the positive reviews by my fellow yelpers and friends. So, we got all dressed up and I took my bf here for his birthday. I'm not so much the girley dress type, but I'm glad I did this time. The ambiance is very classy and elegant and the service matched it. It wasn't stuffy and the staff was very pleasant. They even called me (very kindly) to check up on me since we were running late.
We both had a 4 course meal. Forgive me as I will most probably butcher the names and descriptions.
Him - Sweet corn chowder with sweet breads and lobster. Deliciously sweet (and I just found out what sweetbreads are. hehe). Yum!
Lobster and wild mushroom risotto - double yum!
Lobster tail - This was ok. My bf enjoyed it but I found it a bit bland.
Chocolate fondant cake with vanilla ice cream - VERY yum, pretty much a fancy molten lava cake.
Me- Dungeness crab salad over some kind of green veggie panna cotta. Yum!
Hawaiian butter fish - Double Yum! Very savory and bursting with flavor.
Duck breast with duck confit salad - Triple Yum! This was both our favorite.
Peach Melba for dessert - this was a meringue like thing with peach ice cream and poached peach inside. Yum!
In between courses, they of course offered small pallet cleansers. The flavors and presentation were absolutely wonderful. The 4-course dinner and wine came out to be around $260 including tip. In short, a wonderful experience that I would definitely recommend for a special occasion.
Had dinner @ La Folie 3 times in the past year.
Great food, great service.
Food is beautifully prepared. Roland Passot creates interesting, tasty combinations like crab salad on pineapple chips with grapefruit and pomegranate gelee' .... etc. etc. etc.
Its a treat, an culinary adventure. Sterling service, ooops really Gold standard service.
Not a dish by dish, bite by bite, sip by sip review....try La Folie you won't be disappointed.
It's more like 4 and 1/2 but i bump that shizz up for the master chef personally greeting our table. He was probably wanting to know what fat ass table ordered 15 dishes and $115 dollars for an ounce of caviar.
Some highlights - first time trying frog legs and they were great! Rabbit was a first, I'm just not used to it, but it was prepared well. Their amuse bouche extras were really fantastic and it cleansed the palate.
Some lowlights. The crab came on this green gelatin mousse thing, not tasty and the texture was off-putting.
The service was delightful.
(Details to come...)
=)
So, my wife and I made reservations here 7 years ago when we first moved to the bay area. We ended up canceling because we had no jobs (probably a smart move).
Finally we made it back here. It was quite amazing. I really don't get how a few of the reviews are just "meh". I was prepared for a high-end French meal, but just *how* high-end--I wasn't prepared for it. It blew both of us away.
For us, this surpassed a few of the other places in SF that are supposedly better--Michael Mina comes to mind. We *love* Michael Mina, but this was just another level above.
My wife ordered a 3-course meal and I ordered a 4-course so we could share the dessert. There were another 3-4 smaller courses/tastes in between what we ordered, so be prepared that you will definitely get more food than you're ordering.
As far as the actual food, we were amazed by everything. I had a chilled pea soup with sweet onion sorbet as an appetizer. I'm not crazy about peas, and this was VERY pea-y, but wow was it good! The lobster risotto was also fantastic, as was the beef 3-ways. It was a small filet mignon, a short rib, and a mini burger with foie gras. If I had to eat the exact same menu again the next night I wouldn't hesitate!
In addition, there was a special taste of an egg (poached, I think), with a smoky tomato sauce served INSIDE an eggshell with a thin potato chip on top. The chip had a single sprig of chive through it. This was served on a special plate just for the eggshell. We sat for a few minutes really just admiring the craftsmanship of the dish.
Finally, the staff was fantastic. They were attentive and professional as can be while still being quite friendly and not stuffy. One server was actually quite funny. It was great to have such a wonderful meal while not feeling like everyone is taking it too seriously. I mean, food is supposed to be fun, right?
The bill was actually quite reasonable for what we got! Don't get me wrong, it is expensive, but for the two of us for a 3- and 4- course meal, plus wine and tip and tax, it came to just under $300. Not cheap, but you can do WAY worse in the city.
One note, there was ONE table we noticed in the whole restaurant that was just sitting near the door. When we walked in, I thought "I hope we don't get that table". We didn't. If possible, note it on your reservation so you don't have it. I don't think it would have been a major problem for us, but it just felt really open and on a cool night you may get blasts of cool air when the door opens.
Whew! To wrap it up, La Folie was amazing. Can't wait to get back!
Roland Passot is the sweetest kindest man and has found his way to my heart with lots of butter and truffles.
I lay in bed at night thinking about my birthday dinner at La Folie. It's amazing how much care and attention go into each dish. Although everything was amazing, my favorite was the amuse bouche. My stomach almost burst from the amount of food. I was full after the second course. I will continue to have dreams about this meal.
Service was amazing. The waiters were all very friendly. We even got a peek at the tiny little kitchen and met the staff. I can't believe how they could serve so many with such a small kitchen.
I'm a little torn with respect to this review because some dishes were just OK but others were really quite good. I came here yesterday with my man and we each got the 5-course prix fixe. After two courses of amuse bouches, I had the foie gras torchon (solid), the tasting of passot roe (OK), the butter poached lobster (good but not great) and then it came--the best rack of lamb I've had in a very long while. He started with the frog legs (OK), the lobster risotto (good flavor but overly creamy texture), the butterfish (fish was well cooked but lacked flavor) and then the highlight of his evening--the roti of quail and squab. If you like game birds, they don't come better than this. We shared the desserts: a late summer berry mille feuille and a peach baked Alaska (they called it something else). They were both delicious. The mille feuille was light and crunchy and the cream was heavenly. The baked Alaska had just the right sticky sweetness you want from a meringue... I practically licked the plate!
So all in all, although I was not terribly excited by the first few courses, the dinner definitely ended with a bang. Not quite sure if I'd come back again though...
ordered:
1. salmon lolipops
2. lobster soup
3. salad?
4. rack of lambs
5. rabbit
6. chocolate truffles
7. chocolate cake
8. sorbet?
VERY EXPENSIVE but VERY GOOD! WORTH EVERY PENNY! At the end of your meal, the chief comes out and talks to you! It's very neat!
Great authentic French restaurant.
I particularly enjoyed:
* Poached organic egg
* Asian pear salad with candy walnut, roasted fall veggie
* Both sorbet were good
* Escargo (snail) inside bone marrow with bread crumb on top
I found these dishes interesting:
* Rabbit trio -- rabbit loin with stuffed Spinach and carrot, rabbit rack, rabbit legs stuffed with mushroom.
Poach organic egg was heavenly. The presentation was particularly interesting and I really liked the layered taste. The mixture of the tastes danced in my mouth. I really liked it.
I wanted to try rabbit meat before I die so I ordered rabbit trio. Maybe I had a different expectation of rabbit meat but I didn't like it. I don't think it's the dish -- most likely I just dont like rabbit meat.
Escargo (snail) inside the bone marrow was really good. I liked the presentation and the tastes.
I think all of the desert were good. We ordered both sorbets and we liked them all. There were other ones on the menu that I felt worth exploring.
Overall, I think this is a great French restaurant. I compared this restaurant to Aqua and I don't think it matched aqua's level but it came pretty damn close. I loved the restaurant.
Remember to try the Seven Hill Merlot... very nice.
We went to La Folie last night for dinner, and decided to each get a four course meal. The food was delicious and incredibly filling. They really want you to savor each course and enjoy the experience of being there, so the service is far from rushed.
Most of the clientele there last night was above 55 or 60 years old, nattily dressed in sharp suits. There were two other couples there in their 20-30's. The space is very small and intimate with high ceilings and a burnt orange decor, and lots of mirrors to make the space feel larger.
We were seated at 8:30 and noshed on (too much) bread and cocktails, as well as a few tiny and tasty dishes sent out compliments of the chef. At 9:15 we finally got our first course. I had a delicious corn soup and my husband had fois gras. Both were amazing. After all the bread, the tiny tasters, and the soup, I was already stuffed! Oh no!
Next course brought frog legs for my husband (delicious!) and for me, a warm sweetbread, pigs feet, and lobster terrine. Sounds gross but was actually really lovely.
I had quail and squab for my main, and the hubby had a delicious duck dish, and we finished the evening off with a sexy cherry bomb (some sort of cherry and chocolate ganache concoction) and a tiny and delicious cheese dish.
Overall the food was lovely, although I did start to find the long amount of time between the courses to start getting tedious. Don't expect to rush in and out of here, it is a 2 hour minimum experience. When you make reservations, ask NOT to get the first table- it is right there when you first walk in to the small space (it seems like an afterthought and is right there when you walk in, subject to heavy foot traffic as well as the cold air coming in from the street). It is also near the bar, which is the home of the noisy, high powered dish washer which ran at least 4 times last night and sort of detracted a bit from the sexiness of the ambiance.
You will pass the small, crowded kitchen en route to the loo and can peek in at the hard working army of people working in the small space. It reminded me of Ratatouille! Not because I thought there were rats running around or anything, but you know how there were tons of people and rats working in concert to produce these works of art, it was kind of like that! Pots, pans, ingredients, all being quickly and deftly handled in the small, energy filled space!
I'm always looking for a loungey, non-pretentious but non-dive-y bar where you can get a nice glass of wine and actually hear the other person talk. This place fits the bill. I didn't get to sample any food but maybe next time. Also: attentive bartender, nice lighting, a great viognier blend on the wine menu, no uptight closing schedule.
La Folie is a really good French restaurant in in the Russian Hill neighborhood. K and I went out with friends on Saturday night sans kids.
Look and feel: Classy, understated. The main room has a bar and around a dozen tables. I was told there was another room, but I didn't see it.
The dining room had a bustling feel to it because of the constant flow of wait staff and the full tables. There was enough din for private conversations, but it wasn't so loud that we had any trouble hearing everyone at out table of four.
Valet parking is available out front ($15) which reduces the stress of finding a place to park in the neighborhood.
Menu: La Folie has a really satisfying menu style of "build your own" prix fixe. You select 3, 4, or 5 courses from ~30 selections. Other than a limit of one main course, you are completely free to pick from any of the categories you like.
The food:
I'm doing this from memory, because their online menu is almost 2 year out of date. (I'm allowed to expect that a fancy restaurant in the Silicon Valley's backyard can keep their online menu up to date, aren't I?)
Lobster and mushroom risotto - The texture was great, with nice chunks of lobster and rich flavor. It was a little too salty, but only mentionable because the salt level was inconsistent with several of the items we ordered. C also had this item, and she found hers pretty bland.
Heirloom tomato and fig salad - K ordered this. It was visually stunning. She said it was good except for two cooked elements, a tomato gelatin and a tomato-vodka sorbet, both of which she found salty and odd.
Foie gras soup - C ordered this. It looked and tasted like a fois gras cappuchino (minus the coffee.) Absolutely amazing.
Seared foie gras with wild huckleberry sauce - This was possibly the best piece of foie gras I've ever had. It was also the biggest. Yet I had no problem whatsoever finishing it. Yum. A little salty, but I do like salt.
Grilled Dorade with bacon jus - My first bite of this dish supplied an overly fishy flavor, which concerned me. The rest of the dish was sublime. Crispy skin, moist flesh, and the bacon jus was heavenly.
Seared scallop - There wasn't anything special about this except a perfectly prepared sea scallop.
Beef trio - This consisted of a filet, a short rib, and a mini-burger. The filet was stellar. The short rib fell apart on my fork. The burger, with a little foie gras, was merely okay. To be fair, by the time the beef dish was served I was nearly stuffed, so I'm not sure I gave the burger an honest chance.
Goat cheese tatin - K wasn't impressed with this. It was okay, but not great. It needed more cheese.
Butter poached lobster - Lobster served in the shell over a tasty pea ravioli, looked like a Botticelli painting.
Roti squab and quail - K's main dish, this was just fantastic. The game birds were extremely flavorful and juicy.
Edam souffle - K and C ordered this dessert, which was a light and subtle cheese souffle. It made for an excellent ending to the meal.
Snails with marrow crust - Beautiful presentation. My first ever taste of escargot, so I'm not in a position to judge it that well, but I found it flavorful, and it struck me as tasting like an earthy crustacean, which seems apt.
Tempura duck egg - This was a soft-boiled egg with a tempura shell. It was interesting to see. P and C both ordered this and found it okay. I didn't try it.
Mushroom risotto with white truffle - They had a special this night, $50 for 5 grams of white truffle over any dish. P chose to have it over the mushroom risotto. He loved the truffle, but he also found the risotto to be bland. Clearly there were mutliple chefs in the kitchen, at least one of them a little heavy on the salt, and another a little light.
Service: The service was outstanding. All of the servers were polite, prompt, and knowledgeable about the menu. Water glasses were kept full at all times. Our dishes were bussed at just the right time. The pacing of the courses was perfect.
When we asked for the bill, the hostess prompted the valet for our car, so we had a very minimal wait before it arrived upon our exit.
Value: It's a rather fancy restaurant in SF, so it's not cheap. This is a pleasant case of "you get what you pay for." We dropped $760 (after tip) for the four of us. Was it worth it? I think so. I mean, we can't afford this all that often, but we don't get out for nice dinners without the kids with much frequency. I was much more impressed with this place than with Manresa (where we spent $400 for two.)
If I had one complaint from a value perspective, it's with the charge of $4.50 for a cup of coffee at the end. Seriously, is that necessary when the diners are having $95 prix fixe meals and drinking $70 of wine? It left me feeling nickel-and-dimed.
Will I go back? I'm sure we'll have the opportunity to go back as this has become our friends' favorite restaurant in SF. I wouldn't pass up the chance.
La Folie...
What more can i say about them...
I was there with my beloved and a few great friends right before we head to watch Wicked the Musical.
I didn't what to expect, heard a lot of great things about this restaurant but this is the first time for me here.
First of all, if you drive, there's valet service available.. I don't mind paying them if i need to just because that would save me driving around the hill area looking for parking on nearby neighborhood.
If you insist on looking for your own parking space, i do recommend you to drive uphill and turn back down at least twice, pending on your luck that night you will find a great spot closeby.
The ambiance in the restaurant is magnificent. Not too grandiose, but modern, clean and elegant.
Food:
-Taste: Excellent -Try the ribs.. and dessert
-Portion: great portion even for just 3 course meal with the price they charge. Guys if you are hungry, get 4 course, while ladies, i would suggest to stick with 3 so you have extra room for dessert.
-Surprises: there's always something new, or chef complimentary food either entree or dessert mmmmmmm... free food... :P
-Wine: great range and great price..
I would suggest that it would be a great place for a classy first date or a great place to pamper / share a great dinner time with your loved ones.
Actual Rating: 4 1/2 Stars
Preface:
The first time I came here, I was preggers with my first child and thanks to raging baby hormones, everything tasted weird and made me wanna puke.
So rolling forward eight years later, I sit down to a four course meal with my honey and a couple of dear friends, and tasted the food as it was meant to be tasted....sans the pregnancy hormones.
Food:
After two amuse bouches, I had the Dungeness Crab Salad Napoleon on Crispy Pineapple Chips, Grapefruit and Pomegranate Gelée; it was okay...nothing to die for.
But then, the piece de resistance (at least for me) arrived: FOIE GRAS. So rich and sinfully decadent, foie gras is one of my favorite foods. Sounds like dessert, but it's music to my taste buds to have a generous portion, cooked to perfection without a sinew in sight (dang it, Michael Mina). At La Folie, you can have it twice, as it is offered two ways: Barbeque Squab with a Pistachio Crusted Foie Gras Torchon AND Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Wild Oregon Huckleberries. I had the latter and it was amazing! The sweetness of it's accompaniments juxtaposed to the saltiness of the fois gras was perfect. It was a generous portion....so much so that I felt full before my main course arrived.
That was too bad because I ordered the "La Beouf," which was beef three ways: Beef Tenderloin, Braised Beef Short Rib,
and Burger Rossini with Truffle Madeira Sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two but had to give the miniature burger to my husband. The foie gras really did me in. Haha!
I also tried the Niman Ranch Lamb Loin, as well as the Slow Roasted Loch Duart Salmon, both of which were very nicely done.
For dessert, I opted for three of their artisan cheeses....good but rather small selection of sheep, goat and cow cheeses...if you're into cheese, I was more impressed with the vast array offered at the Ritz and Gary Danko. I also tried my friend's Edam cheese souffle which was good. But if you prefer something sweet, I highly recommend the Valhrona Milk Chocolate Passion Fruit Bombe with Hazelnut Dacquoise, Black Pepper Gelato.
Service:
Upon entering, my coat was immediately whisked off to the closet and out of my way. Service was prompt, courteous, friendly and funny...two of the servers were cracking jokes here and there. I loved it! AND the charming Chef Passot swung by our table to say "hello" and offer congratulations to my husband (we were celebrating an occasion)...very nice :)
In Closing:
This was a great place for our celebration with a party of four. But it was also charming as heck for a romantic tryst. As I was walking in, there was a couple seated in the back of the front dining room, in the cutest little nook in the corner. I would totally suggest requesting this spot, because you get to sit on a "bench" sort of thing, right in the corner. They were all snuggled up against each other and obviously having a good time. They smiled at me and I smiled back....awww, love is in the air. *sigh*
Might I also add that the bar mixes some stiff drinks. I had a Grey Goose L'Orange with club soda (lime and orange twist) and that sucker did me in for the rest of the evening. You gotta love it. :D
The main restaurant - The food is good but wouldn't expect anything less... though I've had some of the best desserts I've found in the city at La Folie so credit for that because a lot of restaurants just ignore this course (or make it quite boring). I do find the setting to be very stuffy though. It just depends what your looking for.
I love the new lounge part though! Came with a larger group of about 10 and we grabbed the couches in the corner, ordered some food and lots of drinks. I didn't eat much but what I tried was good and the cocktails were great. only complaint - the service was really slow. I ended up just going up to the bar by the end. But the place itself is really nicely set up, its not too big or too small, its not as stuffy as the restaurant, and you can still enjoy some good dishes and a couple of good drinks without having to commit to a long, drawn out meal.
The food is good, service too. The renovated room is really great: calm, quiet, luxurious without feeling over-the-top. The thing me and my dinner partner both thought was that the food was just a bit too complex, all the dishes seemed to have one or two more flavors and colors than needed, to the point that it took away from just enjoying a good piece of meat or vegetable. If you come here for a special occasion, you'll likely enjoy yourself just fine, but I wish for the money I'd gone back to Gary Danko instead.
This was the best meal of my entire life! Why, you ask? I'll tell you why:
1. The service was awesome. Everyone was very helpful and attentive, but not hovery.
2. The ambiance was perfect-quiet, romantic, and elegant.
3. Of course, the best part about the meal was our food! My husband and I had a four-course meal with wine pairings. I had the pumpkin soup (with the best marshmallow I'd ever had!), the lobster-mushroom risotto (perfect balance of richness from the seafood, rice, and mushrooms), the beef tasting plate (with the best filet mignon I've ever had, this amazing sauce that was lick-the-plate good, a short rib that just melted in my mouth, and a tiny little hamburger that I didn't even have room to eat). I ended with the chocolate fondant, which was great but the only part of the meal I wasn't blown away by. My husband, however, had the cheese tart, which was a knock-out.
This was an expensive meal, but worth every penny!!!
Recently I've been having a lot of mixed to disappointing fine dining experiences. When you pay over $100 for a meal, your expectations are (rightfully) set quite high. So it was with some trepidation that I went into La Folie tonight with my group of 8 for a birthday dinner.
After the first course, all my reservations were put to rest. Simply put, La Folie delivers exceptional French cuisine with a California twist. Portions are generous, so the smallest three course menu will have more than enough food. The details in the presentation were just superb- carrots cut into tiny balls to resemble the peas they were paired with, a small 'basket' made of fried potato strings and a quail egg. And the food itself was delightful- rich, decadent, indulgent, and playful. A foie gras terrine, for example, was paired with a crunchy peanut butter concoction and a mini-brioche.
Service from the entire staff was friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive. My only complaint was that occasionally, the courses did not hit the table at the same time. On the whole, I highly recommend a visit to La Folie.
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: French
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: French
Neighborhood: Castro
Category: French
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
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