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Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sat. 4:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 4:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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Honestly, anyone who has lived in the Bay Area is missing out if they haven't been to La Fondue.
I've been here 3 times...great for groups of friends and great for romantic dinners.
The first and second time i went with my girlfriends. It was so much fun. Make SURE YOU MAKE RESERVATIONS. This place gets booked pretty fast especially on weekends. We normally did the a la carte deal with 2 cheese fondue pots and then 2 chocolate pots for dessert.
Of the cheese, I have tried the stinking rose, the pesto and another swiss cheese that I don't remember at this time. Honestly, the pesto was my FAVORITE. It is a mix of wine, 2 mix of cheeses, bit of garlic, and pesto. YUM. The bread and the vegetables that they give you to dip really fill you up fast. And, if you still have room..that is what dessert is for!!!
I have also gotten the teriaki chicken which is pre-marinated and you choose your cooking method. We chose the grill b/c it had already been marinated and didn't need more seasoning. It is almost like korean bbq..cooking ur own food. The waiters are very thorough about directions on how to cook and don't be afraid to ask. The platter of meat also came with vegetables to saute with the meat. It was goooooood.
We have gotten many different types of chocolate, my most recent is the white chocolate flambe with pecans and butterscotch (butter baby). YUM. Let me just pre-warn you tho...these dessert fondue concoctions are pretty sweet and the platters they give you to dip are sweets as well...snickers, bananas, strawberries, rice krispie treats, apples, frozen cream puffs, white cake...etc. It once was so sweet it made my teeth ache! Oh and on top of that, we came on the day in which the corkage fee was free!
This place is fun, it can be romantic for a date and it is basically a place you have to visit now that it has been remodeled. The previous look of this restaurant was less romantic and more lit, but nowadays it is dim, candlelit and just has the perfect ambiance.
For the big groups of girls...come here for a fun time and expect to spend 2 hours here. If you just want dessert, you have to come after 10:30pm.
Oh and...props to you boys who take your girls on ur first date here ; )
I wish everyday was worth celebrating. That way I can go to La Fondue EVERY DAY!
My friends brought me here when I visited them from NYC earlier this year. Since then, I could not stop talking about how amazing the food here was. The service was great, the waiters were very helpful with recommendations, and the food - SUPER!
At first I was worried that the portions were too small, but as the meal progressed, I got more and more stuffed to the perfect amount of stuff (if that's possible).
Since then I've tried to find a fondue alternative in NYC (closest I came was Melting Pot out in NJ), but it was no where CLOSE in quality but definitely close in price.
They had tons of exotic meats that you wished in the back of your mind that you can try them all. Unfortunately they make you choose from each list, thus giving you the wonderful opportunity to revisit them when the crave returns.
I plan on revisiting Cali next month, and La Fondue is on the top of my TO EAT list!
Let me start off by saying that we have fond memories of the old location. This was our first visit to the new location. We went here to celebrate my wife's birthday.
We had 6:30 reservations. The good news is that they are now on Open Table which is helpful when making a res.
I headed straight here from work and arrived half an hour early. They have a fairly large waiting area which gives you an idea of what the new theme is. Definitely different than the old Alpine theme. Not sure what it is. Machine gun light fixtures? Mostly black and white decor. I couldn't get a read on it. To pass the time while waiting I ordered a Glass of Cabernet. I sat and took in the decor and finally after waiting 15 minutes for my glass of wine I asked the Maitre d about it. He aplogized and said he would get it right away. After 25 minutes they arrived with a glass of Chardonnay. I turned that back and told the Maitre d. Finally, a couple of minutes later they came with the right Cab. I was hoping that this was not an indication of what the rest of the experience was going to be like.
My wife was running late and finally arrived at 6:45. We were seated right away in the dining area to the right of the entry. After being seated we waited another 15 minutes before our waiter came to the table. He said that he just found out he was taking care of our table and would tell the manager.
Our waiter was great and helped make for a more pleasant experience. Since we were there with our 2 kids we asked him for advice as to how to order. He suggested that the 2 person Fondue Feast would be plenty for all of us unless we were really hungry.
So, we ordered the 3 out of the possible 6 meats (Chicken, Shrimp and Angus beef) along with a side of Buffalo since I was feeling particularly hungry. Upon his recommendation we chose the Cheddar Fondue as it was the mildest and would work great with the kids. We ordered the meats prepared Grill style as it's the least likely to be too much for the kids. It also is the healthiest method.
The cheese fondue was very nice. For the salads I chose the Spinach while my wife chose the chef. Both were great although by this time the amount of food starts to add up. The meats were great with the different dipping sauces. However, by the time all the tables started grilling their meats there was a very strong haze in the whole restaurant that was too much and not pleasant. My wife started to get a headache from it.
For the dessert we chose the Milk Chocolate with Amaretto. Very tasty. Since it was my wife's birthday they put a candle in one of the Marshmallows. Nice but kind of weak. The cookie dough, the snickers bars were our favorite.
During the meal apparently they were having issues with their computer system because they kept bringing Diet Cokes and such at random times. We didn't have to pay for them but still odd.
When we wanted to check out they had adjusted the bill to remove our drinks which was a nice customer service thing to do given the waits that we had to endure.
In retrospect I should have skipped the extra plate of Buffalo as I was way too stuffed. I should also not have eaten the whole salad...
Overall a bit disappointed compared to the old La Fondue. The food was awesome but the waits, the decor and the smokey atmosphere left us not thinking about coming back anytime soon. Definitely not the romantic spot for 2 it used to be. They must be feeling the effects of the economy because the bill was accompanied by a card which gave us a free bottle of wine on the next visit.
As many reviewers have already said, the chocolate fondue is exquisite! I enjoyed the dark chocolate combination compared to the sweeter chocolates. The cheeses are also wonderful!
They had a wide exotic(?) meat selection. I don't recommend kangaroo or crocodile, because they were very rubber-like.
So, like many others have stated, stick with the chocolate and cheese. It's pretty good!
Decors are different in each room. Dimly lit. I have been seated in booths, I don't recall seeing any tables. There are tables outside of the restaurant.
So I took the sweetie here for her 21st birthday/anniversary dinner. Everything was amazing from the service to the food. The venue itself is very sheik and we loved our visit and experience here. Between the two of us we shared the Fondue Feast ($96) consisting of; free range chicken, teriyaki sirloin, tuna, venison, buffalo and duck. Our meal started off with chef salads which I thought was a generous portion, however there being too much cheese it didn't bother me and sparked my appetite.
Shortly after our waitress, Jaime, enlightened us about our cajun cheese fondue, rules, etc. The cheese fondue tasted amazing and had a great mouth feel to it. At first glance we thought the portions were small but if you eat correct, you should feel full by the end of the meal. Everything seemed so romantic yet very fun at the same time.
For the protein section of our meal we chose to have the Punsch versus the regular vegetable broth. Everything was flavorful and all our meats tasted great. All the different textures paired along with the various dipping sauces mixed together well for a great dinner experience. Our burner went out once but our waitress Jaime, handled it.
Dessert was by far the best part, white chocolate with frangelico and all the things to dip from marshmallows to pound cake to fruits to snickers were great. Since it was the Sweetie's birthday it came out with candles to blow out and complimentary champagne for the both of us, very nice touch!
Overall everything was perfect again from the food to the service. We never doubted La Fondue once we entered. Big ups to the host for letting us bump our reservation 1 hour earlier since it takes about an hour to two to enjoy everything at your own pace. The drinks here cost the same as Santana Row but are stronger, ha.
I really have nothing else to say, but wow, what a great dining experience!!!!
We aren't from the area and were spending the day out and about with a reservation at 6 on the patio (as nothing else was left). We arrived early and they got us a nice table inside at 4:30.
We went with the Fondue Feast. 4 courses of salad, cheese, meat and chocolate. We both got the Chef's salad with the lemon tarragon dressing - very good, but HUGE and so we didn't finish it all because we needed to save room.
We chose the bacon-buttermilk-cheddar-beer cheese and it was oh so good! You could really taste the beer, not so much the bacon, but either way it was delicious. It's served with dippers such as bread,apples, roasted garlic, cocktail onions, mini, mini dill pickles, and potato. Our server brought us more dippers as we had plenty of cheese left but were running out of the dippers!
For the meats, we got to pick two from each column. They have some more unusual meats here and our server was great about telling us his honest opinion about what was and wasn't good to eat. We chose Fondue Chinoise Cheddar, which seemed like cheddar cheese wrapped in a very thin slice of beef - this was good. We also had calamari, ostrich (tasted no different to steak in my opinion but good), alligator (absolutely delicious!), scallops, anfd buffalo (also very good). The meats also came with a selection of vegetables such as button mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, pumpkin, some sort of squash, and zucchini. We chose the grill method, which was easy and quick, and the dipping sauces were also phenomenal. These included sweet mango chutney, teryiaki, wasabi, garlic butter, sour cream with chives, and ome kind of bbq.
We were just about stuffed after the meat course but had to save room for our chocolate! We chose milk chocolate with Grand Marnier. It was very good, however, I couldn't taste the Grand Marnier. The dippers were amazing - cookie dough, cream puffs, marshmallows, snickers, rice crispie balls, strawberries, apple, banana, pound cake.... Again, our server asked us our favorites and brought us several more of them. By that point I was done! They also brought us a couple of glasses of champagne in honor of our anniversary, which was a nice touch, I thought.
Hefty bill at the end of it all, but well worth it for a once in a while treat if you have something to celebrate or just want to go with a big crowd! The service was great, though one thing I didn't particularly like is that they come and mix your cheese while you are still eating your salad. I don't feel comfortable eating while the server is at the table so this made me feel a bit weird!
We'll be back, just wish we didn't live so far away!
If you've ever wanted to be in a James Bond movie, this place is for you! (sans the Aston Martin and Daniel Craig, unfortunately)
Came here for my birthday dinner and absolutely loved the dining experience. This was the first time at a fondue restaurant for both of us so we decided to play it safe and ordered the fondue combination for 2. We ordered the Wild mushroom 3 cheese and champagne fondue for the appetizer. Probably wouldn't get this again as our waitress added too much of the garlic and the mushroom was a little overpowering. For the salads we ordered the chef salads (minus the chef rolls for me ;) these salads are very large and fresh, they put a lot of dressing on it so maybe as for it on the side. For the dinner entree we ordered the garden vegetables - we grilled the veggies (requires lots of patience!), and for dessert we had the XXX chocolate fondue (milk chocolate and chocolate fudge) - this was really good, probably could have enjoyed/appreciated it more if we had not eaten so much already.
We left being completely stuffed swearing we'd never eat again. I think when we return we'll probably just do the cheese and chocolate fondue as the veggies were bland, too much work to cook, and just too much food for the two of us.
The service was a bit rushed for my liking, I like to savor my courses but our waitress kept my water glass full which is important wherever I'm eating. The price is definitely reasonable for a fondue experience and for the amount of food you're getting. We also ordered two chocolate martinis and they did not skimp on the alcohol, very James Bond of them ;)
Tips:
*Apparently you can ask for extra bread for the cheese fondue and fruit and dippers for the chocolate fondue
*Free glasses of champagne on your birthday!
*This place is filling so pace yourself and consider ordering less than you think you'll want to eat
Bottom line, a fun, memorable, and unique dining experience. Looking forward to returning now that we're no longer fondue rookies!
My husband then boyfriend at the time went to La Fondue for our anniversary celebration. We had a great time. Our waiter was very friendly and the food was amazing. We ordered cheese fondue with shrimp and cajun mix in it.. soooo good!! This place was very romantic put me in a very nice mood.
Chocolate fondue was the best I have ever had, and they kept bring us all the treats we could eat to dip in the chocolate. They also brought out two complementary champanges for our anniversary on a plate with a candle, which made us feel very special. I highly reccomend this place if you are looking for good food or romance, or both! Cheers
FOOD:
1.) Chocolate Fondue = I think we just got milk chocolate with Frangelico. Tasted like regular chocolate.... Hm, I don't think they do bottomless dippers any more :( poooo. But still, they give LOTS more than stingy Melting Pot
*btw, certain days in the weekday is BOYB bring your own bottle of alcohol, which means there's no corkage fee. Sahweet. duly noted for next time ~_^
SERVICE:
Hm.... went on a Monday night, so that could explain why it was so slow. We waited at the hostess stand for quite some time, with no hostess to be in sight! Servers passed by, looking at us, but failing to stop to help us. Not really sure who's at fault.... Management?? Or lazy workers??
ATMOSPHERE:
Damn, I love their redesigned decor!! Good-byyyyyye tacky jestor chairs! lol.... now it has this sultry neo-classical swanky ambiance. LAVA IT.
FOOD:
1.) Choc Fondue = I forget which kind I got exactly, but I remember it being good for the…
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Best chocolate fondue EVER!
You don't need to bother with the meats or veggies go for the chocalate and cheese, YUMMIE!!!!!
If you can go on a Wednesday night, no corkage fees.
Nice, cute, and fun setting. Bi-level seating area so that's neat and special. The dining area is pretty open so you can observe other people enjoy their dinners. This is where it makes me feel pretty awkward and uncomfortable. I'm sure other people feel the same way too because they try to avoid eye contact with other tables. A lot of people come here for special occasions, so a little bit of privacy would be a nice touch. Service is really good.
For the cheese fondue, we had the Mediterranean cheddar beer sundried tomatoes $22. It was pretty good. I've had a lot better so I was just a tad bit disappointed. It was good though, but I guess I expected too much! The food you had to dip with the cheese was bread, apples, and some vegetables.
For the main course, we had the feast fondue with the court bouillion cooking style. The meats we chose were: chicken, sirloin, crocodile (tougher meat), beef, filet mignon, and sea scallops. They were all pretty good, besides the Himalayan beef. I'm not a fan of that one. All together, it was ok. The broth was ok, the meats were ok. The sauces were ok. I've had better.
For dessert, we had the XXX. Milk chocolate and chocolate fudge. It was pretty good. The dippers were good too. Again, I've had better... the service was really good and if you go here on occasions, they give champagne on the house and a coupon for a free bottle of wine to enjoy on your next visit. I may come back to try the other cooking styles, different cheeses, and different chocolate fondues.
Wow. This place has an identity crisis BIG TIME.
The entrance area is all goth/hard core cool: with lamps that look like machine guns and TONS of Black.
The dining area near the bathroom is more lighthearted - all mirrors and black and white patterns. It reminds me of Sleeping Beauty modernized.
And the room we sat in was CREEPY - lots of medieval crosses, antlers and a giant religious-ish statues. This is an ideal place for a group - especially Prom.
That said, the food is good and WAY WAY overpriced. Why the hell would anyone pay for raw uncooked food - and pay MORE, than if they had lovely marinated cooked food?
Here is the deal. Come for the cheese or dessert/chocolate fondue. Those are the unique yummy ones worth the money.
The 2 person grill is plenty of food for 3 girls - so that helps with price. The dipping sauces are good. Get shrimp and beef, skip the chicken bc you will be paranoid its not cooked through and frankly, you need to get your moneys worth.
The pesto, swiss cheese fondue is AWESOME. love love love it tons of bread.
The dark chocolate with toffee bits for dessert was FABULOUS. They bring plenty of fruit and dessert bakery items to dip.
Free champagne toast for your Bday. But just come for dessert!
Good but weird decor...
We went here with my parents for my birthday. The food was good, we did the set menu thingie for $100 / couple. Not cheap but its definitely an experience.
In terms of taste / quality / quantity I have no complaints.
My biggest problem was this: No one in my party was drinking any alcohol yet we all walked out of there feeling totally drunk. I'm not sure if this was due to over eating or what but I suspect that they marinated their meats in some kind of liquor... plus they put wine with the cheese and I think rum with the chocolate.
Food was good, atmosphere was totally whack tho.. I don't find gold AK-47 lighting fixtures and zebra colored walls amusing. It looked like something out scarface...
Cheeeeeeeeessssssse!!! Anyone who knows me also knows that I can eat an entire wheel of camembert in one sitting. I LOVE CHEESE!
Last time I was at La Fondue, I didn't get to eat.. this was also back when they didn't accept reservations for parties of less than 8. Now, in addition to being on Open Table, the decor has completely changed. The medieval stuff is gone! I must say, I prefer the "modern opulence" look with the chairs by Kartell juxtaposed next to Byzantine art.
On to the most important part (besides the company), the food!! There is a gluten-free option where the cheese fondue is prepared with cornstarch instead of flour - hooray! We got a Feast: Chef salad with lemon tarragon vinaigrette, another one with sweet and sour, Four cheese fondue with all the little bits for dipping (except bread) and for grilling, free range chicken, mahi mahi, alligator, buffalo, llama and ostrich.
When the cheese was ready I forgot all about everything that was to follow. The cheese - smooth, nutty, hot and melty goodness!! The champagne and nutmeg really brought out the flavor of the emmantal and gruyere, I ate until there was nothing left in the pot! After all that, a cast iron skillet was brought out along with all the meats and some vegetables for grilling. The mahi mahi, alligator and buffalo were the highlights of the meat course for me. I liked the sauce that the alligator was marinated in, something tomato-y and basil-y, an excellent complement to the mild flavor of alligator.
Dessert, my favorite part, was bittersweet chocolate fondue with irish cream, and extra strawberries in place of cake and other gluten-laden items. At this point I was really full but powered on through almost all of the chocolate! I kept dropping my fruit in the chocolate, which made for an exciting dessert.
Definitely a fun and unique experience, and in my opinion, much better than Melting Pot, which is just too pedestrian.
What can be said about this place that hasn't been said already. I've gone for years, not nearly as often I would like but still it's one of my favorite places. The food is great the service is amazing and the atmosphere can't be beat (I call it funky, goth, sheik). I love the selection of meats and will normally get a little of everything or as close to everything as I can. The salad, they say not to eat it all, but how can you not, it's fresh and wonderful and begs to be eaten. This isn't dinning it's an experience. It's a place to go for a special occasion or just to have a fantastic meal. The selection of cheese and chocolate alone makes the trip worthwhile.
Yes, it's pricey and yes you have to take your time, but it's what a meal should be, slow and casual so you can enjoy what you're eating. Make reservations, cause you're gonna need um.
OK, two visits within a week...say no more! :) Cheeze fondue is amazing... the chocolate fondue is to die for! The service is always exquisite! Only one bad thing but I understand it could be out of your control, the women's bathroom was out of service so that night it was co ed for the customers... made things very interesting... umm
Keep up the good work :)
My boyfriend took me here for my birthday, and let me tell you, this was the most amazing dinner of my 23 years of existence.
The Ambiance: Chic, Sophisticated, and Classy. The room just oozes with modern decor and you seriously feel like you are part of a Gwen Stefani Music Video. The seats are perfectly placed so you only focus on your party, which is great if you're on a romantic date!
The Service: Our waitress was simply amazing. All of her recommendations were truthful and she made sure to never let our wine glasses go empty.
The Food: Yes, it is pricey, but it is worth every single penny. My boyfriend had a coupon that gave us 1 wine (we picked a 2007 Chardonnay from Monterey), a salad, 1 cheese fondue, grilled meat, and 1 dessert fondue.
So let's talk fondue: We chose the bleu cheese tomato fondue. It was heavenly. Into it the cheesy wonder we dipped bread and vegetables. The bleu cheese melded seamlessly into the cheddar cheese. Needless to say, we wiped the bowl clean.
The Salad: I recommend the chef salad. It's a cheese lover's dream! Now don't finish the entire salad, or else you will be too full for the rest of the meal.
The Meat: You can choose different meats and the cooking style. Per our waitress' request we chose to grill our meats. They have a VERY exotic menu of meats from teriyaki chicken to buffalo to kangaroo to crocodile. My boyfriend and I felt adventurous so we tried the buffalo, which tasted better than I thought it would! Let me tell you, the native americans had it right.
The dessert: Now this is chocolate decadence in a heated bowl. We had heath bar mixed with melted milk chocolate. Inside we dipped marshmallows, cookie dough, snickers, cream puffs, cream cheese balls, rice krispy treats, and fruit. And if you didn't think that got any better, the waitress asked for our favorite dippers and brought us more!!!
My boyfriend and I left stuffed and satisfied. This is a place that you need to go with the one you love, or the one that you want to have love you. It's a shoe-in.
To celebrate my 10th anniversary in California I grabbed my two closest and headed out for a night of gorging. I've heard that women often forget the true pain of child birth, it seems that eating till you feel sick has the same amnesia effect.
I was really diggin' the new decor, a little funky but still tasteful. Plus, finally a larger waiting area. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that they need to use it much these days, the place was empty. I remember the days when you had to make a reservation at least a month in advance.
The "Feast" selections have changed up a little. I wasn't to crazy about the kangaroo or the llama. I'm glad I didn't like the llama though, they're such interestingly strange animals and I felt a little (very little) guilty eating someones cousin. I did discover I like antelope though!
I was ashamed that the three of us couldn't finish off the chocolate but we felt like we were going to pop. I guess we're just out of practice.
Plan on spending around two hours in here finishing this absolutely fabulous dinner. If you are of… Read more »
Fun time with friend - YES
Interesting food to try - YES
AWESOME Desserts - YES
Great Service - YES
Paying for the bill - Yikes!
I feel this place is a bit overrated and very pricey. First off, you are in the poshy area of downtown Saratoga. Parking is a bit difficult to find in prime time. From the outside, it looks as if it's just another boring restaurant, but when you walk in, you are shocked by the ultra modern décor which makes me want to puke. Gold machine gun lamps, a gold wall... A safari theme in our dining area with barbed wires and a laser light? Jeeze, I really want to know how much this restaurant paid to hire an interior designer to produce this gaudiness.
As for the food, Cheese and Dessert are fabulous. Salads are great, but lack the lettuce. As for the main course, you get to choose some real interesting meats from all over the world so try something of the ordinary.
Our server last night was Rodrigo, and he was certainly very good. The only weird part was when he came out with dessert, but our chocolates weren't ready... he took back the dipping items, only to take a while to get back to us when the chocolate was more than ready!.
I can see only coming here once a year... that's probably why they gave us free wine coupons, to return in the next few months, with our bill.
For a special day, I would rather spend my $ on an Alexander's steak, but then again.. you cant get crocodile or wild boar at Alexander's!
I love La Fondue! You will never be more full in your entire life than you will be at this place. My girlfriend and I go every year with another couple as a joint celebration of the two girls' birthdays. We always get the Fondue Feast, which is basically designed for two people to split. With the Fondue Feast, you get a salad, a cheese fondue, a selection of 6 meats to either boil or grill, and a chocolate fondue.
I'll start with the salad. It is really, really tasty. I recommend the Chef Salad, which comes with these things called "chef rolls" that are basically cheese and ham rolled together. Be careful not to eat too much, though, because you can fill up on just the salad.
Next, you get a pot of cheese and a ton of stuff to dip in it. They have some really good options for cheeses, like the "bacon, buttermilk cheddar, and beer" combo. You get a bunch of bread to dip into it and some other random stuff. Skip the bread and go for the other stuff, like grapes, apples, and so on. If you have some cheese left over once you've eaten all the good stuff, you can soak it up with the bread.
After that, you get your meat. I recommend the grill, because it's easier to cook the meat properly (read: medium rare) and you really get the full flavor of the meats. Don't be seduced into some of the exotic meats, like alligator or ostrich.... they're really not all that good. I recommend the Fondue Chinoise (which has thinly sliced meat in a roll with cheese inside) and the shrimp and scallops. Go with one of the smaller shrimps (pacific white or tiger) because you get more shrimp and the colossal shrimp isn't that much bigger.
Finally, the best part, which is the chocolate. You get a pot of warm chocolate, and some amazing things to dip in it, like marshmallows, rice krispie treats, cheesecake balls, pound cake, strawberries, bananas, and so on. It's amazing. The only thing that seems kind of out of place is the snickers bar, since it's already coated in chocolate. But I eat it anyway! Also, don't forget that you can ask for more of the dessert dipping things, so be sure to get seconds to really get your money's worth. I've gotta eat every last bite like the glutton I am!
One note: like many obnoxious fancy restaurants, pop refills are not free. You're charging me $100+ for food and you can't give me a stupid free refill on pop? So that's dumb. But not dumb enough for me to dock them a star.
Anyway, can't recommend this place highly enough for a special occasion. It's also really good if you go in a group of 4, because then you get a table with 2 burners and you can try twice as many cheeses, chocolates, and meats!
My husband took me here for my birthday, and it was such an all around fantastic evening. The food is amazing, the service was excellent, and the ambiance is very swanky.
I have dined here several times, and each time has been a special night to remember. Last night was no exception. As soon as we were seated by a super friendly hostess, who provided us with a bottle of wine on the house (yes- bottle!), the owner came to our table at corked the wine, and talked to us about the food. Our server was knowledgeable, helpful, and patient as we went over the menu (which can be overwhelming with so many yummy choices).
As for the for the food- it is so delicious. We chose the surf and turf, which had fillet Minot, lobster, crab legs, and prawns, and we chose to cook it in lobster bisque which was phenomenal! The owner gave us some wild boar to try which was really good. There are a lot of exotic menu items such as ostrich, and alligator, but I was not brave enough to try it, so it was neat that he let us try something new. We did the stinky cheese- which is Swiss, garlic and wine which was delicious, and yes I do still reek of garlic, but it is worth it! We had the white chocolate, amaretto for dessert. YUM. The salad was huge and loaded with goodies, but we had to pace ourselves so we didn't eat the whole thing.
On top of everything else, we were given complimentary glasses of champagne. I wish I could go back tonight!
Yum, Yum, and FUN!! Love this place. Great food, excellent service, fun experience all together. I… Read more »
Good for a once a year trip. I love the food but the atmosphere is definitely not my style so I wouldn't really want to come here on a regular basis (even if I were able to). You leave feeling pretty full but you won't need to loosen your belt. They give you plenty of time to sit and digest between courses. You will want to work out every day for a couple weeks, though. The guilt will get ya.
Everything you heart desires - food wise. I have been going to this place for over 10 years. Special occasions, birthdays, anniversaries...you name the occasion and we've been there. haha The interior and location have changed in those 10+ years but the food has always been of the highest of quality. Great alcohol selection - good beers on tap (Stella!) and awesome mixed drinks.
I HIGHLY suggest visiting their website prior to dining there, just to prepare yourself for the price. This isn't the McDonald's dollar menu.
The typical thing to do is order one of the pre-packaged type of dinners - you choose your cheese fondue, salad, meat dish, your cooking style and your dessert fondue. We always get the fondue feast which is $99 and includes all of the previously mentioned items.. I like that they have a selection of regular run of the mill meats but also exotics like kangaroo, alligator, etc. I never eat shrimp anywhere - except for here. The grilling method is great however the thicker veggies like sweet potatoes and squash take FOREVER to cook this way. So if you go with a group and have two burners on your table it is smart to get one bullion (boiling) cooking method and one grill - this way you can grill your meats and boil your veggies - otherwise it can take up to 30+ minutes on the grill for a chunk of sweet potato or a small summer squash to cook enough to be warm in the middle. There is always a good selection of veggies and bread for the cheese fondue and a good selection of sauces for the main dish. If you want more of something just ask! Your waiter/waitress is always happy to bring more of something. You can order everything seperately but the packaged dinners work out to be the better meal price wise.
You get the feeling that the people that work there actually enjoy their jobs. The waiters and waitress engage you in light conversation but the annoying type of sit at your table small talk that other eateries tend to put their uests through.
If you leave La Fondue hungry then you did it wrong.
Food was not all that great and the price was a tid bit too high.
My friends took me there for my birthday, but I picked the location.
Let's just say the food didn't sit well in my stomache that evening.
I love this place!
I went here for my birthday for the first time. Everything was perfect from the seating towards the end. I went with my boyfriend and we ordered the special for 2 and chose "La Fondue." This includes the choice of salad, cheese fondue, main course- selected meats/veggies with grilling as the cooking method, and chocolate fondue for dessert (MY FAVORITE COURSE!)
I have to admit, I was impressed with the ambiance, food, and service! The server was on to it and even threw in complimentary champagne with our dessert for my birthday! CHEERS!
FYI- if you've plan prior to have dinner here, try to eat lite through out the whole day. That's just my recommendation! =) ENJOY! =)
The Back Story: I've been a huge fan of La Fondue for many years now. There's nothing on Earth that I enjoy stuffing my face with more than a "salad" at La Fondue followed by a pot of their Stinking Rose cheese. The salad is in quotes, because one has to struggle to find any lettuce in it, but seriously, the salads at La Fondue are works of art.
The Annoyance: I made a reservation at La Fondue more than two weeks in advance and specifically requested a table with two burners in it for our party of four. I did this, because the last time I was there we were told by the host that we should request it in advance since most parties of four are stuck with only one burner. We arrived just a few minutes early on this past Saturday and were told that there were no two burner tables available...
Why bother even making a reservation? We even arrived early in the evening (5PM) so that it wouldn't be during their peak business hours. So we wound up having to eat outside on their patio because that was the only place they had two burner tables available for a party of four. I'm very frustrated by the slide in La Fondue's customer service since they moved locations.
The Solution: La Fondue, STOP being stingy with the tables. We know you have plenty of tables with two burners, you just didn't want to give us one because our tab was not going to be large enough ($300+) to justify us taking up the space in your restaurant.
There was a time when a trip to La Fondue meant that you were going to receive top notch service and that no request would be denied. Help bring back those great days, please.
So, I hit this place up for my birthday (because, really... there's no other reason to spend this much money on this little food). Benefit to going on your birthday: free champagne toast. We ordered one of the La Fondue's and one of the Fondue Feast's and it was plenty of food. Dessert was incredible and there's just way too much to list.
Good food, great atmosphere, attentive service, but a bit on the pricey side. My suggestion? Go for dessert and get dinner elsewhere.
I would give this place 5 stars, but the price is a little expensive, so I gave it 4.
First, the place is incredibly cute inside. Each room has a different theme and it's very pretty.
First, you get your salad. You get to decide if you want spinach or chef salad and you get to choose your own dressing. The salad is huge! It's full of toppings and very delicious. However, you should only eat half of it because you still have the appetizer, dinner, and dessert coming. So I found the best thing to do is eat half and ask them to box the rest and save it for later.
Then for appetizer, you get to choose your own cheese. I usually don't like cheese but i loved the appetizer! It comes with grapes, bread, potatoes, and other things. The best thing is you get to ask for refills for the food it comes with. So if you like the bread the most, you can ask for more with no additional charge.
For dinner, there is a huge variety of meats to choose from. From chicken, steak, or even alligators or kangaroo. Then you can pick the cooking method. My favorite is the grill.
Then for dessert, you get to pick the type of chocolate you want and it comes with pound cake, strawberries, cream cheese balls, etc. And you can also get refills for those.
For two, the meal is a little bit over $100, but it also depends on what kind of meat you get and such.
Came here for just the chocolate fondue on Sunday and it was A-MAZE-ING!! They don't start serving it until 9:30, but we got there just before 9 and they still hooked us up anyways.
After hearing so much about this place, I had try it. Dessert here devirginized me from the whole fondue experience. We Ordered The Decadent one, although it was very rich it was O so tasty! Can you say Got Milk tho? Way necessary with all the chocolatey goodness.
I'd say my favorite things were the strawberry's and the cream puffs (even though they were a little too frozen inside) and then the cookie dough, yum yum :-)
Definite EWWW on the cream cheese balls covered in cinnamon, they seriously look like dingleberrys, AVOID THEM at ALL COSTS!
A little pricey here but definitely worth it! i think it was $20 for the 2 person small size [ but thanks to Sam R. she covered it so I can't complain ;-) ]
La Fondue, where do I begin? I have been ever so fortunate to have been able to celebrate so many milestones, including my fiance proposing to me in February this year!
This is one of the most oddly romantic establishments I've ever been to. The decor is unique and every "room" has a different theme. The staff are incredibly kind and considerate.
So, lets get to the stuff that really matters! The FEAST!
We almost always pick the Fondue Feast where we get to choose a variety of different items! They start you off with a choice of salad and I always pick the Chef's salad (totally amazing, just don't be tempted to east all of it because it will fill you up! They top it with the fondue cheese and it just melts in your mouth, omG!)
The cheese fondues are heavenly! The stinking rose and wild mushroom are definitely my favorite! You get to dip with bread and a variety of veggies!
As for the meats, we've had nearly everything, from the crocodile(very good) to the kangaroo ( tough, but worth the experience)! We always pick the grill as our choice for cooking. It just lets you keep the integrity of the meats (especially since many are so exotic). Lets get to the dipping sauces, though, because they really make some of these meats outstanding! My personal favorite is the mango chutney (it's sweet and goes so well with many different meats!). Other sauces include: teriyaki/wasabi, bbq, garlic butter, a milder teriyaki, and another one I just can't remember. I recommend grilling the meats with the garlic butter (and they are ever so gracious to bring you more, just ask!).
*If you're taking your significant other out, get the shrimp and place them on the grill in the shape of a heart (ie tails together), guaranteed pleaser ;)
We finish the night off with chocolate fondue (mmm.... *drool*...). My favorites are the Flaming Tortoise (mainly because of the flambe!!) and Chocotastic. The dippers include: snickers, pound cake, cream cheese, strawberries, banana's, cookie dough, and cream puffs. My favorites are the cream puffs (because it's cold and it tastes like you're dipping ice cream enclosed in a pastry into chocolate.... how DECADENT!), snickers (who doesn't like chocolate dipped in chocolate?), and the cream cheese ball on top of the pound cake because it makes it taste like cheesecake.... oh man I feel like I've gained 10 pounds just writing this!
Overall, this is an awesome place when you want to celebrate something special... or just want something different for the night and don't mind the price.
The bf and I came here for his one on one bday celebration. This was our first time and I have to say that it was a pleasant experience.
The service was good. Our hostess was super nice and very friendly.
We got the the combination dinner for 2 which comes with a 4 course meal + a free bottle of wine (thank you sam/cindy!).
Course 1: Stinking Rose Cheese fondue (garlic garlic and garlic+white wine+swiss)
I have to say that I was a little skeptical in regards to cheese fondue due to a not so good first time experience...but wow, this was GOOD!! You can never go wrong with bread and cheese!!!
Course 2: Salad (these portions are HUGE and filled with CHEESE). I personally enjoyed the salads and honestly, I was getting full!!
Both salads are good so you can't go wrong with either the Chef or the Spinach.
Course 3 (Main Course): Fondue Bourginon (Grill method)
Yes, this means you grill the food at your table!
We had the La Romantique: Black Angus Filet Mignon, Free Range Chicken, Tiger Shrimp and Lobster Tail
When the plate came out, we were wondering how this is going to fill us up. The meat seemed a bit skimpy but once you start grilling and eating..boy, your tummy gets full fast! My favorite dipping sauce was the mango something.
Course 4 (Desert): Chocolate Fondue with Toffee
MY FAVORITE!!!!! OMG! I love chocolate fondue....how great is this! If you love chocolate then you got to try this! We got a mixture of fruits and random stuff to dip. My personal favorite was the rice crispy, cinnamon cheese balls and banana!! OMG! Just typing this makes me want to go eat the chocolate fondue!
I was a happy camper after the desert. This was a great experience and I have to say that I'll be back for the chocolate fondue!!!
Today's main courses?
-crocodile (yum!)
-kangaroo (edrian said it tasted like ass)
-llama (just alright)
-ostrich (delicious!)
-venison (too gamey for me)
-buffalo (not bad...better as a burger)
-calamari (good. just don't overcook)
-filet mignon (oh so tender!)
-chicken (yummaay!)
-spiced fish (least favorite...way too salty)
-shrimp (good)
-teriyaki sirloin (a little too sweet)
i went here with a couple of friends and the wifey...we spent about 2-3 hours eating. by the time we finished, i could barely walk and felt like a heffer. we started off with a salad. i ordered the chef salad with sweet n sour dressing with blue cheese crumbles. i did not taste any blue cheese but there sure was a whole lot of other types of cheeses on our salad. i had to dig around looking for lettuce. there was more cheese than anything else on our plate. for our cheese fondue, we had the stinking rose which consisted of garlic, white wine, and swiss. it was DELICIOUS!
for our cooking broth, we had the lobster bisque. this does cost extra but we figured we'd go all out since we were there anyway. if you do order this, you must ask your server for extra bread. don't let this lobster bisque go to waste! surprisingly, the ostrich tasted the best. it was tender and very tasty. the crocodile was also a hit.
for dessert, we had the chocotastic which consisted of dark chocolate, mascarpone, and hazelnut. once we all had a taste, the first thing we thought of was hershey's. i wonder what kind of chocolate they use. the little cinnamon cream cheese balls reminded me of cat testicles. they were gross. i don't understand how people could order extra of those. the cream puffs were yummy...and the bananas and strawberries. yummmm....
the service was a little slow...but i guess that's ok since it did take 3 hours to eat there. we ordered a few glasses of wine. the merlot we had went very well with our meal. i did appreciate the fact that our server did ask us if we wanted refills on our items.
i have to say that la fondue is much better than the melting pot. there is so much more variety on the menu that you will probably never see again. the quality of the food was great...the atmosphere was nice...i don't think i'd come here on a regular basis because of the price...but it would be ideal for a special occasion. we spent around $320 (including tip) for 4 glasses of wine, one cocktail, and food for 4.
It's good if:
..you come here once in awhile.
..you try the rare meats.
...you wanna have a fun meal.
...if you wanna smell from cooking your own meat.
.....you want free jelly beans while you wait for your table.
.......if you wanna try something new and have never fondued.
I also came here for just the chocolate fondue after dinner hours. I don't LOVE chocolate, but it's good in a decent amount. I was over sweetened by the chocolate fondue though. Maybe I was greedy and asked for more strawberries, but it's good in small amounts. I covered the entire dipping goody with chocolate ( I guess it's what youre supposed to do) but it was too much for me. My date and I shared The Decadent One. Maybe I'll opt for something less sweet next time.
La fon DONT. Don't, just don't.
Unless your trying to put on weight, you enjoy smelling like a grill, and you enjoy crying through your meal.
Yes...
Sobbing through your meal because you can't fit anymore food in, but you know you can't take it to go, so you don't want to waste the $96 bucks your just ordered.
I felt like I was the dude from Man vs Food or I was in that hot dog eating contest. I know I made every face in the book trying to cram it in with my cheeks looking like a hording hamster.
The meats were nothing special, and who's idea was it to make you pick SIX meats!! Really SIX frickin meats for 2 people? I wish they had half that feast deal for all the normal people out there who eat regular portions.
There are lots of weird meats like Kangaroo, Crocodile, Buffalo, Ostrich, Boar, Bunny, Kitty, Doggie, stuff like that I don't eat. I had the shrimps, filet mignon, shrimps, chicken, calamari, and shrimps. Because I was forced to pix SIX.
The "stinking rose" cheese was our starter, it was OK nothing to write home about, unless it causes a blockage which I have a sneaky suspicion it did.
By the time the desert course came round I was pounding the table calling out "Uncle". Fortunately they let us take a five minute breather.
We got the Rocky Road fondue that came with snickers, rice crispy treats, marshmallows, pirouette cookies, banana, cream puffs, pound cake and fruit, or and some weird cream cheese Cinnamon ball that almost threw me completely over the edge, by the time i was eating my profiterole i was sobbing.
Don't get me wrong the service here for us was excellent, unfortunately the couple next to us had no such luck but we won't go there. The music and atmosphere were lovely.
However...
We left wanting to throw up, disgusted we ate so much, we proclaimed "OK we finally tried it. Been there, done that, never again" We won't be going back.
This reminds me of BeniHana meets Hometown Buffett.
Went here for GF birthday. We decided to go with the Fondue Feast.
First:
We both chose the Chef salad. I chose the Sweet and Sour dressing with bleu cheese chunks and the GF chose balsamic and oil. The sweet and sour reminded me of California or French dressing, which happens to be some of my favorite dressings. The salad was surprisingly not bad, but if you're lactose intolerant, you should ask them to hold the cheese as there is a pretty good amount on it.
Second:
For our cheese fondue, we opted for the pesto version. If you're not a big drinker or hate the taste of alcohol, then fondue might not be your thing. We could taste the alcohol mixed in with the pesto. Didn't bother me at all and was good to eat with all the things they brought out with it.
Third:
The GF picked Pacific Catch, Free Range Chicken, Filet Mignon, and Scallops. I wanted to be adventurous and picked the Crocodile and the Kangaroo. We chose the grill method as I didn't think that boiling meat sounded that appetizing. They brought out 5 different sauces(smoky BBQ,sesame, Goddess, teriyaki with wasabi, and one that I forgot) to go with our meats and veggies. They were all pretty good, but I was partial to the smoky BBQ. The crocodile looked like chicken when cooked, but had the texture between beef and gizzards if you can imagine that. I like gizzards myself so it was delicious. The kangaroo was just like beef, but with a little bit more gaminess. The "normal" proteins were just as you would expect them to be.
Fourth:
By now we were definitely stuffed and when our server came around, we stalled for time by looking at the chocolate fondue menu for a bit. We ended up picking the Chocotastic which was comprised of dark chocolate(my favorite), hazelnut mousse, and marscapone. Boy do I love dark chocolate. Everything that was dipped into this was fantastic. We didn't even finish as we were way to full to eat any more.
Next time we go here, I think we'll do a la carte so we can better enjoy the individual parts. A little dark, but a great place to go on a date or bring some friends to catch up with. Just make sure you don't wear too nice of an outfit as you'll come out smelling like the food.
La Fondue was fantastic!!!! I took my boyfriend there for his birthday and they offered us glasses of champagne.I would skip the meat next time and just get the cheese and chocolate. The service was great as was the decor. I can't wait to go back!
Went back again, this time just for the chocolate fondue. The chocolate was great, but I have to knock it down. "Why" you may be asking. Because they wouldn't give us more refills of strawberries.
We had gotten a couple of refills and went through it all, but we still had more chocolate, and we still wanted it. The waiter said he couldn't give us anymore because we had already gotten refills. I thought that was pretty lame if we still had chocolate left that we wanted to eat. How are we supposed to eat it, with my dipping fork? I mean we paid 20 bucks for it, and they can't spare some strawberries or bananas to finish it all. I guess I'll have to stop at safeway before I go there next time and pick up some strawberries and bananas for dipping.
Just came here for the first time last night (07/18/09) and I must say that I was impressed. I was… Read more »
I love this place! Everytime I've gone I leave happy and stuffed. Great place for a special occasion or to spend some time with people you love(it takes around 2 and half to 3 hours to eat). The only thing on the menu i wasn't a fan of was the grill type cooking method, because the grease splatters, and it's smokey. But I like everything else, and I'll visit this place over and over.
Service Here is amazing!!! IT is a little pricey but its a place to go for a good occasion. Such a nice place and the decor is amazing! Look for this place onlince and book a reservation.
Choose to grill the meats your self and make sure you order the turtle for dessert!
High Class so dree nice!
La Fondue is nouveau chic! From the point that you enter, you are ensconced in gold, black and white. The decor is a constant battle between new and old. Huge old-world chandeliers are encased in a modern plastic cylindrical cover, mood lighting lamps use gold-painted rifle stands. Wall paper covering features a Bridgitte Bardot-esque woman. The setting in itself is something to see.
Then there is the food. We opted for the Fondue Feast for Two ($96). Very fancy. Very filling. 4 courses - choice of salad, cheese course, meat course, and chocolate dessert.
Salad: Nothing too noteworthy except ask for the dressing on the side! My salad was DRENCHED, SOAKED, DROWNED in dressing. I had to dig under the top layer in search of virgin leaves.
Cheese: Now this was truly special. We choose the 4 cheese combo (gruyere, emmenthaler, champagne and something else). The server brings the ingredients to the table and makes the cheese fondue in front of you. It was really nice to see it come together. And then of course, you get to taste it. SOOOO creamy and delish. And fattening. You get a bowl of fresh french bread and fresh veggie/fruits to dip. I would definitely go for the cheese again.
Entree: With the Feast Dinner, you get to choose 6 meats/fish. We tried the Chinoise Swiss (sirloin wrapped around swiss cheese), Pacific Catch (mahi mahi was our catch of the day), Savage Duck (love the name), Kangaroo, Filet Mignon, and Sea Scallops. You also choose the method of how you want to cook the meats. We wanted to dip the meats so we went with a wine rosemary boiling method. It was - ok -. Should have gone with the German grilling method to preserve the taste of the meats.
But the whole process was totally fun. You get colored forks (to distinguish from your dining companion's), spear the meat, and dip it into the pot. We made the mistake of overcooking the first set. You only need a minute and a half really to cook through the chunks. Some were really good. Some were really tough. I enjoyed the seafood the most - probably cuz they were best boiled. I was not delighted with the taste of the food despite the 6 accompanying dipping sauces.
Dessert: So this was awesome. We picked the "Decadent One." Bittersweet Chocolate and hazelnut combo. Comes with a plate of goodies to dip - strawberries, apple chunks, grapes, cake, marshmallow, and even mini cream puffs. The chocolate was super smooth and rich, made so by the double boiler method of their quality fondue set. Loved it!
What made our dinner even better was that it was BYOB night with NO corkage. Normally it's $22. But you save all that and then some by coming on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. No wonder the restaurant was packed.
And you leave with a little gift certificate for a free bottle of wine upon your return visit.
Great option for a fun interactive dinner. Just watch out for the hot plate and the steam escaping from the pot. Bon appetit!
Saratoga, CA
Category: French
San Mateo, CA
Category: Fondue
Saratoga, CA
Category: Bars
Saratoga, CA
Category: French
Boulder Creek, CA
Category: Wineries
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