Fraiche

10/01/2008 Posted by tbrennan1010

You would think this place would be good after being written up in the NY Times, but rumor has it that the editor wanted a piece of the Culver City action in the article and Fraiche was seemingly the "fine dining" choice in the city. Well think again. The publicity is so fabricated. The service is terrible from the host to the server. By the time our food arrived we were not happy that everything tasted bad. In hind sight, it might have been good but my date was ruined and beyond repair. Good luck to whoever decides to take a risk on this place.

Pros: Culver City

Cons: Staff needs improvement, ambiance is stuffy

10/01/2008 Posted by culvercityrocks

Do not go here -- The owner will yell at you, the server will rush you, and the food is substandard.

Pros: nothing

Cons: service, ownership

09/27/2008 Posted by RobPDog

I was strolling through downtown Culver City last Saturday night with my wife and mother. We saw several open tables at Fraiche at around 8:00. We walked in and I told the Maitre'd we wanted drinks and appetizers at the bar. We weren't that hungry and my elderly mother doesn't eat that much. He told us they had some cancellations and he would seat us in the patio area. We ordered 3 drinks, 2 appetizers and 1 entree, with the intention of ordering dessert. The waiters mood immediately changed and I sensed something was wrong. Within 30 seconds, the assistant Maitre'd approached us and questioned our order, suggesting we didn't order enough to justify a table in the exclusive Patio area which had the undeniable odor of urine. After successfully articulating(so I thought) to this guy our reason for the size of our order, he left. Immediately, the HEAD Maitre'd showed up at our table and told us we did not order enough to sit at a table. He told us we didn't even have a reservation and he did us a big favor by seating us. He raised his voice and was visibly upset. I felt very embarrassed that this guy was raising his voice at me in front of my wife and mother, not to mention the entire patio area. The bus boys were obviously embarrassed by their bosses antics as they were shaking their heads in disgust. Apparently, this is standard practice at this place. We walked out. This place must be on the brink of going under because I have never seen this type of micro management of a customer. I wanted to contact the owner and advise him of this situation with the Maitre'd. I think my concerns would have fallen on deaf ears because the irate little Maitre'd, was in fact the owner. I can assure you that I will never set foot in this place again. I will share my experience at this place with all my neighbors and friends.

09/27/2008 Posted by cabwarren

We ate at Fraiche for two nights running, on Weds. Sept. 24 and Thursday Sept. 25 (as walk-in escapees from Fords Filling Station). We had reservations on Wednesday for 6.30 but arrived early. We were seated promptly inside, and as we selected a bottle of wine our server asked for our order. The wine we selected was a white. We had wanted rose, but the Marques de Caceras, which sells, retail, for about $7, was about $40 (as I remember) on the wine list. Mistakenly, we gave it to him. The appetizer (beets with ricotta) and soup (corn) arrived before the wine did; we sent the soup back to be warmed because it was already cool. The bread was stale and not particularly interesting--some of it was greasy. The wine was poured--and it was corked! We sent it back, and a replacement was sent without a problem. The corn soup was OK, and the beet salad excellent. Then the entrees arrived before we had finished the appetizer and soup! We protested, and they were removed. The flat iron steak was cooked to order but not particularly tasty; the fries were great. The ravioli--ordered as the other entree--were ethereal. The dessert, semifreddo, was marvellous. On Thursday we were seated promptly outside. We explained to our server that we did not want to be rushed, and he said he would "customize" the pace of our order. The wine we ordered came before the appetizers this time. The bread was fresh this time. We had two of the in-house cured meats, and liked them. Our entrees--the monkfish with pureed potatoes and spinach, and the lamb stew--were excellent. Although we don't usually order dessert, because yesterday's had been so good we ordered the pear napoleon, which was pleasant but not exceptional. Overall I would recommend Fraiche for good food and decent prices in a nice setting, but ask the server to slow down on service if you don't want to be rushed.

Pros: Excellent food at decent prices; lively atmosphere

Cons: REALLY rushed service one out of two nights

08/26/2008 Posted by DineLA27

My husband and I eat out every Saturday night. This particular Saturday, I went with my girlfriends to check out this place. We got there early and checked in with the maitre d'/hostess. Not very nice! We've been to alot of places; mostly on the Westside/Beverly Hills and the maitre d's behavior was not acceptable. They told us our reservations were 15 minutes later than what was originally confirmed and just plain rude. We were fine with the time; it was the delivery (we were going to have a drink anyways). Turns out, they never came to seat us, instead we had to find the hostess to 'remind' them that it was now 15 minutes past the later time that they had changed our resos to. I do love the outdoor patio and the bar. The bartender was very good! My girlfriend ordered the Raspberry Mojito but asked for it to be made with vodka. The bartender told her that it would be better with rum. Bartender was right!! The food was good but since there are many other restaurants in town with better maitre d's and service, I will not go back there.

Pros: Great bar, great bartender, nice patio

Cons: Awful Maitre d

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

08/08/2008 Posted by HCT

We were having a lovely evening outdoors and the food was delicious, then we ordered a bottle of wine....The cork was clearly ruined, soaked through and it broke when the waiter tried to open it. We tasted it - not aweful, but not quite right (this is a wine we've had several times). So we sent it back. Of the thousands of bottles of wine we've ordered in restaurants, we've made this request maybe 3 times previously. Our waiter departed. The maitre de came over to tell us that the owner had tasted it and disagreed with us. Strange response, what's the point of telling that to a customer? But we demured and, having had less than 1/4 glass each, said be that as it may, we'd just like a replacement bottle. The maitre de returned again to inform us that the owner was unwilling to replace it. Shocked, we asked to speak with the proprieter - we weren't really asking for his opinion, we just didn't think it was good and wanted to replace it. The proprieter came to the table and proceeded to raise his voice in telling us that he has excellent wine credentials, that we were wrong, and that he would neither replace it, nor would he sell us another bottle of wine. When he said "I'm not in this business to loose money to people like you." We asked for the check and left - in shock. So yes, the food is good, but no customer should be treated that way certainly not over a bottle of wine that was $75 on the menu, meaning it probably cost him $30 wholesale. We would have spent that much in coffee & desert had he had the grace to provide a hospitible environment in his restaurant.

Pros: Great Food

Cons: The worst attitude and service I've ever experienced.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

07/31/2008 Posted by jeffreyla

A friend and I have a monthly dinner date around town and we scheduled July's at Fraiche on Tuesday evening. We were not dissappointed: the food was terrific. I started with seafood risotto which was beautifully cooked - bits and pieces of absolutely fresh seafood, a slightly creamy sauce and al dente rice. My main was a monkfish Francaise - something you don't find often in LA but is very popular back east: delicately cooked fish in a light egg batter. It was served in the creamiest, richest mashed potatoes i've ever had along with some nice, fresh sauteed spinach. Dessert was a Paris Brest stuffed with a hazelnut cream and topped off by spun sugar. It looked like a mini wedding cake! I washed the entire meal down with a nice French Rose champagne - yummy! We sat inside because my friend was afraid it might be too noisy on the patio out front but, when i go again, i'll sit outside - it's a lovely patio. Only slight negative was that the service was good and friendly but lacked a bit of polish. Didn't matter as it was a wonderful evening!

Pros: Yummy Food, lovely patio

Cons: Service needs a little polish

07/28/2008 Posted by WestLA3

My husband and I were so excited to finally try Fraiche and made a reservation for Sunday night at 6:15. The hostess was not friendly and our waitress seemed overworked. We ate on the patio which was relatively full and she was the only waitress out there. It took forever to put in our order and also to then be served the food. The wine list was great, but the food was a little less than average. I had the pork chop which was unimpressive and my husband had the flank steak which was very tough and didn't taste good at all. How can you screw up steak? We won't return.

Pros: Pretty decor

Cons: Service and food are both bad

07/21/2008 Posted by chaselangford

We've tried many times to get a table at Fraiche at the last minute but it is so popular that you really do need to plan ahead. This time we walked in on a Saturday at 6:30 and it was already packed. We ended up eating at one of the bar tables on the patio. The food was superb!!! from the steak, frites, salad, tar tar...loved it all. Our waitress was warm, elegant & attentive.....loved everything. This place is a new top favorite in our book. As I left I complimented the maitre de on how much we loved our experience and he sorta ignored me and gave me attitude which was weird. How odd to treat a HAPPY customer like that...??? Anyway....we'll be back!

Pros: this place has it all: food, service & atmosphere -- full homerun!

Cons: need to plan ahead but well worth it.

07/15/2008 Posted by VeniceBeachCruiser

I recently visited Fraiche for the third time and it was a disaster! I was with three of my young, gorgeous girlfriends and we didn't have a reservation, so we agreed to wait in the bar. We were told it would only be 30 minutes. After having to practically tackle the waitress in the bar area to get our order in, we had glasses of wine and two appetizers. We waited for nearly an hour and a half to hear back from the host. There were open tables, so we asked the maître d' about our wait. What a surprise, one of the open tables was now available. Once seated, we ordered a bottle of wine and four dishes from the dinner menu. Several minutes later the maître d' returned to tell us that we did not order enough food for the dinner service and that they were too busy to have us sitting there. Very tacky! We were spending over $50 per person in their restaurant! It was so classless. We had a stand-off and after I explained to him that I refused to order and pay for food I wouldn't be eating, he left the table. Then our food arrived before our bottle of wine! The maître d' brought our bottle of Côtes du Rhône. Unfortunately, we ordered white and he poured red, so once again, we had to wait to get the correct wine. Overall, the experience was terrible. If the restaurant was too busy to seat us, we would have gladly eaten in the bar area. But, don't seat me after I just spent over $80 in the bar on apps and drinks, and then ruin my meal by telling me I'm not spending enough money! The final kicker is that a table sat empty next to us the entire time we ate. I won't go back until the maître d' is fired! Great food. Terrible customer service. Not worth the money.

Pros: Great Food and Wine List

Cons: Terrible Customer Service and Snobby maître d'