09/14/08

best french

by foodlover1825

Please don?t be mislead by other reviews of this restaurant that claim Bastide to be the most expensive French cuisine in Los Angeles and food playground to only the uber rich. In truth Bastide, with the addition of their new ala cart menu, the best opportunity for all who consider themselves ?foodies? a chance to truly have superb French Stylings that are within reach.

Because of the excellent ala cart menu we decide to subvert the chef?s eight-course menu and decided on our own food destiny. Appetizers:1) Risotto 2) Lobster and sweetbreads. The Risotto, burst with flavor and texture.The lobster and sweetbreads were like nothing we have ever had. Truly a baseline from which to judge all other sweetbreads. If you have always found yourself wanting to give sweetbread a shot but never been able to jump the shark... this is your chance. Entree?s:1) Beef 2) Scallops. Somewhat more complex, because of sauce & garnish pairing, new to Bastide Chef Paul Shoemaker is the gastronomic example of what new, fresh, and fun French cuisine is all about. Beef so tender and soft it literally melted without effort. Scallops... Perfect! Perfect! Perfect! 3-4 atop a potato, adorned with a fig compote? that pulls the flavor?s together and creates a flavor profile that will amaze you.

The Service without question was the most attentive, kind and generous without the pretense of old French dinning. Our server should be a consultant to all others how to be present and available without interruption or awkwardness. To be clear server?s that provide for your needs before you even know you have them should be rewarded NOT on the end cost of the bill, but rather for their service. The Dollar Down Truth: Food and Drink: $200 Tip: $150. Bastide is NOT out of reach. Appetizers start in the $20 range and ala cart entree?s the $40 range. The best steal in town a 3 course lunch pre fix for $35. You?d have to be crazy to go anywhere else in L.A. for pure French fun.

• Pros: french value
• Cons: none

Foodies and power brokers, shine your credit cards: West Hollywood's premier yet pricey dining experience is back.

by Contributor

In Short
Big wooden doors open onto a romantically lit stone courtyard with a smattering of tables. A wall of lush shrubbery adorns one interior room; the other is minimally decorated with a fireplace and plush black-and-white carpet. Celeb sightings happen, but the mostly gourmand and deal-closer crowd are more concerned with choosing between the two triple-digit prix-fixe menus. Courses are described as simply "fish" or "meat," then servers arrive with Californian/New American interpretations of the best meats and produce from nearby growers and farmers' markets.

05/02/08

Uninspired food; terrible service

by bartman17

Our dinner at Bastide was a complete failure - uninspired food, service that was beyond poor, and no care for the customer. When ordering, my son, who accompanied my wife and I , told the server that he was allergic to beans, nuts and legumes, and was assured that Bastide could adjust its tasting menu to accommodate his food allergies. But then, for dessert, he was served pistachio ice cream and a peanut butter/chocolate confection. He was also served a lobster dish in a green pea sauce topped with a pea filled ravioli. Worse yet, after my son pointed out to the waiter that peas are legumes, the waiter came back to the table and snidely announced that the chef was [incorrectly] certain that peas aren't legumes. The busser who brought bread to our table (six nice mini loaves) explained what each was. Unfortunately, even after twice asking him to repeat himself, no one in our party could understand his explanation. The same problem with explanations continued throughout the meal. Bastide doesn't describe its food preparations on the menu. This is done orally when food is brought to the table. But the descriptions were done so quickly, with so little expression, and with so many haute adjectives as to be impossible to understand. On two occassions, wine glasses were brought to the table, presumably to be filled for the next course, only to be mysteriously whisked away and replaced with different shaped and sized glasses before the wine was poured. But perhaps the most perplexing event of the evening was when the cheese course was "served." My son and I chose the 7 course dinner, my wife the 4 course dinner. The cheese course, which was supposed to be served to my son and me after the entrees and before the desserts, was served to us before any of the main courses. And then, again, whisked away. It turns out that it was served to the wrong table. Not the sort of mistake expected at one of the most expensive restaurants in Los Angeles.

• Pros: Friendly hostess. Nice room.
• Cons: Uninspired food. Confused service. Back talk to guests.

02/24/08

Practically perfect in every way

by tammywhynot

Where to begin? My husband and I both ordered the 7 course meal (you have two choices for dinner: 4 or 7 courses) with wine pairings. With the amuse bouche, it actually ended up being around 11 courses. This wasn't just dinner - it was an experience. The chef's treatment of the food was sublime. I actually requested a vegetarian 7 course menu, and it was fabulous. The chef was inventive and each course was a treat. As with the old Bastide, the service was exceptional. The staff treats your meal as the experience it is and paces it so you can enjoy each course. Tables are not crowded at all which is refreshing. The atmosphere was very romantic. This was my first time on the patio, and although I prefer the amusing flair of their decor indoors, outside was lovely also.

• Pros: Food, service
• Cons: none

01/23/08

Bastide is heavenly!!!

by fnsa

Seven courses from seventh heaven. Walter Manzke is LA's undisputed star on the culinary horizon; this is not merely French nouvelle - it's haute cuisine for the new millennium. The only problem is that every dish leaves you with culinary withdrawals - you want so much more of what you just had. The wine list reads like a tour around the world - a reasonably priced, exciting adventure. Go, go, go and be amazed that such a place exists in our jaded town!

• Pros: The food, the wines, the service
• Cons: Absolutely NOTHING!!!

10/24/07

Wonderful French Experience

by martinikitty13

I was looking forward to this meal for weeks. We began with some rose champagne and spiced nuts - fruity and full-bodied, not too sweet, a lovely way to begin any meal. To tide us over, we were provided with breadsticks (ok), sweet potato chips (crisp, spiced with paprika - yum) and little cheese puffs (delicious and still warm). Then the bread guy appeared with a lovely basket of bread: brioche with bacon, brioche with cheese, olive, rosemary potato and french baguette - each fresh and piping hot from the oven.... I think I had four in total! Then came the 3 amuses bouche - the first, a interpretation of the lobster taco with a shot of pure clear salsa, a bite of lobster with guacamole puree and a shot of tequila with lime sorbet, second, a hamachi sashimi with a spicy kick, and, the third, tuna tartar on uni gelee. The next course was the thai curry seafood soup - a bed of plump prawns and scallops, covered with a thai carrot and coconut soup, infused with garlic. Super delicious and comforting. Then, grilled sea bass on a pea puree, surrounded by grilled octopus and squid. The fish was so tender and delicately sweet; the grilled octopus and squid, perfectly smoky and plump. Then, pumpkin ravioli with pork belly and parmesan cheese, drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar ... yum.... Then, short rib with small veggies - fork-tender meat that melted in your mouth. The cheese course followed - wonderful little bites from goat cheese, triple cream, blue cheese, etc. served with sweet accompaniments of jam, fruit, and warm toasty raisin bread. A melon cocktail cleansed our palates - lime sorbet immersed in a watermelon juice bath. Then dessert - a chocolate souffle with green tea ice cream and coconut cream, and a shot of warm chocolate milk. As if that wasn't enough, we each got 2 pieces of homemade chocolates. Bastide is a wonderful special occasion restaurant but it is expensive. But it's worth every penny. check out my pictures on travbuddy.

• Pros: Wonderful food and service