02/08/09

Scrumptuous food, nice ambience and staff, relatively low prices for what you get

by EatSimply

The food is amazing. Every dish I've ever had was either very good or simply mouth watering, especially the filet mignon (about $22). I've had steaks for three times the price that are not as good as the filet. The deserts are simply scrumptous, especially the fruit tarts (about $6). I would come here if the prices were twice what they are.

The atmosphere is simple and unprententious. You feel like you've escaped to some small out of the way Parisian cafe. The service is "slow": if you want to eat and run, you'll feel stressed. In Europe (and Cafe B.) the idea is to relax, enjoy a course, and then have a few minutes to chat before the next course arrives. My wife and I typically spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours for a dinner there, which is perfect for us.

Cafe B. is my favorite restaurant. I have been there maybe 15 times since discovering it a couple of years ago. I would be happy to come every week. It has become a favorite for anyone we've ever brought with us. I always look forward to going there and I am always quite content by the end of my visit.

In short: I come for the amazing food, but the ambience and the interactions with the waiters add to the enjoyment of the experience. Just don't come if you're in a hurry.

10/21/08

My husband and I frequent this restaurant.

by elef

My husband and I love this restaurant. We frequent it even though we're not Eagle Rock residents. It's casual, the food is good, the waiters are friendly and efficient. We have brought a lot of our friends here and we plan to bring more soon. I recommend this restaurant. It's simple French country food and not at all pretentious. As a mater of fact I think I'm eating dinner there again this Friday :) And don't mind the bad reviews at the bottom of this page. You should try this place. Find out for yourself. You won't be disappointed. And who knows, maybe those bad reviews come from competitors...

• Pros: Good food, good service.

09/19/08

A friendly, lovely place to have a good time....

by navelmaxime

We are going to this place since a year and never had a bad expeince, the decoration and the atmosphere are just like those little French Cafe place in Paris that i miss so much.

The food is also delicious and the owner and the staff are very friendly, i was disappointed to read some bad comments about that place but i guess that those come from people who usually like more coke and pop corn than a fine dinner. W e will come aain and again as long as the place will be like it....

Just addicted to it!!!!!

• Pros: Good food, nice decoration, friendly staff.

08/07/08

Old World French

by DONTSPAM

It's a great kept secret and one of my favorite french restaurants. If you need an eat-and-go dinner, which many americans are accustomed to, (like entrees in less than 20 mins after order is placed) then this is not the place for you. If you are still in love with your wife, or with a gaggle of chicks and want to gab over some delicious wine, this is your place. Food is authentic and bistro-like, not 5 star over-the-top elegance. Again, go somewhere else if that's your impression of french food. This place is how your average frenchy eats---think "Cheescake Factory" of Paris, but more intimate, better food, and a smaller menu. The wine list is adequate--you won't get Lafite Rothchild 1982 in here, but it will be good and reasonable. Totally reasonable. Oh, and if you hate hot waiters with french accents then this is definitely not your place. -xo to all you lovelies, Blair

• Pros: Good food, good choices, romantic
• Cons: parking, not for children

07/26/08

Delicious, perfectly cooked food

by jajajajak

I live down the street, so I frequent this place often. The staff run a tight ship and are very friendly and professional. The food is incredible -- perfectly cooked steaks, yummy side dishes, and all the cheesy buttery goodness you can handle.

Good ambiance inside. Not too casual, not too formal, good lighting and atmosphere all around.

I highly recommend this joint if you're in the Eagle Rock area and want to have your palate sing.

• Pros: Great Food, great service
• Cons: Probably will cost around $30 a person, but i think it's worth it.

06/19/08

Homey, charming, generous

by EzraDad

My folks live nearby and have long recommended we try Beaujolais, so we did last night. A Wednesday night, we were easily seated even without a reservation. The front room was large and already boisterous by 7:15, but we were ushered into a smaller back room, and drink orders were quickly taken. The service was efficient and quite friendly. The restaurant is truly typically French, the decor is sort of faux rustic bistro, complete with framed commercial posters, but the ambience was really animated and active, without being so loud you couldn't carry on a pleasant conversation.

The food was very good. Not the most spectacular, nothing remotely flashy about it, but it will remind many of a fine meal in a boite they ate way back when. I had the escargot, my wife a green salad -both, excellent, and, again, typically French, swimming in garlic. Our entree were steak frites and duck breast in a very, very good sauce. We shared a nice creme brulee for dessert. The service was leisurely, but we were done with the entire meal in 2 hours, which gave us tim to chat, and never feel like we were neglected. The entire meal was less than $100- quite a bargain!!

If we lived here, we would be regulars. If you enjoy good French food, a bit nostalgic, but not hackneyed, and a convivial room, you'll have a delightful evening.

• Pros: Food, Ambience
• Cons: Parking is not really bad, but maybe on weekends

06/11/08

Global cuisine without the travel

by socalnative2

I read some of the reviews here and was pretty disappointed that people have had a bad experience (or at least claim to have had a bad experience at CB). I have lived in Eagle Rock since 1999 (many days before it was trendy and before anyone even knew Cafe Beaujolais even existed). The waiters at Cafe B are dolls! Although I live close by, I have only been to CB perhaps a total of 6 times over the past year (there are so many options with Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale a hop, skip and jump away). Anyhow, in just those 8 times, the waiters know me by sight; they are always warm, seat me (and my friends) promptly; they are very attentive, gentle in their speech and I've never had a bad experience (even when I was a newbee).

I will say that the service can be a bit slow but part of that is cultural (French culture--all the staff are native Frenchmen). Understand that the French consider each meal (esp. dinner) a special event. It's a time for people to relax, linger over deep conversation, fully enjoy your food and be "in the moment."

Sadly, we Americans tend to always be in a rush which makes us inpatient and makes "us" seem rude. So, the next time you wonder why "you" had a bad experience at a place where most others have had a positive one, before you cut people down, think 1. Either it was a bad night. Let me try it again before I confirm this place is a wreck. Or, 2. Perhaps I'm the A-hole and I just don't see it. People are treating me the way I treat them. Hmmmm...now there's a thought.

All -- Try this beautiful little country-style restaurant before believing some of the very negative views of some folks. People are generally nice if you are nice to them.

• Pros: Wonderful servers, genuine French experience, nice ambiance, great food and decent wine list
• Cons: Parking, it does get hot in this place (no air conditioning) and it can be very busy

05/10/08

French Arrogance at Best

by brickwall

To this day, I have never encountered such arrogance from French waiters until we dined at this Cafe. I have studied in France for more than 10 years. Had never had any bad experience at any restaurant. I have heard many, many, bad stories about French waiters, especially from Cafe Beaujolais. I wanted to give it a try if its really true from what I heard. The food from this place, to be honest, is pretty good, even though it took very long to come to our table. The tiny room has a decent decor, but it was very warm. I was having an OK meal, until I ordered my Espresso. The waiter brought my beverage without ever asking if I needed sugar or cream. I had to wait more than ten minutes before some waiter payed attention. I asked the waiter," Can I have sugar? " He answered ," If you say PLEASE, maybe!!!!!!!! " Boy! I'm not coming here to beg for free food. I payed full price for food which tastes OK. What does that waiter think he is? My Mama?! I have to say please to him! Come On! Don't I have to pay tips !? That's what the waiter is here for , to help customers and to earn tips. I thought a good tip at the end would have taken care of everything. at the time he wanted me to say please, a tip of one penny was what he deserved. I WAS VERY PISSSSD!

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Arrogant waiters .C;mon ! We are not In Paris!

03/12/08

Humorless Machismo

by mollyhp

The food's okay, it ranges from an unfortunate mayonaissey, out of season salad to a nice salmon plate. The difficulty I have with this restaurant is the customer service. Come on guys, relax. We get that you work out a lot and that your FRENCH. Noted, box checked, read you loud and clear.

• Cons: snooty service,major machismo

03/10/08

Good food, bad service

by SuzyLoo

This cafe proves true to the French stereotype and gives all my French friends a bad reputation. The servers were so rude! My girlfriends and I were there early to secure a table before the mad dinner rush. The server kept moving us around and rudely pointed out that we were over our time limit...What? SORRY TO BE SO DUMB that I didn't realize we had to inhale our food and leave to make way for others who decided to come during the dinner rush. Then dinner turned to be good, not great but good. But the time we ate the taste in our mouth has already taken a turn for the worse...

• Pros: Good Food
• Cons: BAD BAD BAD Service.