Tuesday, January 24, 2012

La Cachette Bistro: Great food but a generic upscale environment


I’ve been to La Cachette Bistro a few times now. 

The food is quite good. The chef, J.F. Meteigner definitely knows what he is doing in the kitchen. On one of my visits I had the homemade fromage de tete with a gribiche sause and it was as good as you get in France. In fact, many of his appetizers are exceptional.

The dishes run from California-French to traditional French, and the prices are in the $30 to $50 per person for a multi-course meal, not including wine or cocktails.

I hear the lunch menu is more forgiving on your pocketbook, but have yet to try it.

The service was of quality as well. Unfortunately not a French waiter, but still one who knew his business well enough.

My only complaint, and it is one that many may brush aside, is that while the decor is quite nice, it is generic. It's as if the owners asked the decorators for a generic upscale restaurant. And while that may be fine for many, I would guess that the discerning dinner will be put off by the lack of personality.

I would love to see this excellent chef in a kitchen of a restaurant that looked like it has been serving to the literary greats of Paris for the last 150 years - a place where when you step in you are immediately transported, putting you in the frame of mind for the excellent French meal that follows. Now that would create a memorable experience with a strong desire to return again!

Bottom line: Go for the food.


P.S. Go ahead and valet - resistance is futile. What street parking there is, is limited and fought over.

1 comment:

  1. Sadly, shortly after writing this La Cachette closed. Sadly, that's another French restaurant in Santa Monica closing down.

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