It was a so-so Thanksgiving Day menu. The turkey dinner was served with the food items stack on each other. A very cafeteria feel to the experience. The restaurant was busy so I'm going to cut the wait staff some slack. It didn't feel very festive.
Christina
The Thanksgiving experience was really disappointing in terms of the food and the lack of remediations. The starter salad was okay, but uneven. Some people received small portions and others large portions. The butternut squash soup was horrendous. Somebody clearly burned it. Many, many guests mentioned it. Whoever cooked the soup and whoever decided to still serve it should be fired. That was really unforgivable. The main dishes were okay 3 of us had the steak. Every one of them was over cooked. The Turkey and fixings was mediocre. One of our party liked the pumpkin pie. The apple pie as inedible. Hard, dry and tasteless. The pasty chef who made the pie should also be fired. Fortunately the restaurant has a nice ambiance and the service was decent given they appeared to be short staffed. I would eat at Left Bank again, the normal menu is generally good and reliable, but I would not do a holiday experience there again.
Elan
My friend and I both had the French onion soup which we both loved. He also had the tuna tartare with avocado mousse. It was more avocado than tuna and so heavily spiced that the tuna was lost. I had the fig and goat cheese salad. It only had one small disk of goat cheese and four tiny pieces of dried figs. Underwhelming. I've been to Cafe Vida which is next door and recommend that one far more.
Sylvana
Food was great, server not very friendly. Ordered bread and had to remind her after almost 20minutes. They charge 3% surcharge which is a rip off not many restaurants do that and WHY. This in addition to tipping of 20%
Joanna
I ordered tuna tartar, which used to be very good. This time it wasn't. It was mostly avocado paste; one could hardly feel the tuna.
Gus
The food is great. The ambience is great. The service is OK. The value is awful. What I don't like is that it took nearly 40 minutes to bring out the dessert. Seriously? How hard is it to scoop ice cream? My kids were getting restless and I needed to get them home for bed time. I realize the kitchen got slammed and that the restaurant was understaffed but then we should have been informed that dessert would take 35 - 40 minutes (right when the dinner rush started). Also, our service person completely ignored us during that time frame. I don't think she meant too. She was busy and probably ashamed that dessert was taking so long. At least the restaurant removed the desserts from the bill. And then the bill. $24 for an old-fashioned? It was OK and nothing special. No unique ice design or anythig else that stood out. $30 for a burger? $5 for a kid's Shirley Temple? It was times 3 so $15. And then adding 20% gratuity like they deserve it? We spent $260 for three adults and three kids and this was after the desserts were removed. I was the only one who had a drink and we didn't order appetizers. Three of the meals were kid's meals. I don't think I will be going out to eat at Left Bank. Those prices are ridiculous.
Mark
Duck confit was barely edible. The manager kindly removed it from the bill, which we appreciated. Green salad dressing was bland. Mussels below average. Bathroom was disgusting. Sorry to see things have gone downhill so far since our last visit a few years ago.
Debi
Been here before and loved it. This time ate inside and the service was mediocre. I had the goat cheese salad which was 18.00. I big plug of goat cheese on a bed of greens with some figs. Overpriced. My friend had the burger which was drowning in soggy arugula. She was not happy. Not sure if we will be back.
Mauri
Host tried to seat us in the bar, even though we had reservations. Restaurant was empty but he wanted to keep the restaurant tables open. Waited ~1 hour til food was served. 2 other tables (booth of 2 and family of 5) seated after us yet served before us. We were thinking of leaving when the waiter begged for our food. Food (artichoke ravioli, spinach, skirt steak with frites) was excellent but something was terribly off that evening. We'll likely not return even though it used to be one of our favorite restaurants in Menlo Park.
Jeffrey
Enjoyed an early dinner outside, lovely autumn temperatures. Heater were on which made it very comfortable. Attentive service even though we were one of only two table outdoors.
Lights were flickering more than 3 flys and fruit flys trying to land on food . Super gross server amazing did forget the butter i asked for and it was brought out cold . If i would've known then i would rather go to santana row for a better ambiance .
Khalil
My wife and I have been to this restaurant many times before. Last night's experience was a big disappointment. The French onion soup I ordered was swimming in an oily substance and tasted nothing like what French onion soup was supposed to taste like. The server was gracious enough and aplogized to us about thta. I then ordered a hamburger ($29) and the order came with nearly cold fries. All in all, last night's experience was not what we expected, especially at the price of $99 that included the tip and one glass of beer ordered by my wife.
Jacqueline
Today, I had dinner at Left Bank. We had an excellent time and experienced great service on behalf of all of the workers. In particular, the manager, Juan, was very attentive and took care of our needs. I felt very welcomed, the food was great, and would recommend this restaurant to any family looking for a great service, an excellent meal, and a good time.
Dirk Flote
Escargot undercooked even though ordered extra crispy. Bread was soaked in tasteless butter. Onion soup was bitter though cheese and Salt lvl were ok. Added a sneaky 3pct upcharge. Last visit was once good. Fries were over salted but otherwise good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Jackie Ward
Elizabeth was our amazing server. She was so helpful and sweet to us. We took our time and she was lovely.
It was a so-so Thanksgiving Day menu. The turkey dinner was served with the food items stack on each other. A very cafeteria feel to the experience. The restaurant was busy so I'm going to cut the wait staff some slack. It didn't feel very festive.
The Thanksgiving experience was really disappointing in terms of the food and the lack of remediations. The starter salad was okay, but uneven. Some people received small portions and others large portions. The butternut squash soup was horrendous. Somebody clearly burned it. Many, many guests mentioned it. Whoever cooked the soup and whoever decided to still serve it should be fired. That was really unforgivable. The main dishes were okay 3 of us had the steak. Every one of them was over cooked. The Turkey and fixings was mediocre. One of our party liked the pumpkin pie. The apple pie as inedible. Hard, dry and tasteless. The pasty chef who made the pie should also be fired. Fortunately the restaurant has a nice ambiance and the service was decent given they appeared to be short staffed. I would eat at Left Bank again, the normal menu is generally good and reliable, but I would not do a holiday experience there again.
My friend and I both had the French onion soup which we both loved. He also had the tuna tartare with avocado mousse. It was more avocado than tuna and so heavily spiced that the tuna was lost. I had the fig and goat cheese salad. It only had one small disk of goat cheese and four tiny pieces of dried figs. Underwhelming. I've been to Cafe Vida which is next door and recommend that one far more.
Food was great, server not very friendly. Ordered bread and had to remind her after almost 20minutes. They charge 3% surcharge which is a rip off not many restaurants do that and WHY. This in addition to tipping of 20%
I ordered tuna tartar, which used to be very good. This time it wasn't. It was mostly avocado paste; one could hardly feel the tuna.
The food is great. The ambience is great. The service is OK. The value is awful. What I don't like is that it took nearly 40 minutes to bring out the dessert. Seriously? How hard is it to scoop ice cream? My kids were getting restless and I needed to get them home for bed time. I realize the kitchen got slammed and that the restaurant was understaffed but then we should have been informed that dessert would take 35 - 40 minutes (right when the dinner rush started). Also, our service person completely ignored us during that time frame. I don't think she meant too. She was busy and probably ashamed that dessert was taking so long. At least the restaurant removed the desserts from the bill. And then the bill. $24 for an old-fashioned? It was OK and nothing special. No unique ice design or anythig else that stood out. $30 for a burger? $5 for a kid's Shirley Temple? It was times 3 so $15. And then adding 20% gratuity like they deserve it? We spent $260 for three adults and three kids and this was after the desserts were removed. I was the only one who had a drink and we didn't order appetizers. Three of the meals were kid's meals. I don't think I will be going out to eat at Left Bank. Those prices are ridiculous.
Duck confit was barely edible. The manager kindly removed it from the bill, which we appreciated. Green salad dressing was bland. Mussels below average. Bathroom was disgusting. Sorry to see things have gone downhill so far since our last visit a few years ago.
Been here before and loved it. This time ate inside and the service was mediocre. I had the goat cheese salad which was 18.00. I big plug of goat cheese on a bed of greens with some figs. Overpriced. My friend had the burger which was drowning in soggy arugula. She was not happy. Not sure if we will be back.
Host tried to seat us in the bar, even though we had reservations. Restaurant was empty but he wanted to keep the restaurant tables open. Waited ~1 hour til food was served. 2 other tables (booth of 2 and family of 5) seated after us yet served before us. We were thinking of leaving when the waiter begged for our food. Food (artichoke ravioli, spinach, skirt steak with frites) was excellent but something was terribly off that evening. We'll likely not return even though it used to be one of our favorite restaurants in Menlo Park.
Enjoyed an early dinner outside, lovely autumn temperatures. Heater were on which made it very comfortable. Attentive service even though we were one of only two table outdoors.
Restaurantji Recommends
Lights were flickering more than 3 flys and fruit flys trying to land on food . Super gross server amazing did forget the butter i asked for and it was brought out cold . If i would've known then i would rather go to santana row for a better ambiance .
My wife and I have been to this restaurant many times before. Last night's experience was a big disappointment. The French onion soup I ordered was swimming in an oily substance and tasted nothing like what French onion soup was supposed to taste like. The server was gracious enough and aplogized to us about thta. I then ordered a hamburger ($29) and the order came with nearly cold fries. All in all, last night's experience was not what we expected, especially at the price of $99 that included the tip and one glass of beer ordered by my wife.
Today, I had dinner at Left Bank. We had an excellent time and experienced great service on behalf of all of the workers. In particular, the manager, Juan, was very attentive and took care of our needs. I felt very welcomed, the food was great, and would recommend this restaurant to any family looking for a great service, an excellent meal, and a good time.
Escargot undercooked even though ordered extra crispy. Bread was soaked in tasteless butter. Onion soup was bitter though cheese and Salt lvl were ok. Added a sneaky 3pct upcharge. Last visit was once good. Fries were over salted but otherwise good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Elizabeth was our amazing server. She was so helpful and sweet to us. We took our time and she was lovely.
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