Deep fried French toast was a different take on my usual breakfast staple; great flavor. And their espresso (Americano) is probably the best I have had in a while!
Dmitri A. Baldwin
Service and atmosphere was really good - the aesthetic of the place is very cute. However, I wouldn’t call this french cuisine. It feels like somebody learned the names of all of these french dishes but didn’t bother learning the recipe at all. The beef bourguignon had me asking if the server brought me the right thing - it was a block of braised beef with carrots and half a perl onion. It was not in a stew and there was no sauce. Then the mashed potatoes had sour cream which very heavily overpowered the taste of everything else. Definitely not what I would consider french cuisine, but a take on french cuisine. All that being said - the food was not bad. But I went to this restaurant with a craving for beef bourguignon, and the bourguignon was not bourguignon‘ing unfortunately.
Lori Archer
Not impressed with the offerings for happy hours decided to go to a different restaurant for dinner
Eboni R.
First time here, and we had a great experience! Excellent service, delicious food and coffee. We will definitely be back!
Chihiro Allen
I was staying at the adjacent Palihotel and decided to have a drink and dinner here. The hotel provided me with a welcome drink ticket which I was told I could use it anytime for one drink. Along with dinner I ordered a martini. Then before leaving I asked for an order a fries to go, and the bartender said i can’t because the kitchen closes at 9. Well, it was just exactly 9, and they never gave me a final order warning for food. So I asked for the check and presented my drink ticket. The bartender then told me to “next time don’t order top shelf with this ticket”.
The food and drinks were good, but the bartender was rude and I’m not going to be back for a “next time” to be treated like this. If the restaurant wants to serve only certain drink with the complimentary ticket, that needs to be clearly explained and printed on the ticket. And a last order warning would be much appreciated.
Noe Valenzuela
Review based on their happy hour. I did not try the regular menu.
Burgers are double patty and massive. Well worth the $10. The Parisenne is a little sloppy, but still tasty.
Keith Wilson
In town ok business. Decided to search for a breakfast spot with a cool vibe and I sure found it in St. James French Diner. Excellent service, wonderful food and Coffee. Great, old school music, in the background. My new 'go to when I return to San Diego! The server was excellent under pressure. Thank you. Keith.
David Rottblatt
We ordered the bouillabaisse and the steak frites. The bouillabaisse was mostly very good but some of the crab was cold leading me to think it was very recently frozen and hadnt defrosted enough. My wife had the steak frites which was served very rare while we asked for Medium rare. We had to send it back twice. They accommodated the requests but the service just wasnt there. I also had to ask for lemons for my water several times that never came. They have potential, but have a way to go.
Google said it was 24hour yet at 2:25 it was not open. Police said it was not open 24 since onset of pandemic (circa 2020) I travelled by bicycle down from Balboa Park in October 2024 to see that I wasted my energy to get no food. Google has been failing miserably on several listings including 6000s block Wilshire Big5 (where Los Angeles meets Beverly Hills) which is a vacant construction site yet Google says it's open in Sundays at that address until 8 pm
How are you even in business google? Fat CEOs and ZERO accountability
If you find yourself in San Diego - whether you're a local, tourist, or otherwise - do yourself a favor and drop by this restaurant! From the opening cocktail to the final spoonful of dessert, our meal here was an absolute delight. The service was exceptional and a consistent reflection of their wonderful vibes. Go here and thank yourself later. Cheers!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Croquettes
Jason G
Terrible attitude at this place. Came in for dinner and was turned away at 5PM because they had filled all reservation timeslots. Yet there were several empty tables when we were there. Not even offered to be called to texted in case of a cancellation. You never turn away any paying customer. Expecting 100% of all your reservations showing up is unrealistic. Their own website says walk-ins welcome, well that was a total lie.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Sicong Zhang
Bass is very yum
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Craig
The food was expertly prepared. The crème brûlée wasn't the strong point of the meal but was very acceptable. We'll try the chocolate soufflé next time. The steak frites was excellent. The ratatouille was excellent also. The oysters were professionally shucked.
Jaret
Went with my friend on Saturday evening at 5ish. We both ordered off happy hour. We got the burger parisienne ($10/ea), the daily house cocktail ($8/ea) which was a (very tiny) rose daiquiri, and split an order of fries ($5). The fries were reminiscent of McDonald's. The entire burger was way oversalted. Caramelized onions were ok. Bun was not good. The bordelaise sauce was off and too salty. If you are staying at the hotel it could be good but for locals not worth a trip downtown.
The food and service were very good.
Deep fried French toast was a different take on my usual breakfast staple; great flavor. And their espresso (Americano) is probably the best I have had in a while!
Service and atmosphere was really good - the aesthetic of the place is very cute. However, I wouldn’t call this french cuisine. It feels like somebody learned the names of all of these french dishes but didn’t bother learning the recipe at all. The beef bourguignon had me asking if the server brought me the right thing - it was a block of braised beef with carrots and half a perl onion. It was not in a stew and there was no sauce. Then the mashed potatoes had sour cream which very heavily overpowered the taste of everything else. Definitely not what I would consider french cuisine, but a take on french cuisine. All that being said - the food was not bad. But I went to this restaurant with a craving for beef bourguignon, and the bourguignon was not bourguignon‘ing unfortunately.
Not impressed with the offerings for happy hours decided to go to a different restaurant for dinner
First time here, and we had a great experience! Excellent service, delicious food and coffee. We will definitely be back!
I was staying at the adjacent Palihotel and decided to have a drink and dinner here. The hotel provided me with a welcome drink ticket which I was told I could use it anytime for one drink. Along with dinner I ordered a martini. Then before leaving I asked for an order a fries to go, and the bartender said i can’t because the kitchen closes at 9. Well, it was just exactly 9, and they never gave me a final order warning for food. So I asked for the check and presented my drink ticket. The bartender then told me to “next time don’t order top shelf with this ticket”.
The food and drinks were good, but the bartender was rude and I’m not going to be back for a “next time” to be treated like this. If the restaurant wants to serve only certain drink with the complimentary ticket, that needs to be clearly explained and printed on the ticket. And a last order warning would be much appreciated.
Review based on their happy hour. I did not try the regular menu.
Burgers are double patty and massive. Well worth the $10. The Parisenne is a little sloppy, but still tasty.
In town ok business. Decided to search for a breakfast spot with a cool vibe and I sure found it in St. James French Diner. Excellent service, wonderful food and Coffee. Great, old school music, in the background. My new 'go to when I return to San Diego! The server was excellent under pressure. Thank you. Keith.
We ordered the bouillabaisse and the steak frites. The bouillabaisse was mostly very good but some of the crab was cold leading me to think it was very recently frozen and hadnt defrosted enough. My wife had the steak frites which was served very rare while we asked for Medium rare. We had to send it back twice. They accommodated the requests but the service just wasnt there. I also had to ask for lemons for my water several times that never came. They have potential, but have a way to go.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Burrata Crostini, Steak Frites
Google said it was 24hour yet at 2:25 it was not open. Police said it was not open 24 since onset of pandemic (circa 2020) I travelled by bicycle down from Balboa Park in October 2024 to see that I wasted my energy to get no food. Google
has been failing miserably on several listings including 6000s block Wilshire Big5 (where Los Angeles meets Beverly Hills) which is a vacant construction site yet Google says it's open in Sundays at that address until 8 pm
How are you even in business google? Fat CEOs and ZERO accountability
Restaurantji Recommends
If you find yourself in San Diego - whether you're a local, tourist, or otherwise - do yourself a favor and drop by this restaurant! From the opening cocktail to the final spoonful of dessert, our meal here was an absolute delight. The service was exceptional and a consistent reflection of their wonderful vibes. Go here and thank yourself later. Cheers!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Croquettes
Terrible attitude at this place. Came in for dinner and was turned away at 5PM because they had filled all reservation timeslots. Yet there were several empty tables when we were there. Not even offered to be called to texted in case of a cancellation. You never turn away any paying customer. Expecting 100% of all your reservations showing up is unrealistic. Their own website says walk-ins welcome, well that was a total lie.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Bass is very yum
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was expertly prepared. The crème brûlée wasn't the strong point of the meal but was very acceptable. We'll try the chocolate soufflé next time. The steak frites was excellent. The ratatouille was excellent also. The oysters were professionally shucked.
Went with my friend on Saturday evening at 5ish. We both ordered off happy hour. We got the burger parisienne ($10/ea), the daily house cocktail ($8/ea) which was a (very tiny) rose daiquiri, and split an order of fries ($5). The fries were reminiscent of McDonald's. The entire burger was way oversalted. Caramelized onions were ok. Bun was not good. The bordelaise sauce was off and too salty. If you are staying at the hotel it could be good but for locals not worth a trip downtown.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
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