French themed date night

[goodetime]

Planning a romantic French Night Out. Planning around Gigi (the play) at UCLA.
Looking for pre-theater dinner and post dessert or drinks with
French themes. Coming from South Bay so ok with anything from Culver City to SaMo and inland to 3rd/melrose/etc.
Merci

[adelly]

Recommend Le Saint Amour or Meet in Culver City. LSA serves more traditional French, while Meet is more contemporary (the Escargots a L'ail under a Puff Pastry with Garlic and Parsley Butter is really good). I prefer the food at Meet but the ambiance at LSA (where you'll hear the proprietors, the waiters & many of the diners speaking French).

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Le Saint Amour
9725 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

[kd1133]

Second Le Saint Amour - the drive from Manhattan Beach will be 20 minutes longer than eating in Culver City. Le Saint Amour is charming and the staff/owner are very friendly and accommodating. Deserts there are phenomenal. Great atmosphere and the parking garages in Culver City are free.

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Le Saint Amour
9725 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

[westsidegal]

in terms of logistics Le Saint Amour beats all the other options handily.
proximity, parking,
imho, this is clearly the best choice.

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Le Saint Amour
9725 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

[goodetime]

Made reservations at Le Saint Amour.
Now any suggestions for apres-theater...west side/culver city

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Le Saint Amour
9725 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

[fbchase]

RH at the Andaz Hotel on the Sunset Strip for dinner. It's close to Westwood, and the food is wonderful. LA Times review here: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/...

[goodetime]

Thanks again for all the input. One of the more helpful uses of the Internet!
Leaning away from Bastide,Bouchon,and Melise as too pricey. Leaning towards Le St. Amour and Lilly's for menu and price. Intrigued by Ratata but maybe to casual. Will look again at Le petite Cafe and La Cachette. As was pointed out, timing may be an issue. Cafe Pierre still a possibility.
As an aside, what happened to Westwood? 20+ years ago it was happening. It still should be. It's right next to a University with thousands of students. Just my $.02

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La Cachette
Little Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90067

[Servorg]

20+ years ago you could have eaten at the Moustache Cafe and walked over to the play.

[J.L.]

(sigh)...

Those wonderful Grand Marnier souffles at Moustache Cafe certainly enhanced date nights with me and (the future) Mrs. J.L. during grad school back in the day...

(sigh)...

[westsidegal]

if it were me, i would not expect to start dinner at cafe pierre in manhattan beach at 5:30 and make it to UCLA and park in time to make curtain.
some theaters will not let late-comers take their seats until the second act. . . .

the drive time between manhattan beach and UCLA can be very unpredictable.
my preference would be to select a restaurant that is closer.

also, fwiw, when i had dinner at la cachette bistro last friday, it took the valet parkers over 15 minutes to retrieve my car after they were handed the ticket. if you count the time i was in line waiting to give them the ticket it was well over 20 minutes just to get the car.
the FOOD was wonderful, though.
since their dinner service starts at 6, time wise you will be cutting it very close

[citizenx]

I've not been but I've heard good things about Le Petit Cafe in SaMo.

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Le Petit Cafe
2842 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90404

[wienermobile]

Cafe Pierre in Manhattan Beach.
http://www.cafepierre.com/

[westsidegal]

dinner at cafe pierre in manhattan beach starts at 5:30pm.
curtain for the theater at UCLA ( with the attendant parking problem) is 8pm.

[New Trial]

Perhaps Bouchon in Beverly Hills? Mixed reviews here but I have had good meals there and think it would suit your needs.

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Bouchon Bistro
235 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[J.L.]

Soleil, in Westwood (corner of Westwood & Wilkins).
Ratata, also in Westwood.

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Soleil
1386 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

[foodiemahoodie]

Ratata?

The proprietors are very French. And very nice. But the food? Not something I could recommend with a clear conscience.

Lilly's on Abott Kinney in Venice.

Anisette would have been perfect, but unfortunately, they are closed. (but someone else is opening there - not sure when that's going to happen, but if you walk into that place - it's like walking into Paris. Very nicely done! Complete with a LONG zinc bar.

[J.L.]

My meals at Ratata have been solid. Not stellar, but certainly French and decent, in keeping with OP's criteria.

[goodhealthgourmet]

budget? without knowing that, my first thoughts are Melisse and Bastide.

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Melisse Restaurant
1104 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Bastide Restaurant
8475 Melrose Place, West Hollywood, CA 90069

[goodetime]

Probably less than that. Thinking about $100 before drinks/ wine.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i thought that might be the case, that's why i asked :) it sucks that La Cachette & Chez Mimi are both closed!

okay, in light of the budget, Le Saint Amour would definitely work. there's also Lilly's on Abbot Kinney.

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Lilly's French Cafe & Bar
1031 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

Le Saint Amour
9725 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

[westsidegal]

did the OP say that this was a request for tonight?
La Cachette Bistro on ocean in santa monica is only closed on mondays.
open all other nights.
1733 Ocean Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90401
[phone]

[goodhealthgourmet]

i meant Anisette, not La Cachette! thanks for the catch :)

do you think the menu at La Cachette is French enough for the OP's plan? it's a bit too eclectic/multinational, no?

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La Cachette
Little Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90067

[westsidegal]

i think the menu is french enough to work, but the problem is that dinner service starts at 6pm. can't imagine that OP would be able to eat and get to the theater for an 8pm curtain.

[perk]

Isn't Anisette closed?

[Servorg]

If you look up a couple of posts goodhealth was making the point that, for the sake of this outing, it's too bad that both Anisette (he mistakenly wrote La Cachette) and Chez Mimi have shut their doors.

[goodetime]

Thanks for the suggestions. Keep them coming. The Date Night is not until 2/26. I know French dining is usually at a slower pace, but showtime is 8:00.

[kermalou]

Lilly's is a great idea for the OP, went there last week and it was perfect spot.

[westsidegal]

i believe that dinner service at melisse starts at 5:45 on saturdays.
the curtain time for the play at UCLA is 8pm.

[Servorg]

Perhaps Le Saint Amour in Culver City?

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Le Saint Amour
9725 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232