marjon farz

My boyfriend found this place at random while we were looking for restaurants in North pb. I give him so much credit for finding this place, because it is beyond adorable! I haven't really had the chance to explore this area, considering I lived in PB in Mission Beach for the last few years. It's definitely a Hidden Gem, more of a warm, cozy, local type of vibe. Inside the restaurant, you will immediately see a bakery, offering a variety of cakes cookies and pastries. We did our best to resist ourselves to not purchase something before we eat dinner. To the left is the restaurant, entered through tons of bottles of wine. The ambiance inside is adorable. They did a wonderful job of painting French Vineyards, to make you feel like you're an old French winery. They also have an outside patio if you prefer to sit outside. It was slightly chilly last night, so we sat inside, I also wanted to get the full ambiance field. Enjoyment of our experience did not stop here. The service was phenomenal! I think that's the first time I've ever described service as phenomenal. The hostess was super friendly, she was also running the bakery, so I was really impressed with her hospitality skills. Our server was just as cheerful, informative, and attentive to us. We ordered a variety of dishes, including some cocktails. We ordered the escargot, and the pork belly brussel sprouts as starters. I ordered the Cucumber cooler as a cocktail as well as a diet coke. I ordered the rack of lamb with scalloped potatoes, and my boyfriend ordered the flame young. It is also a lot of food! I definitely took a box with my leftovers home. Before we left, we ordered some pastries and cookies at the bakery, which I am planning to go back tomorrow to pick some more pastries up on my way to my mom's house. I will definitely be returning customer.

+13

Michelle Call

We stopped in for lunch the day before Thanksgiving and the food and service were outstanding even though they were also dealing with large takeout orders. The crepe florentine (we ordered without meat) was delicious with a lemony hollandaise. The burger, while a simple choice, was juicy and very tasty. Then we got way too many goods to take back from the bakery and a few baguettes. We’ve only sampled a few so far but top notch! Gluten Free - the macaron, carrot cake, crème brûlée, and spring basket are all Gluten Free (as of now, check when you go)!

Anna Webb

We stumbled on this place and totally had a great afternoon. He ordered the coffee which was traditional French and delicious, and I ordered the bloody Mary. I like mine mild and they accommodated! It had just the right amount of celery seed probably one of the best bloody Mary’s I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a few 😂). They brought out French bread, which was exactly what you expect from a French bread, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside with sweet cream butte. In addition, we ordered dessert. He ordered the tiramisu, excellent flavor and I ordered the marzipan raspberry cake. Perfect blend of almond marzipan with fresh raspberry filling. The cake was perfectly baked, not too dry not too moist. We will definitely go back again for brunch or dinner at the menu looked wonderful. Great music, service was impeccable and the atmosphere delightful! I highly recommend The French Gourmet.

+16

Diego Lundquist

I came here for my anniversary on their couple date night special. The French Gourmet did not disappoint!! My girlfriend and I were very much impressed with the food and service. Knowing of our special occasion, chief Alberto brought us our food and described in detail their cuisine. My new york strip was to perfection, as was her oven roasted duck breast. Even our salad and desserts were an absolute hit. Our waitress was also very attentive throughout our meal. We weren't sure what to expect, but we left so elated that we had to go went back over the weekend to pick up from their bakery for some authentic French pastries reminding us of our trips to Paris. Unfortunately my pictures do not do their food justice.

Jose Contreras

Ooh La, La! We ordered a bread appetizer that was the BEST bread ever. The croissant so flaky, cheese very sweet & chocolate chip roll tasty. We also got a bread basket w soft butter. We had an awesome salad w a poached egg & potatoes. We also had delicious cooked veggies in a tomato paste.

+1

Valerie

Sadly, this one-room, French bistro restaurant in PB is closing in January 2026. It has a fantastic bakery & quiches to go. French comfort food served here for lunch and dinner. A good wine selection. It was sold by the owner to a real estate developer who plans on building a high rise tower apartment building. Approval still pending due to the push-back from PB residents. Farewell lovely “The French Gourmet” !

Elaine Elefano

I've been here for regular and SDRW. Amazing as always. It's small and comfortable. I like the servers and the atmosphere. Their menu is great. Honestly, when someone asks me where to go for French food, I always recommend this place. I am not quite sure about authenticity but I'd like to think it's similar to what I'd get in France. Highly recommended 👌 Update 9/30/22: I don't know what happened but the onion soup wasn't very good. The risotto was also a bit underdone. I ate as much as I could, but it was disappointing. I'll still return, but maybe not for a while.

+1

Alicia Ji

Patio was perfectly shaded and had just the right amount of breeze! For San Diego Restaurant Week, the $25 lunch was extremely worth it! The appetizers didn’t stand out as much as the entrees & dessert. We especially loved the Raspberry Bagatelle and Eggs Benedict!! The 1/2 Pound Burger and Steak Pommes Frites were also cooked perfectly! Bread basket was delicious too

+10

Christopher Johnson & Ken Repp

We purchased pastries from the bakery and also ate in the restaurant. The pastries were delicious with the exception of the macrons. They were too sweet and weren't nearly as good as you would get in Paris. We bought 10 and didn't eat all of them - and we love macrons. The restaurant was a lovely experience. The staff were relaxed and friendly, totally giving a sense of "settle in and enjoy yourself". The beet/pear salad (which was new to the menu) was a huge hit. I can't tell you the last time I had a salad that I raved about. We had the carpaccio as an appetizer, which was quite nice. My husband had the flatiron steak. He really enjoyed it. I ordered the rack of lamb, which was quite good. Both plates had very generous servings. We didn't have desert. When in San Diego, we will definitely be back.

Haylee Jane Monteiro

We had really good expectations from this place. Better definitely did not meet them. Server took a really really long time to take our order and then didn't even get them all correct. I asked for a Cappuccino with Almond Milk but what he got me look more like a latte. And it also ended up being oat milk instead of almond milk. The Escargot came out very quickly so that was a plus. Flavor was on point. Soft and garlicy and definitely did not taste likes snails, haha. We loved the fresh baguette on the table. Soft inside and crusty on the outside. Florentine Crepes actually looked like quite a mess on the plate but they tasted good. Creamy spinach filling was very nice. Portion size was very small though. Croissant Monsieur was sad. Too much cheese and bechamel sauce that it actually tasted like too much fat at once.. Croissant was also not flaky :( Nicoise Salad was the biggest disappointment! First of all it took the server at least 20 minutes to bring it out. And that's after I asked him about it in the middle. After he got it, I realized there was no boiled egg as expected. When I called him about it he said he would check with the kitchen. Got back and said there were no more boiled eggs and something they tried to boil actually blasted which is why there was nothing in the salad. The flavor of the salad would probably be a 1/10. It was very salty. The boiled egg was needed to balance it out. We didn't even end up finishing the dish.

+1

Used to be my favorite place for a good cake, not any more. Today I got what looks to be a delicious cake and I got a very bad one. The strawberries were black, I know is almost valentines day and they are busy, but today is just the 13 of February and the cake I got was old...the taste was awful. Nor only that, they made you wait since there was only 1 person working...too bad,my las $50 dollars invested in this place.

Oleksandr Danylov

Looked for a bakery working toll late to get a few pieces of cake after a long working day, and they said they are till 9pm. When I made it to their place at 8pm, they closed the door and told they have the bakery closed for today. I was a big disappointment and, of course, I will never come back or recommend it to anybody.