Chevalier Restaurant

Philippe is an amazing chef and his team delivers a great service experience — so sorry that they will be closing this month. Three of us had dinner tonight, after a couple years of not being in, and it was as great as always. Cocktails were perfect and delivered quickly and all the classic French dishes were amazing — chefs great terrine, onion soup, the best steak tartare, incredible scallops and truffle, perfectly cooked steak, and a crazy good pork chop special. Good luck to chef on his next evolution with a private dining and catering business!

Chevalier is small elegant restaurant with a nice outside patio when it isn’t chilly outside. Being small, the restaurant has a nice intimate feel. Unlike many places, Chevalier still uses white tablecloths in lieu of white butcher paper.
In that it was a French restaurant, we tried the French onion soup. Both my wife and I said it was the best we ever had and we normally don’t say that phrase. The onions had a sweet flavor and the cheese was blended nicely instead of just being a thick crust on top.
We split everything in order to share more items. The special filet was nicely cooked and the natural juices made a nice base for the Swiss chard, vegetables and the potato beignet. Potato beignet — what’s that you ask? Think mashed potatoes rolled into a ball and deep fried. It looks like a beignet but looks can be deceptive; but in this case the presentation and taste was excellent.
They had a nice trumpet mushroom special appetizer with nice flavors. Eventually the mushrooms made their way to the steak plate to soak up the juice — shush — don’t tell the chef.
For dessert, we had the floating island that just melts in your mouth.
French food often has high priced ingredients with labor intensive preparation. As such, expect to pay a bit more. We were pleasantly surprised at the number of menu options and the quality for a small restaurant.
Unfortunately all good things must come to a close. The restaurant has been sold so you need to visit before December. Rumor has it they will be opening a new restaurant after some time off.

I found this place on Opentable since I wanted a venue that accepted the OT dollars. I was going on a first date and he and I planned on meeting there. I arrived early and waited inside at the bar. It was a little warm inside the restaurant so I was relieved to see that there was outdoor seating with heating lamps to keep us cozy. The staff was cordial and all said hello at one point or another.
We ended up sitting outside. An the dining proceeded. Our waitress was on pointe with all. She greeted us, took our drink orders, explained the menu and specials and most important had an engaging personality. For those who think that the restaurant and staff create your experience you are wrong. This is only half true. The other half is up to you. You must engage with the staff; yes, they are service industry professionals. They are not entertainers or servants.
Linda our waitress was off the hook. Not only did she know her job, as mentioned she was highly engaging. Fortunately, we were one of only two table outside and the last to leave so she was really able to «hang out» with us. Felipe the chef also came over to say hello on his way out. One always feels special when the chef comes over.
The food was amazing. I had picked this venue because I wanted a French experience. Not knowing the restaurant, I really didn’t know what to expect. I was not disappointed. My date and I shared Soupe à L’Oignon Gratinée, Beignets de Fleurs de Courgette Farcies au Fromage de Chèvre, and my all time favorite the Foie Gras which was the special. My entrée was the Risotto Arborio aux champignons sauvages, Oeuf Poché, Roquette, et Dentelle de Parmesan Croquant while my guest had the special of beef. Everything was delicious. Linda coursed out the meals thoughtfully and was so attentive.
I highly recommend this authentic French restaurant.
Merci.

Chef Phillipe, if you want an honest review (again) I would revisit for a comp’d/discounted meal. But I would not return and risk paying $ 200-​$ 400 for the same experience. At your prices surely you must know second chances are a lot to ask.

What does one do when their dinner entrée is under cooked? You could send it back (which I am not opposed to doing) or not upset the ambiance and eat it. I liked this restaurant and brought friends for the first time so I chose the latter.
Now I find the cut is so sinewy I cannot swallow it which leads to an embarrassing use of my napkin. I make the best of it and eat about half.
When the server asked if it was ok I told him it really wasn’t. He asked the chef/​owner to come talk to me. I tried to very politely to tell him my experience. He looked at the plate and said «Hmm, OK but you only left one bite.» NOT TRUE… but now he has put me in a position of defending myself and I refuse to go there and just said «I am trying in a nice way to help you.» No apology just «I will take care of it. «I understand this restaurant got robbed. I guess they know how we feel.
How would you feel about returning there?

Everything was good, except for the main course which was a pepper filet mignon. The sauce was delicious, but the meat was tough. I ordered medium well and it was medium rare. Also, it is smart to ask the price when it is the special. It was $ 20 more than the other entrees. The service was good. Portions very small. The mushrooms were delicious.

3, 4 would be a stretch. Clumsy boring suburban food. Can’t compare to SF (Chez Papa they are not) or even walnut creek for service or food. Many servers/​staff but still slow moving. They have a Michelin bib gourmand?
They ran out of beer and had to buy a keg? For the prix fixe: small wimpy salad, then salad served with the onglet rather than just some simple carrots, squash, or beans? The crème brûlée didn’t have a crusty top. The desserts were large though. Could improve on bread quality and slicing, not smashing.
Sorry I’ve had way better French food.

Chevalier
So how is this a good restaurant? I wasn’t impressed the first time I was recommended to dine here, and I always give a restaurant a second chance just in case the cook had a bad day on my first time out.
The Service was very slow.
Asparagus soup tasteless
Escargot tasteless
No one poured our wine after initial pouring
Steak ordered medium came medium rare to rare. I had to show the waitress and then she apologized and took it back.
We ordered the soufflé dessert early but was informed that it is not available due to the broken oven
Duck specialty dish was rare to more on the raw side. Ugh!
Granted I was spoiled by going to Gary Danko’s the evening before, but come on! How is this a good restaurant again?

I have been hear several times. I brought a friend for the first time.
Her steak had to be sent back because it was undercooked a lot.
My $ 50 Foie Gras was also slightly undercooked and cold. This was a special.
My friend called me at 915pm and said she was not feeling good. Also I didn’t see the owner and he usually comes out. The Wait staff was either moving too slow or overwhelmed a bit with too much work. I think maybe a substitute cook was the reason for all the items above. Also, three Soufflet on the menu and didn’t have any this night.

Friendly, family feel to a French restaurant with excellent food, great wine list and top notch service. Don’t be afraid to ask for knowledgable wine recommendations if French wine is not your field of expertise. By all means, have the duck!

Overall food was good, but the special I ordered, the foie gras was a huge disappointment. When it arrived the foie gras was lukewarm though it looked seared. When I cut into it the middle was cold and uncooked, tough, stringy and showed blood veins. When I brought to the server’s attention she simply said she would take it back to the kitchen to cook it some more. When it came back most of the frozen center of the foie gras was removed, leaving a meager bite with mushy sauce. For $ 49 I was expecting a little more and I think Philippe and the restaurant missed the mark. We spent over $ 400 for our party, and I wasn’t expecting to be comped for the uncooked foie gras, but to charge $ 49 for sub-​par service and delicacy made me think twice if I would come back to what used to be one of my fav restaurants in East Bay.

Went for Mother’s Day lunch. Patio is adorable. Food was tasty but…
1. They do not cater to children, at all.
2. The service was lax and made us feel like our requests were an inconvenience.
3. They forgot and never brought items we ordered.
4. On top of it all the prices were completely ridiculous.

Best Filet Mignon & Crème Brûlée I’ve ever had. Overall, pleasant, friendly & personable service. Food is excellent but I’ve had better French Food. Patio was quaint & cozy warm. I give it 4 stars because for a $ 500 bill (& that is without alcohol), I expect waaaaay more presentation in the dishes. The main meals look drab & colorless but it tastes fantastic. They could also make their bathrooms look nicer.

Mmmmmm foie gras! The best preparation I’ve ever tried, it simply melted in my mouth. We started with potato leek soup, escargot and foie gras, all starters really started us off right. The reisling paired well with them too.
My husband had the free range chicken and it’s very aromatic, i ordered the flat iron steak and requested it be pink in the middle, i was a little disappointed since it arrived a bit red for my liking — this girl has always been ridiculed to make shoes out of her meat — but hey I just wanted to practice my masticating power.
Anyhoo, my husband & I switched plates and my tummy is happy. Then came dessert, he had crème brûlée & and I had floating meringue of cloud goodness. Overall tummy happiness. The end.

I had a craving for sweetbreads en brouchette, like the dish I used to have in the 1950−1960s at 622 Green Street, in San Francisco, California.
On Sundays, my father would take my six brothers and sisters, and my mother, to 622 Green, and together, we would walk in single file, past the cheering bar, and into the dining area, where what awaited us was a dining feast, a happy staff, and a wonderfully fun-​filled, family event.
Fast forward to over 40 years later, and here I was, driving to Restaurant Chevalier, in time for a late dinner, and looking for something reminiscent of my childhood.
Upon arrival, I was greeted and welcomed at the door, by non other, than the very handsome head chef himself, Philippe Chevalier. Thus my introduction to Restaurant Chevalier was off to a great start!
I was escorted to a great corner table, where I was in a good vantage point to view the tastefully decorated room. Looking around the low, soft lit, romantic atmosphere, I immediately felt comfortable. The counter at the bar and the walls were made of a dark, rich wood, which complimented the room of carefully spaced, white linen covered, candlelit tables. The outside dining area, was inviting, where discreetly placed tables were set amid majestic trees, outlined in tiny twinkling lights.
A friendly and engaging waitress answered my question regarding what was a popular drink at the Chevalier. She recommended a grapefruitty vodka cocktail. Her recommendation, was wonderful, very light and refreshing. (Its name, however, The Bulldog, in my humble opinion, does not fit the beauty and taste of this delightful cocktail.
As I savored my citrusy concoction, a beautiful salad of fresh, butter leaf lettuce, cradling buttery toasted croutons and tiny cubed, deep red tomatoes, dressed in a light mustard vinaigrette, was set before me. Accompanied with a glass of refreshing sparkling water, the delightful flavor of the vinaigrette was enhanced and prolonged!
Soon, my palate was all set for the next course, a small plate of glistening, warm foie gras, peeking from beneath a profusion of sweet black cherries… not too many cherries, but just the right amount to enhance the delicate flavor of the creamy foie gras.
Then came some local Reisling, and a beautifully arranged dish of sweetbread en croute, delicate and soft sweetbread, surrounded by melt in your mouth roasted fingerling potatoes, tiny pieces of pancetta, two lightly toasted petite croutes with a criss cross pattern, and all on top of a savory, non overpowering, mushroom glaze. The flavors of all of the ingredients together, made for a memorable meal! It was different from what I remembered as a child however. At 622 Green, the mushroom sauce was not as savory, but seemed more buttery and had a hint of wine. Both interpretations were very good.
For dessert, I decided to wait the extra 20 minutes for the spectacular Soufflé, Grand Marnier. It was so beautiful, and looked like something you would see in Gourmet Magazine. I just had to take a picture of it, and incorporate the radiant single white crysanthemum, a flower which graced every table in the room.
What I truely relished that evening, was when Chef Philippe came out to see what I thought of the meal. He told me and fellow diners of his most interesting background, and we had a good discussion. I appreciate the interest he takes in his patrons’ thoughts and ideas, and I look forward to my next visit to my new favorite French restaurant, Chevalier!

Went back last night to celebrate the return of Foie Gras to California. The foie app was seared to perfection with cherry reduction, and the bread upon which the foie rested was drenched in foie-​fat and nearly as flavorful as the foie itself. Just fantastic, I’m salivating just thinking about my meal last night.
I just wanted to do the public service of announcing FOIE IS BACK at Chevalier. please enjoy.

I called ahead to make sure they could make me vegan food and they totally surprised me upon arrival by telling me the chef made me a personal soup. The star of my dinner was the vegan risotto… If your trying to eat better order it vegan. My man says his food was amazing as well and he is non veg… Service was on point… drinks and food are served and by two people very nice. Linda and Roland were our fabulous servers tonight

Exceptional French restaurant.
Classic French dishes executed perfectly. Classic plating. Awesome flavor. Great service.
Each dishes are more complex than it looks. Lot of thought have been put into those dishes.

Decided to try Chevalier for my mom’s birthday. She loves French food, so I figured this would be perfect! I easily made a reservation for 6 ppl via OpenTable for dinner on ⁷⁄₃ at 6:30p. We brought 2 bottles of red wine. Since ordering one bottle comps a corkage fee ($ 20 per bottle), we decided to get a bottle of Roederer sparkling rose ($ 75) to start.
Chevalier offers a 3 course prix fixe menu for $ 39. A steal! 3 ppl in our party ordered from this menu. You get one selection from each course below. Not sure if portion sizes are the same, but I’m listing the a la carte prices next to the dishes they offer in case anyone was curious.
1^st course:
–Soup du jour ($ 9) — Chef’s soup of the day. It was tomato soup that night.
–Salade maraichere et chevre chaud ($ 14) — Mixed green salad, warm crispy goat cheese, herbs de Provence, lemon thyme.
–Escargots de bourgogne ($ 13) — Burgundy snails in shell with butter, parsley, garlic. Probably the best of the prix fixe appetizers!
2^nd course:
–Poulet roti fermier a la tropezienne — Roasted Mary’s ranch free-​range chicken st tropez style served with potatoe purée.
–Bavette a l’echalotte — Piedmontese grass-​fed skirt steak, bordelaise sauce, served with pommes pont-​neuf.
–Risotto arborio aux petits artichauts et asperges vertes, oeuf poche, roquette, et dentelle de parmesan croquant — Arborio risotto with seasonal local baby artichokes, green asparagus, poached organic egg, arugula salad, parmesan crisp.
3^rd course:
–Ile flottante coulis de framboise ($ 10) — Floating island, raspberry coulis, roasted almonds with a caramel drizzle. I wasn’t a huge fan of this dish since it was kinda like eating a fruity saucy soup with meringue.
–Crème brûlée a la vanille fraiche de bourbon ($ 9) — Made with fresh vanilla bean from bourbon. The firmness, texture and vanilla bean flavor were all perfect!
–Selection de sorbets — Selection of sorbets.
We also ordered the following from the a la carte menu.
Soupe a l’oignon gratinee ($ 10) — Onion soup gratinee with gruyère cheese and baguette croutons. The soup was rich and meaty, balanced nicely with the sweetness of the onions.
Frisee salad lyonnaise ($ 16) — Frisee tossed in a dijon mustard vinaigrette, served with pancetta, croutons, and topped with poached organic egg.
Tartare de thon rouge et fromage de chevre frais ($ 22) — Fresh hawaiian ahi tuna tartar, layered with fresh goat cheese and topped with farm fresh quail egg.
Moules marinieres ($ 15 appetizer) — Steamed mussels with shallots, garlic, parsley, white wine & crème fraîche. The mussels were cooked perfectly and the sauce was to die for!
Mousse de foie de canard au porto ($ 16) — Duck liver mousse with port served with baguette toast, frisee radicchio salad, toasted pine nuts, raisins. A huge portion!
Terrine du chef ($ 14) — Housemade pâté served with cornichons, pearl onions, dijon mustard and homemade nicoise olive bread.
Noix de Coquille saint-​jacques petits pois, truffles fraiches d’ete ($ 35) — Seared diver scallops, snapped peas and fresh summer truffles. Came with 4 perfectly cooked scallops.
Vol au vent de ris de veau braise au madere et aux champignons de saison ($ 35) — Braised cheappetti Chicago natural ranch sweetbreads in puff pastry with Madeira and seasonal mushrooms.
Onglet sauce bordelaise, pommes frites ($ 37) — Piedmontese grass-​fed sirloin, bordelaise sauce, served with pommes pont-​neuf. This was was my dish. Since the preparations were identical, I was debating whether to get the prix fixe or the a la carte. I like my cuts on the tender side, so I decided to get the a la carte. I had tried a bite of both dishes & they were exactly the same cut! I brought this up to our server Linda & she insisted the skirt and sirloin were the same cut. (Don’t they came from different parts of the cow?!) She said the only difference in the 2 dishes is that the a la carte steak was a larger portion. I was going to let it go, but I decided to ask her one last time if she was positive the only difference is the portion size. She said she’d go ask the chef. When she came back, she apologized profusely and said she was mistaken. There is a misprint on the menu and it shouldn’t say sirloin.
To fix the mistake, they offered to comp the a la carte steak and give us a filet on the house. By this time everyone had finished their entrees and I was pretty full, so I asked if I could have a port on the house instead. She said of course, so I got the Dow’s 20 years tawny ($ 24). They also comped my dad’s Coffee ($ 3) as well.
When we got the bill, we saw they also comped us our 2^nd corkage fee ($ 20) which was really nice. There was only one server and one busboy on the floor so I know our server was pretty busy. I understand mistakes can happen, but Chevalier was willing to make up for the mistakes which is what turned this potential 1 – 2 star review into a 4 star review!

We sat in the outdoor patio since the evening was warm. The little lights that decorated the greenery and the soft music playing in the baground made me feel like I was in France! It was just beautiful and pleasant.
The food was exraordinary. Delicious escargot, and scallops for entrée. Crem Brule was perfect!
The service was just right. The checf himself came out a couple of times to say hello and to make the experience more personable. Very very nice place!