Chez Pierre

Such a great place. It feels very comfortable. There is a lot of care into the little things such as spoons placed just right on the dessert plates, sugar cube on the bowl of the spoon, replacing my napkin with a new one when I drop it to the floor, and eiffel tower on table with light. The owner came by to say hello to us. He is so friendly. He really cares about your dining experience. The four of us had a lovely dinner. We each had something different. They actually had Dover sole as a special which is rare. Most places say Dover sole when in actuality it’s not from Dover. Vert tasty. I personally had the veal piccata with fettucine and capers. Perfect. My BF had duck which he loved. They give you quite a lot. They have their own parking lot in back. Will always come back.

This is a lovely restaurant with excellent service and outstanding food. I highly recommend. It provides pâté with butter for your bread. The menu is varied enough that you eat there 7 days a week and not get bored. Try the onion tart — its really tasty. Chef Pierre is in the house doing his thing and will come out to talk to you. Not to be missed. Great for any occassion or a special occassion.

The dessert was amazing!

Truly enjoyed our dining experience! From the spicy squid through the entrees of steak tartare and orange roughy and desserts. The Sunday menu is a bargain for locals. Expect a tab of $ 110 for two with wine. Service and food are excellent.

Overrated for a good French Restaurant.
We ate here while at Desert Palm on Jan 16, 2016. The Unilocal reviews made us think it would be great but we were disappointed. The atmosphere was really nice and we were prepared for a great meal. we split an endive salad with walnuts. The salad dressing was unappealing. My wife had mussels in a white wine sauce. This was a real missed opportunity. The mussels themselves were fresh but the wine sauce was very bland. We have had a much richer, fuller sauces at other restaurants.
Likewise the cassoulet which is what I had. I love the idea of a cassoulet and it was served in a hot casserole dish as it should be. It had several types of sausage, a duck leg and some pork. All this was in a large amount of beans. The problem was the meats and the beans lacked flavor. It was as if the sausages and other meats had had the flavor drained out of them and yet the beans did not really reflect absorbing those juices. Again, we have had much better at other French restaurants.

We have been going to Chez Pierre for many years, dating back to the former location by the Trader Joe’s. It’s hearty provincal cuisine — read «come hungry». We loved the old location — especially «table 20» under the fairy lights. There’s something about the new location that doesn’t grab us. It’s bright. It’s not intimate. Pierre doesn’t seem to mingle as much. Bottom line is that if you’re very hungry and don’t care about the atmosphere — go! If you’re looking for a special night out in the desert there’s probably better choices.

This French Bistro will make you feel like you’re actually in France.
It all starts at the beautiful bar with a marvelous wine menu and ends with the best Crème Brûlée in town, not to mention the great staff.
On Sunday’s there is a Prix Fixe dinner available for $ 32.00.
I promise, you won’t be disappointed!
Here are a few photos of my favorite things on the menu!

Chez Pierre is my favorite restaurant in the Valley. The food is always masterful. I went for my birthday during restaurant week. They offered a 4 course meal. I started with Escargot. Then I had a soup. My wife had French onion with gruyer and I had a truffle/​mushroom soup. I chose the shrimp risotto which was wonderful, I went home and made it myself later in the week. It was a saffron with a shrimp broth and parmigiano. It had a hint of truffles. I use capers in mine and shallots. My wife had the salmon which was incredible. Actually I liked my wife’s meal better. It’s easy for me to make a lot of the dishes, but to get the salmon like he did, that’s magic. The dessert we both had was a cream puff and vanilla ice cream. They also brought me out a chocolate mouse that was as rich as a gouache. They even sang Happy birthday! The wine I ordered a Sancere they were out of but he suggested a Chabeli that was amazing. I am forgetting the name. Gounod Montrechate? I don’t remember. Real Chabeli is wonderful. All in all it was a wonderful time.

The food here was so good that it made me feel French.

I spent a week in Palm Desert with my fiancé visiting her parents. The first night we were there we decided to go to Chez Pierre for dinner… We literally ate there EVERY SINGLE NIGHT that we were in Palm Desert because it was so f-​ing good.
I even had frog legs, escargot (deliciously cooked snails). They were wonderful.

We’ve eaten here twice in 2105, and enjoyed both occasions. Enjoyed my sand dabs and my caesar salad. Excellent Martini, with just enough vermouth to take the edge off the gin. Nice selection of wines by the glass, priced fairly. My muscadel was perfect with my sand dabs. Service is helpful and caring. Owner-​chef was very visible both times, and came to our table to be sure everything was fine. We’ll return. You can pay more for French food in the desert, but not eat better.

Back here for dinner courtesy of our host last week and had a disappointing meal after our last great meal.
What went wrong?
There was no salmon I was craving, and after an avowal from management that all the fish is so fresh we instead went with the Sandabs.
It was either Sandabs or Orange Ruffy – the only fish they had that night. The Orange Ruffy is on the warning list of fish not to consume due to it having extremely high levels of mercury.
But what the heck are Sandabs you ask? Sounded like «Sand Crabs» when the waiter spoke it the first time.
Here is what the LA Times says:
«The sand dab is one of California’s better-​kept seafood secrets. Sand dabs inhabit the Pacific from Alaska to Central America, but the commercial fishing is restricted to the Pacific coast. Sand dabs have a delicate, sweet flavor unmatched by any other Pacific flatfish.»
Plate comes to the table: This seafood secret was breaded and fried by Chez Pierre, oily, greasy, and portion size of 2 little slivers for this big boy’s appetite. Taste was a bit on the rancid oil level – bad aftertaste. I was hunting for some cover to neutralize it. 5 minutes later it was gone and I was looking around to see if anyone had any leftovers. It came with oily thin green beans, and a fatty potato square with cheese. I know that they have a French term for it.
I really think that the waiters should have an obligation to disclose the portion size prior to order input. The salmon I wrote about before was a hefty filling delicious meal. This meal was for a child – you don’t serve that to a grown man! It was an appetizer masquerading as a $ 30.00+ entry.
Now the Cabbage, potato and bacon soup earlier was excellent but did not make up for this experience.
Here is an idea – what about on the menu have weight symbols next to the items to indicate portion size and fill? That would be very helpful.

We had a wonderful New Year’s Eve dinner. An extraordinary poisson soup and superb pasta entrée with a great meat sauce. Service was exemplary — attentive and unhurried. Esther and Pierre were as always, gracious hostess and host. I look forward to returning soon as it is now ‘cassoulett season’.

We were recently deeply disappointed in Chez Pierre, although have liked it in its older location. First, our reservation was not honored, so we had to wait at a filthy bar with no bartender. Service was harried & unfriendly. The food no better than average, a real let-​down for a French restaurant. My rabbit haunch arrived on a big — I mean huge — platter of plain old noodles, a dribble of sauce. Nothing unique or even interesting. Pierre is going backwards with fine cooking, trying to substitute gigantic sized portions over excellent food.

We enjoyed a nice French bistro dinner. Pâté’ with bread and butter to start, very nice.
The pomme frites were perfect and I really enjoyed my trout almandine. They were not very busy on a Friday night (7 other tables) but we enjoyed our dinner and plan to go back.

Many years ago whenever I went along Hillhurst Avenue, Pierre’s Los Feliz Inn caught my eye. By the time I had reached serious restaurant going age, Los Feliz Inn had disappeared, until I recently rediscovered it on Unilocal.However, it had transferred to the Coachella Valley where there are now more French restaurants per capita than the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area.
Back in 1988 besides the Los Feliz Inn, we had L’Orangerie, L’Hermitage, L’Escoffier, Le Restaurant, Le Chardonnay, Seame & Lilies, Le Bel Age, La Serre, La Toque, Bernard’s, & many more, but the number of French restaurants in LA is unfortunately dwindling so coming to the desert may be a better opportunity to sample French.
The reception at the front was warm & welcoming. But, my older waiter was just OK. He lacked enthusiasm, knowledge of the foods on the menu, that certain «Je né sais quoi» that would make dining at Chez Pierre interesting. He could as well have been an auto mechanic who recited the list of things that were wrong with your car.
The interior is a charmingly decorated with what most of us Americans would consider stereotypically «French», & closer to an informal Bistro style. Small models of the Tour Eiffel were on every table, & there were paintings matched to a French bistro theme as well as abstracts.
When I asked the waiter what white wines by the glass they had that would be refreshing on a rather muggy 101 degree day, he told me to just look at the wine list! I chose a Muscadet which is a Loire River Valley wine nearer to where it meets the sea since I saw that they served oysters for an appetizer which would pair well.
The Muscadet was rather «flabby» with little freshness & acid, no light taste of citrus undertones for which it is noted. Then the other shoe fell, when it came time to order the oysters from the printed menu, I was told it was too late in the season. So I had to use the Muscadet as a poor apéritif.
1) I changed course & got the Rilletes de Canard which was duck slow-​cooked in its own fat & was potted in a fancy stainless steel top mason jar. It was excessively dry & bland in flavour. The excellent complimentary Pâté de Foie de Volaille was far more flavourful with rich use of herbs that resonated well with the chicken liver. 2 slices of toasted baguette & cornichons of small pickled cucumbers were the accompaniments to the Rilletes.
2) Main course was Magret de Canard a l’Orange which was Maple Leaf duck breast in a demi-​glacé sauce accented with a bit of orange juice & possibly Grand Marnier. Thick slices of the meaty duck breast w/​the luscious skin still attached was fanned around an extremely well executed Gratin Dauphinois, better known in the USA as Pommes au Gratin which was w/​heavy cream, maybe a touch of garlic. The generous addition of a superior gruyère w/​rich dairy flavours, subtle sourness & Umami from the fermentation process was the high light of the meal.
At the 4 corners of the square plate were slices of oranges possibly w/​a touch of Cointreau that could be used as a palate cleanser between bites of the not gamy duck meat. In a separate dish used for gratins, there was a 2 part vegetable medley: one was a lightly tomato flavoured ratatouille & the other was parboiled vegetables with melted butter.
1−2a) I spied a Malbec, from an atypical region, Cahor in Southwest France. Malbec’s regional varietal home is Bordeaux. Château Lagrezette «Purple» was full of dark ripe brandied cherries, black berries, & was just jammy enough but countered by good light tannins & acid to balance the flavour profile. This Malbec did honor to the rilletes & especially to the well executed Magret de Canard.
I went for the old fashioned Profiteroles which usually are tiny cream puffs filled w/​a bit of crème patisserie, but the 2 at Chez Pierre are huge, filled with vanilla ice cream in a pool of chocolate sauce & an island of crème chantilly w/​a sprinkle of shaved almonds. The pâté a choux was crispy on the outside but moist inside w/​a sweet doughy texture. It was a satisfying old fashioned dessert which went well with a huge cup of Espresso doppio.
On my way out, Chef Pierre was holding court at a table with 3 women… Ah, those wiley Frenchmen! I congratulated him on his exquisite version of the Gratin Dauphinois w/​its fabulous use of high quality gruyère, & the bistro favorite, Canard a l’Orange.
Chef Pierre is a very amiable man so he indulged me by our having a short talk of another similar cheese by the Swiss French called Raclette. Although I had a few reservations of things in the restaurant, I didn’t have it in me to spoil his & my evening by bringing up criticisms which in the end would probably not change the restaurant. C’est la vie.
Overall, 3+ Unilocal stars. This is a good solid Bistro style French with only a few bumps that wouldn’t be noticed by most diners.

Dined on 03/​20/​2014 WAIT, WAIT, WAIT FOR AVERAGE FOOD
Food
³⁄₅
Ambience
²⁄₅
Service
²⁄₅
Noise Level
Quiet
We had a reservation for 4 people for 6:30 p.m. We were repeatedly told our seating was late but would be «just 15 more minutes»
and we ended up be seated more than an hour after our reservation time. Food and service were thereafter average and no one apologized for the delay (we had to sit on a concrete bench outside because the bar was full and is too small to accomodate more than a few people.
When it came time for dessert the waiter said they were sorry for our wait and would buy our dessert, but clearly stated that it would be ONE dessert per person (trust me, we weren’t thinking of ordering them all!)
Ambiance, attitude and service simply didn’t make it worth the long and irritating wait.

We had not been to Chez Pierre in ages and it was like coming home. Esther And Pierre are the consummate hosts. This is a charming French bistro with classic bistro food and you will not be disappointed. Their onion soup is superb!

My favorite French restaurant ever. I’ve been following Chef Pierre since his days at Pierre’s Los Feliz Inn in Los Angeles as a kid to Chez Pierre in Palm Desert. Holy smokes his cuisine is so delicious. I’ve eaten such an array of items on his menu which are all so delicious. I never know what to get so between my boyfriend and I we get such a variety of items from appetizers to deserts.
I would love to show pictures of the dishes we got but I can’t seem to figure out how to upload them. :(Just go try it out and you will not be disappointed at all. Promise!

My Better Half and I, enjoyed an evening at Chez Pierre last week, in it’s new location. We were So Impressed, we are going back again tonight.
The Hanger Steak was done to Perfection. It melts in your mouth with the caramelized onions smothering the top of my perfect piece of meat. If you looked closely enough, when my plate came back to the kitchen, you would notice I ran my bread though every bit of sauce on the plate, leaving noticeable trails of sauce enjoyment! Yes, sorry the vegetables Where still there! I detest Vegetables!
Better Half, enjoyed his Steak Au Poivre, and Nothing was left on his Plate.
We should have Stopped there, BUT NO, WE DID NOT…
On to Dessert… Since we had a bit left of a Wonderful Bottle of Wine, that Chef Pierre suggested, We thought we would only WINDOW SHOP the DESSERT, Yeah Right! Lets have some… BEIGNETS
OMG. The Very Best, served with three sides, talk about YUMMY
The only thing missing in this restaurant ?
Chairs WITH WHEELS on them so that management can Push you out the door and to your car!