bar les frères

intimate place for delicious french food. a decade ago, the new yorker published "what happened to brie and chablis," a calvin trillin lamentation about the disappearance of so many delicious french foods from the american culinary psyche -- "and why did authorities ban / from restaurants all coq au vin?" well times have happily changed and i am pleased to report that many wonderful french classics are deliciously alive and well at bar les freres, including coq au vin, lobster bisque, lamb chops (with yummy gratin potatoes), a bibb lettuce salad that sparkled with herbs, chocolate mousse, blackberry tart. the atmosphere was lively, a touch of toulouse-lautrec -- a bit noisy inside, but we could actually hear each other at ourtablequite well. on the wine list they had a bottle of wine from the jura region (too much to consume on this visit, but next time!) service was friendly, knowledgeable, professional.

hmmm. maybe. we stood awkwardly at the door for a few minutes, wondering where or whom to check in with. made eye contact with a couple waiters, finally one had to walk by us to serve atableand said they would be right with us. 8:30 reservations on a wednesday, all tables full except a giant banquet table. we opted to wait for a smallertableto open, just a few minutes at the bar.

menu is small but chock full of good choices. wines by the bottle are very reasonably priced, only a touch over retail, not the 3x more found in so many restaurants.

apps were fabulous, the cheese soufflé and the scallops. mains were good, nothing amazing, coq au vin and the toulousse sausage. too full for dessert.

oddities: just didn't feel very welcome, maybe because of the wait at the door? plus, venue is very loud, especially with groups of clayton soccer moms getting their wine on. the place itself looks like disney's version of a french bistro, very kitschy (not that i don't like it, it kind of reminded me of the haunted mansion.)

we asked the waiter for water around appetizer time. never got any until manager type came up to ask how everything was, immediately noticed and got water for us during mains. no big deal, we didn't re-ask because we kind of wanted to see what would happen.

missed the good french bread and butter usually served at places like this. so is it as good as brasserie? no. would we go back? maybe, but i don't have a burning desire.

f & b director. we made early resv. for two, wks ago for v-day. arrived on time and there were at least ten two tops empty. we were put at a lg.boardtablewith another couple. thetablehad a rail ankel high and you couldn't put your legs under, only stepping over the rail. when we asked for another table, they offered one in the middle of the bar room while there were still more than six two tops against the walls. being in the business i wondered what was the rational for this. we had a great waiter named brian (no y) and as i watched, others were put at that same lg.tableand asked to be moved. they were put at the dueces along the walls. i though maybe for preferred customers, which was true for one nicetable( the owners doctor). here's the thing i spent over $180 (btl good wine) for two meals and thats worth better treatment. the ambiance.was wonderful, service good and the blinis were barely warm, the souffle bland, the mussels should be a app. but the duck was great! i have been in fine dining for 38 yrs, eaten at some of the best french restaurants from san fran to paris so i have been spoiled but never been seated like some step child that didn't deserve better.

great food, great service!. wonderful ambience--very trendy & cozy. loved the food--mytablehad 5 different dishes, and we loved each one of them, which is amazing considering that the menu isn't gigantic. despite all of the appetizers & entrees fitting on one small page, we felt like we had a lot to choose from, which says a lot about how enticing each menu selection is. the waiters were very present without being overbearing, and they made excellent recommendations. to top it all off, the entree prices were a notch below other high end restaurants. overall, a tremendous dining experience!

many couples endured very long waits for atabledespite three empty tables. inside is very, very loud. waiter was very good. it took quite a while for food to arrive but was very good. price was reasonable. overall we enjoyed the food but the experience was considerably lessened by the very long wait for atableand between courses.