la.foodblogging

Tucked into a semi-industrial block, just down the street from MTV studios in Santa Monica is Le Petit Cafe, the self proclaimed “Best French Bistro Restaurant in Santa Monica and Los Angeles”. I am hesitant to call any restaurant the best anything, but the food at Le Petit Cafe is pretty damn good.

For our first taste of Le Petit, we went on a Thursday night, we didn’t have a problem getting a table without a reservation, but could see that the small space fills up fast, a reservation may be a worthy precaution in the future. Our French speaking waitress showed us to our table with a smile, then brought over the menu written on a chalkboard and placed it at the end of our table. We decided to take advantage of the split plate option, where we both shared the main dish, but got our own full serving of sides and veggies for an additional $4. Each of us also ordered a starter and a glass of wine, a delicious Syrah that went nicely with the steak we would enjoy later.

I opted for the asparagus soup, while my fiancee chose the mushroom salad. The soup was smooth and flavorful, the salad was a bit of a mystery, but the light dressing and herbs on the raw mushrooms proved to be an excellent appetizer. Our shared Steak au Poivre was truly French medium rare, which is to say nearly bloody in the middle and warm on the outside. The mellow cream sauce was rich yet not too heavy. A side of ratatouille was served with mashed potatos and some carrots, all delicious and a great accompaniment to the steak.

Another benefit of sharing a plate is that there is a little more room for dessert. We opted for the creme brulee, which was loaded with fresh berries just under the crispy crust. The dessert was a great topping to a great meal. Even with splitting a plate, dinner was a bit on the pricey side. We did have appetizers, a glass of wine each and dessert, and it was woth the money, but it’s not an everday cafe type of place.

Le Petit Cafe
2842 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90404
310 829 6792

By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.