Chic Le Chef

Very good food. Everybody loves this place. I have something different every time and have yet to be disappointed. Small, quaint, clean, convenient.

My review is in regards to the hidden valley dine in location and not the catering. I took a late lunch around 1:30 and decided to try chic le chef as I’ve read good things about their food. When I walked in the door I thought I was in the wrong place. There were multiple tables of retired folks playing some sort of a card game. There was one table that wasn’t playing cards but it also didn’t have food on it. There didn’t seem to be a sign that said «wait to be seated» and we were not greeted when we walked in the door so we assumed it was self seating. As to stay as far away from the bingo crowd we chose the table next to the window. Our waitress came to greet us with menus and noticed our table was dirty. She went and grabbed a rag and wiped our table down but didn’t leave menus. I grabbed a loose menu from a table that was close. Waitress comes back and asks if we are ready to order and I mentioned she didn’t leave the menus, she says «oh yeah I put them on that table». Ok? I ask if a dinner item (fish and chips) could be ordered an hour before the dinner menu was served. She replied no and walked off as if we needed more time. When she finally returned we were more than ready to order. I ordered the lumpia to start and it was good. Followed it up with the Cali bacon burger. Burger was also good and the fries were an odd cut but good and crisp however the flavor of the garlic Parmesan on the fries was almost non existent. A little mustard and ketchup would have been great on the fries and by the time I thought about It I had noticed our waitress hadn’t brought either. I thought with a burger and fries those condiments wouldn’t be request only. It got a little busy with call in orders and we were forgotten, my lunch hour was well over and I had to go to the register for my check and a box. I’ve got no problem doing that but this place doesn’t portray itself as a pay at the counter restaurant. I paid my check boxed my food and got out of there but not before one of the bingo ladies complaining because I was walking behind to use the «other bathroom». I’m not sure if this was an off day but it was not what I was expecting. Good food for the area, bad service for any area.

Julie and the chefs, servers and bartender at Chic Le Chef are over-​the-​top wonderful! The food for our party was absolutely delicious and received rave reviews from our guests. But the ladies who prepared and served it made it so special. They were skilled, cheerful, resourceful, professional, and totally charming. Julie’s help with planning the meal and how the party would unfold was a huge help too. I’m so glad I chose Chic Le Chef for our party!

Chic le Chef was one of the smartest decisions I made for my wedding day. It goes without saying that the food was perfect and fed my entire party, but perhaps even more important for a bride to be was the assurances and professionalism of Julie and her staff. Two weeks before my wedding, an enormous fire engulfed Middletown, and many of our carefully laid plans went up in smoke. Despite being affected herself, Julie kept me calm and satisfied that all would go well on my big day. I recommend hiring her services for the tasty, gourmet quality of the food, the flexibility of the chefs to prepare the dishes we craved, the thoughtfulness of her staff, and the excellent customer service. Wish I could give her six stars.

We held a 25^th Wedding Anniversary at a local winery and hired Chic Le Chef to cater. They food was wonderful as was the service and the price was very fair, I would definitely recommend them for your next event.

I love the new dine-​in menu! The fish and chips and the burgers are excellent! They even make the brioche buns for the burgers in house. Plus, they still have a full specials menu every day! Always something out of the ordinary and delicious. And don’t even get me started on the desserts! Something new every week and always amazing. They have raised the prices a bit since they were just doing takeout, but they have also bumped up the portion sizes and it is well worth it! Staff is very friendly, the restaurant is kept clean, and Julie and Mario make you feel like family. I will continue to go to Chic Le Chef for a very long time!

I absolutely LOVE chic Le chef. I have eaten here more times that anywhere else (because I work a couple doors down) and everything is always awesome and fresh. The staff is very friendly and for the amount of food you get; the prices are more than reasonable.

We order food for my mom who can’t drive. Julie and Mario have been more than accommodating. And, most important of all, my mom loves the food! A business with heart and great food.-we love Chef Le Chic!

Love the food and the staff. Everything is tasty and great portions. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Thanks for a great place to eat locally
Love the food and the staff. Everything is tasty and great portions. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Thanks for a great place to eat locally

Great people, great food! Little expensive but a wonderful treat

Ever-​evolving Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake (half hour north of Calistoga) is my go-​to food-​to-​go life saver. Owners Julie & Rich are open Monday through Friday offering three lunch selections and three dinner selections. The daily menu can be found at their useful website or better yet; sign on to their mailing list and receive the menus daily in advance.
I am a former Sonoma County restaurant owner and chef, currently employed at one of the finest wineries in Napa Valley. My husband also works in fine food and wine. We know food. We know pricing relative to products received.
Julie is a magician with fish and for a mere $ 12 serves up delicate, lovely fish dishes sided with cous cous, orzo and other well-​made lovelies, along with house-​made bread and al dente veggies. Her meat and vegetarian offerings are equally delightful for only $ 9 each. The portions are appropriate, I sometimes worry she doesn’t charge enough for the amount of food provided.
I frequently order two entrees for my strapping husband (at $ 9 X2 = $ 18 for the food quality it is STILL a bargain) and he takes what he can’t finish for lunch the next day.
I am tempted to give Chic four stars instead of five because I don’t love the expensive, fancy, plastic containers Chic uses and would prefer plain white to-​go hard-​card paper boxes. The plastic containers have dividers keeping the food-​types seperate, but I would still rather have the cardboard and not fret about all that plastic, recyclable or not. Julie’s desserts are usually fantastic (though I try to resist) and inexpensive at $ 3.50 each. The little salads have so far been the only food I’ve found disappointing as the dressings are often bizarre as are the contents. Were Chic to offer another salad — a set, house salad, say — with a nice house-​made balsamic, spring greens, almonds, grapes, goat cheese — something like that — something consistent — then I would buy salads as well and take them to lunch the next day.
But I ask you; is any place perfect? Not yet, but Julie and Rich are working on it!
I give Chic 2 stars for the salads and plastic containers.
I give Chic nine stars (in my universe) for the food, the prices, the service, the email menus, for being sweethearts, for creativity. I only wish they had table service and wine!
Add this all together = 5 stars. Chic is a to-​go winner. Double yum!!!

You need to eat Chic Le Chef’s meals!
I have lived in Lake County for 6 years. I love it here but the first thing I missed was great food. All I could find was average to below average food that was poorly prepared, presented, and served. Having worked in restaurants for years, I am tough to please.
Enter Chic Le Chef… the owner (Julie) and her staff prepare dinner 3 nights per week and do it with a smile. They mix up their offerings nicely and do it all very well. Comfort food is the norm and they are also able to prepare delicious sauces, breads, and deserts.
I have been able to sample some of their catering offerings and they too are delicious.
If you are passing through, a local, or staying for a spell, you owe it to yourself and your company to stop by. M, W, and F dinners are reasonably priced and prepared for you to take home and enjoy.
5 Stars for certain!

I ordered hors d’oeuvres for 40 for my dad’s 80^th bday party and they were excellent! I chose 6 items from about 20 and they were delectable. The food arrived (almost) on time, the quantity was great and the presentation was beautiful. i communicated over email and phone, which was a bit slow at the beginning but once Julie and I hooked up, the rest was a piece of cake. Would definitely use them again.

Had them cater my wedding and everyone was disappointed. They had kids serving my guest at my wedding so unprofessional! Everyone was wondering where the food was, once the food was placed on the table the kids they hired walked around taking dishes off the table before ppl began/​finished eating!! The venue coordinator had to kick the chic le chef team out and take over before more chaos continued! Please look else and make the investment for good food and professional staff!

I loved this place for a bridal lunch i hosted. The food was delicious and the staff was super friendly and helpful! I highly recommend this place for your next event. Reasonable prices as well!

We recently had a destination wedding in Mendocino county. After tasting several catering companies, the decision to use chic le Chef was made. Most likely that was the single best decision that was made!
Julie and her crew created two separate menus, one for rehearsal, and one for the wedding dinner. We did a southern BBQ buffet in honor of the groom’s love of chicken wings, ribs, and crème brûlée. Everything was delicious. The meat on the ribs was so flavorful and fell off the bone. The crème brûlée was the top 3 that I’ve had. So creamy and delicious
The wedding dinner had guests talking the next day. Filet of beef, or stuffed chicken breast. (Not your typical hotel variety) the bone was left in, the chicken was as moist and delicious as any you could want. People were amazed at the quality of the beef. They weren’t sure they would get that quality in most 5 star restaurants! Julie’s crew served each table quickly, and efficiently. The sides were full of flavor, and after it was all over, they helped us with chairs and tables. Truly a delight to work with them. My only sadness is that they are so far away, and we might never get to use this amazing catering company again.
For the price, and the quality, I guarantee, this is the ONLY place you should be going for your catering needs.
Chic le chef tries to use fresh ingredients, and those that are in season. If you are a foodie, you won’t be sorry turning your catering needs over to Chic le Chef!