Bon Vivant

I absolutely love the foie gras here, I get it in the mignon dish and the appetizer. The bread here is also very delicious!

We had a lovely dinner and will come back as often as we can afford!

Really glad I found this place! Came in randomly because I just wanted a quick drink then found out that they do happy hour. The happy hour menu had a nice selection of wines and tapas — I wasn’t planning on eating but they had $ 1 oysters so I had to. Couldn’t stay for long but the dinner menu looks really good so will definitely come back for that.

Came here the last time I made a trip up north to visit some friends. We decided to make it an extra special trip and I’m glad we chose Bön Vivant! I loved the ambiance, it was classy and elegant. The service was extremely precise and on point. Having worked at many different caliber restaurants, I know good service when I see it. Anyways, back to the food. We got the Caramelized Foie Gras w/​pierre bonnet pear, coteaux du layon jelly, pâté de canard | $ 24. I loved that the Foie Gras was caramelized and it came with the bonnet pear. I’m a sucker for sweet and savory/​rich pairings and this was definitely one of my favorites for the night! We also got the the charcuterie and cheese plate to start. Nice assortment, and light portions, not to make you too full for the other courses. For the main we had the Duck Two Ways: Roasted duck breast, duck leg, sarladaise potatoes, chanterelle marmalade | $ 31 and the Filet Mignon Au Poivre. Both were amazing! I love a variety so being able to get the duck three was… I was sold. We finished the meal with the Grand Marnier Soufflé | $ 14 I would have tried more if I had any more space in my stomach but we were about to pop. Overall, great experience, great food and service. Making another trip up north in a few weeks and i’m hoping I can make it here for the brunch! Keep up the good work Bön Vivant, I will be back for more!

Very nice Bön Vivant! Very authentic French feel (studied abroad there for a semester but what do I know) and very yummy food! Foie gras was good but you usually know what to expect with that, my seabass for dinner was a huge portion and cooked very well (nice and rich!), and the grand marnier soufflé immediately caught my eye so I had to! Also loved the brioches! Could potentially come back just for those. Lastly, shout out to my French server Fabrice-​very nice guy. Merci BV!

Ate here with my best friend… slow service, undercooked food, and almost got locked in the bathroom! Had to press against the door with all my weight for about five minutes. Eventually had to kick the door open. A warning to all of those who aren’t very heavy or strong: enter at your own risk!
Not only that, but the service kept on ignoring us and never checked in to ask how our meal was, and the sea bass that we ordered was extremely undercooked to the point where it was nearly inedible.
Also did not receive my 1000 Opentable points for dining… they marked me as a «no show» even though I very clearly stated that I wanted to check in at the beginning of the meal. Very, very disappointed.

I sincerely apologize for such a late review, but place is definitely the spot to go to. The homemade bread from Bön Vivant definitely already captures my tastebuds. I love the salad here and the vegetables are definitely worth dying over for. I just wish I could come back to America to try it out again! One day I will! However, this place is the spot to go if you are around Palo Alto!

I’ve been meaning to try this place out and am so glad I finally did! The service was fantastic and I especially loved the atmosphere — Décor was on spot!
And most importantly, the food was really good.
My friend and I decided to split the mussels. They were served in this amazing white wine sauce that perfectly nailed the balance (thank you bread basket for making sure not a drop was missed!)
Next up I ordered the Quail served with foie gras and was pleasantly surprised. Plated beautifully, and although there were a bunch of tiny bones to work around, the flavor was worth it and not too gamey! Great duo and despite being pretty full towards the end. I am powerless to the forces of crème brûlée (which had a delightful hint of orange). The manager even stopped by toward the end to introduce himself, ask our feedback and thank us personally for stopping by. I’ll be coming back soon! Thanks for the amazing dining experience, Bön Vivant!

Had a wonderful night at Bön Vivant! It was a spur of the moment decision to dine here but we’re glad we did. Host was very kind and seated us promptly even though we didn’t have a reservation. Orders were taken quickly and everything was brought out at just the right time. I really enjoyed the «L’aigre bosto» bourbon cocktail with eggwhites. Wild mushroom tart for hors d’oeuvres was perfect – very flaky with excellent cheese filling (chevre) and mushrooms on top. Duck two ways for my entrée was also delicious! Great flavor and the sarladaise potatoes that came with it were heavenly. Only qualm was that dessert took a while, but our server mentioned that the soufflés take longer. The grand marnier soufflé was well worth the wait though. I’d come back for those alone!
Thanks Bön Vivant I was thoroughly impressed.

Only had some rose but noticed they now have a new cocktail menu with lots of tasty looking drinks-​will try some next time. Seabass and mushroom tart were my favorite. Also tried the beet salad and beef tartare. Grand marnier soufflé for dessert was decadent. This place is such a gem!

Had a great experience dining at Bön Vivant for a late mother’s day dinner celebration. Picked this place because my mom loves fois gras, and she was not disappointed! For starters, the place is super cute, great décor and nice music playing in the background to really set the ambiance. Everyone who works here was extremely pleasant and the food was great! We were absolutely stuffed when we left.
The homemade bread that came out at the beginning was delicious. It was like a mix between bread, a croissant and a muffin. The beet salad is like a painting on a plate and the side of seasonal vegetables was so damn good. The escargot were some of the biggest snails I have ever seen and the mushroom tart was flaky and delicious (I need to find another word).
Make sure you leave room for dessert because the Grand Mariner Soufflé and the Neapolitan are really good. You’re missing out if you leave without having at least one of them.

Amazing service, drinks were on point, food all delicious, will definitely be back! The mussels were my favorite

Dined here last night for my second time with a few friends. I absolutely love this place, from the charming interior to the presentation, everything is adorable! We started off with a few glasses the Mademoiselle L Bordeaux blend (amazing) and the charcuterie board. I had the Filet Mignon Au Poivre as my entrée, very impressed. Really liked the carrot purée. My friend’s rabbit was also fantastic, I will probably order that one next time!
We finished off sharing a couple desserts, you can’t go wrong with the chocolate soufflé! Service was top notch as well, 5 stars all around. Looking forward to trying Sunday brunch here as well. Go Bön Vivant!

I seriously don’t know why there is 3 and half stars because this place is AMAZING! This is one of our favorite places to eat ever if not our favorite!
The service is incredible!!! The food is outrageously good and the ambiance is perfect.
I seriously have never been to a place with service this amazing.
We have ordered everything from the scallops to
The rabbit. This time we got the sea bass and steak tartar which was incredible!!‘
I can’t rave enough about this place. If I could give this more than 5 starts I would.

Haven’t been to many formal places for tea but Bön Vivant seems to be doing something right. The décor and location was great. I was pleased with everything that was served. The macaroons, scone, madeleines, and chocolate cake were all delicious but above all I really enjoyed the fresh finger sandwiches! We had to opt in for the champagnge and our entire group had a great time.
We will definitely be returning soon!

I don’t usually go out of my way to write Unilocal reviews but this place was so impressive I just had to.
Foodwise, everything was amazing. From the house-​made brioches and desserts to the delicious lamb chops, everything was spectacular. The chocolate soufflé in particular really stood out to me because as a self-​proclaimed foodie, I know how hard it is to get the soufflé to rise perfectly and Bön Vivant simply killed it! Furthermore, I tried one of the restaurant’s specialty cocktails the, «BV Sidecar» — as the sidecar is one of my most favorite cocktails– and was genuinely impressed with how much better they made it. Definitely my new go-​to place for casually getting drinks.
The service was also really good. Our super-​nice server was very polite and patient with me as I asked a million questions about every dish and intelligent too when helping my boyfriend choose a wine.
We came, ate some great food, and left happy. What more could you ask for when going to a restaurant? Thanks Bön Vivant!

Despite the fancy décor and lavish menu (I mean how many places in Palo Alto serve escargot?), this place can be quite homey. It’s a family owned restaurant and you can tell by the friendly staff and crew. For example, a customer at the table next to us was pretty adamant about having grape juice, which the kitchen didn’t stock at the time. I think the waiter made a quick trip to the store to get some for the customer cuz 20 minutes later he had a full glass on his table. That’s some serious customer service.
This spot is definitely a date night kind of place or perfect for team and/​or corporate events. The portions are good and fair priced for the quality of the food. And here we go in order of FAVORITES!: My favorite dish was the sea bass (~$ 29). It was AMAZING and super moist with the flavor a totally soaked in.
My next favorite was the dessert. We had two soufflés and a crème brûlée. I’m not much of a cake kind of person, but was pleasantly surprised by the fluffiness of the soufflé. C’est parfait! The crème brûlée was good too and devoured in hot second.
The dessert was pretty much tied with the mussels which were superb. I was that person annoyingly reaching across the table to grab more every 2 seconds cuz I couldn’t stop eating them.
We also got the charcuterie plate which was also delicious. And what did me in were the 3 cheeses. Both were soft cheeses and you could tell they were definitely fresh, market bought.
Definitely check this place out if you get a chance! Weekends tend to be busier so I recommend weekdays for a more intimate experience :)

Oui, oui, oui! Bön Vivant est très bon!
(I took French for years in high school but can only remember a few phrases and a children’s song about little fish, so forgive me if the above is grammatically incorrect; I’m too lazy to Google it at the moment.)
I had dinner with a couple of high school friends at Bön Vivant last week, and it was superb. French cuisine is a treat for moi, and BV was no exception. It’s definitely a place to take someone you’d like to impress, so bring your family, friends, Hinge (is this the coolest dating app now?) date, SOs, co-​workers, in-​laws, etc.
My friends and I shared a bunch of appetizers: the mussels, wild mushroom tart, cheese and charcuterie platter, and escargot. Everything was great, but the obvious favorite was the mussels… sooo good and it was a generous portion. We also were presented with perfectly flakey brioche muffins which went nicely with the broth from the mussels. No one thought twice about NOT double-​dipping.
Entrée-​wise, I had the seabass. It had a crispy skin and literally MELTED in my mouth. Like, I was overcome with feelings of, «Oh-​my-​god-​this-​is-​so-​delicious-​I-​wish-​I-​could-​eat-​it-​every-​day-​for-​the-​rest-​of-​my-​life.» Ya feel me?
Don’t be a wuss and skip dessert because you’re stuffed, because you won’t be too full for the soufflé grand marnier. I almost tapped out but once I saw our waiter drizzling the soufflé sauce on top of our fluffy dessert, my stomach couldn’t say no. It was literally heaven on Earth.
Oh, and the manager, Boris, came around and greeted us and made sure we were having a good time. Thanks, Boris!
It’s 2am as I’m writing this and I’m too tired to think of a witty conclusion, so all I’ll say for now is that I’ll be back for brunch. Apparently, Boris brings his Chow Chow (named Coco) to the restaurant some weekends, so hopefully the stars will align and I’ll be able to play with Coco while enjoying a mimosa.

Came here the other night for dinner and drinks with a couple friends, and I was extremely impressed with the entire experience. The dinning room is really nice, I loved the décor, and it had a really upscale feel. The service was great, but the real reason I’m writing this review is because the food was outstanding.
We started with the Charcuterie Board, and Moules Marinière. The Charcuterie Board is almost entirely cured meats. They were all great, but I think that it would have gone well with some cheese. So, next time I’m here I think I will order the Cheese and Charcuterie Tasting Platter. Also, I’m usually not a huge fan of mussels, but I can not stop raving about the Moules Marinière! They were by far the best Mussels I have ever had, and I am no stranger to sea food.
For my entrée, I ordered the Filet Mignon Au Poivre. Not only was my steak perfect, but everything on the plate was fantastic, and all the components went really well together. I would recommend getting this, and I would definitely order it again. My friends had the Braised Rabbit and the Salmon. I tried both, and both were just as good as my filet. All-​in-​all it was a great dinner and I will be coming back soon. Thanks Bön Vivant!

Came here for Sunday brunch, made reservation on open table for 11:00. On their website it says open from 11:00 — 14:00, however when I showed up, they were closed. And they told me they open at 11:30. Maybe need to update their website then?
But the waiter was quite nice! He was really at tentative and friendly! So we didn’t feel really upset about the open hour. Have to say the service deserves 5+ stars! And we got free desserts and coffee~~
We got smoked salmon crêpe and duck confit benedict~ have to say. They tried really hard to plate and present their food, just I didn’t like the goat cheese in my smoked salmon crêpe. Maybe cream cheese will work better in this case?