Le Bistro

Okay if the Dijon encrusted halibut with lemon chive beurre blanc is on the menu and you don’t get it, you’re missing out on a little piece of heaven. My dining companion had it and it was superb. The halibut was flaky and flavorful. Cooked to perfection. I had the lamb and it was absolutely delicious. Tender, mild, yum. Perfect portions. The chef is a master. There’s no high end coffee just your regular joe so we opted for port with our desserts. Excellent choice. Service is very good in this tiny little establishment. Make sure you make reservations. Bön appetit!

One of my favorite restaurants so intimate. Food is always amazing Love the small atmosphere. Bonus it is walking distance from my house. Hmm maybe this week-​end :) Wish they were still on open table.

My husband surprised me for our fifth anniversary and brought me here. We live just down the street, but I didn’t even know it existed. As we walked past the hubbub of downtown, I thought for sure we must be lost, but delightfully we were not.
I was just as surprised as we stepped inside. Le Bistro was TINY! But instantly had an intimate, cozy vibe. I was instantly excited for the meal that was about to unfold.
We began by opening one of the the 08 Grgich Hills cabs we brought and diving into bread and butter.
Menu was as tiny as the bistro interior, but prices are super reasonable.
We each chose a sale to start:
His: tomato & goat cheese: similar to a caprese… A perfectly ripe tomato, sliced and simply adorned with cheese, spices, and sauces. 5
Hers: Mixed greens with Gorgonzola, pecans:
Very simple salad, properly dressed. Gorgonzola shone brightly and was pure umami with the wine. 5
We moved on to entrees:
His: Filet with Gorgonzola: Beautiful, large filet, medium rare, succulent and perfect with the cab.
5
Hers: fettuccine and prawns with vodka sauce and chili flakes: hmmmm… This may be my own ignorance, but the sauce came out as a creamy, garlicky white sauce. I didn’t see any chili flake on the dish, and was also expecting to be a little tomatoey. The prawns were cooked perfectly and the sauce was buttery and delicious. 4
Desert: Pecan (I think there was another nut too) pie and small pot de crème with port. Not going to lie, I was slightly smashed by this point, but both were super delicious. We began with the pie and ended with the pot de crème. 5
A couple of quick notes:
My husband had a reservation several days in advance, and mentioned that immediately, yet the hostess said oh let me clear a table for you. Um… What? The redeeming factor was that we got to choose the table by the window with that perfect Euro/​café/​romantic feel.
Waitstaff was kind and very knowledgeable about menu, although slightly more casual in demeanor than I was expecting.
I am super excited that this place exists within walking distance of my house. Will go back and try to order the correct item this time.

Few meals (anywhere in the world) will beat Petaluma’s Le Bistro. (…and it isn’t even expensive.)
But one of my favorite things about Le Bistro is that Chef Cory always keeps a pretty good selection of port on hand. He also turns it regularly by including it in and with his deserts, which is rare and much appreciated, on both counts. (Most restaurants keep port on the shelf as if it is a hard liquor, which it is not — it has a relatively short shelf life and it terrible once its turned.)
One of the great things about being my mother’s son is that she has been going to Le Bistro ever since they opened, and so we have had some great experiences there over the years. Tonight was a great case in point.
Even though I «had to» taste 50+ chili’s, while running the judges at the Great Petaluma Chili Cook-​off, Salsa, and Beer Tasting event, I wasn’t going to pass up an invite to dine at Le Bistro for Mothers’ Day eve dinner.
As soon as I walked in I check the ports, as I usually do. It is rare that I run into a bottle of port here in the U.S. that I haven’t seen or tried before, but there it was, a Vintage 2008 from Quinta da Romaneira, a Quinta I had never heard of.
I asked if I could have a glass and was told that the bottle was a special gift that Chef Cory had received from a friend and they’d have to check with him. Sure enough he was willing to share with me, and it was EXCELLENT, which says a lot because I’m not a huge fan of Vintage Ports. Come to find out, it isn’t even available here in the U.S. so I got to try something really special. I thanked the Chef as we left (for his excellent food too!) and he said he was more than happy to share it because he knows I enjoy port.
And all our entrees were excellent. The father-​in-​law loved his pasta, which is a pretty rare event, my filet was incredible, and the wife’s halibut was as good as any we’ve had, and is $ 10 cheaper than the halibut «special» we recently had at another restaurant. And ZERT… forget about it. We ordered three to share and couldn’t get the chocolate pot de crème away from my non-​sweet toothed father-​in-​law. The other two were equally good, especially with a glass of Taylor Fladgates’ Late Bottle Vintage 2009 port.
Thanks Chef Cory for another incredible dining experience. We’ve eaten at the best restaurants around the globe and feel blessed to have one of our favorites restaurants in the world mere blocks from our house.
I love my hometown!

Six stars. Seriously.
— It’s a beautiful little space.
— The service was welcoming and relaxed.
— The small kitchen is clean and so calm, you can barely tell he’s cooking. You can see you’re in the hands of a pro.
— A chalkboard lists 12 wines by the glass, all $ 7 each. Simple.
— The bottled wines are all $ 25-​$ 30. Simple. We had a wonderful Spanish Albarino.
— The baby arugula salad with parmesan and dried cherries: amazing. So fresh, the dressing tasty and light.
— The ziti has a drizzle of a couple of different sauces including a pesto. The dish just gets better and better as you eat and everything slowly melds together.
— The fish special, halibut, had a fantastic dijon crust and perfectly cooked asparagus and green beans.
— The walnut tart is off the charts.
$ 80 for all that, including the bottle of wine and a bottle of sparkling water?
Petaluma has a lot of really good restaurants, but this is the crown jewel for us. Just perfect.

Finally get to try this tinny bistro. Love the cozy feeling of this place, almost like a private kitchen, especially when you can see the chef working behind the open kitchen. Wine selection is limited but food is yummy to the last bite. Dessert is not to be missed

Just celebrated my husbands birthday at LeBistro, wonderful! Great service! Filet Mignon perfect and pecan walnut torte delicious, Was going to share one but thank goodness wait staff recommended not. Wine perfect

great food. very small restaurant (only 9 tables). the mahi mahi was delicious. a bit on the more expensive side, but delicious

Absolutely outstanding! Had the fish special and have to rank it as the best fish dish I have ever had, hands down. The salads we shared were wonderful — dressings light and flavorful. Next time (for sure, a next time) I will have the lamb — had one bite and was sold. One of the best aspects was the size of plates — not enormous — so you had room for more courses. Oh yes!

We had been raving to our kids about this fabulous restaurant and planned to go there with them to share a special bottle of wine. I called almost a month in advance to make sure I could get a reservation and was told it was too early. I followed directions and called back 10 days before the date of the dinner. I was then told there were no reservations available that night. No apology. No suggestion that I try for another night. It wasn’t a holiday weekend or anything but a normal Saturday night. Why would I ever try again? We have many great restaurants in Petaluma that would welcome my business.

So sad to hear the news that Erin Walker, our lovely favorite server at Le Bistro, passed away. While on vacation last week, I was thinking about how no other restaurant holds a candle to Le Bistro, partly because of the great service we always received from Erin.
Here is the link to her obituary:
Corey, I’m so sorry for your loss.

The restaurant is temporarily closed due a family emergency and hopes to reopen ASAP. Check my food column «Tip of My Tongue» in the Petaluma Argus-​Courier for updates.

We called to make a reservation, and I asked for something around 8oclock. They took our reservation for 7:45 Sunday night.
The night of, I received a call that the restaurant had been empty for the last hour, and could we get there any earlier? A little out of the ordinary, but we were ready so we told them we would be there as soon as we could.
20 minutes later, on the road to the restaurant, we received another call that «the chef had put everything away, and would we like a recommendation for a different restaurant?»
They took our reservation, didn’t let us know that the restaurant usually closes at 8pm, and then canceled on us. Very bad customer service.

Small place so call ahead! Great service and great food. Nice menu and drink options with a great price point. Highly recommended.

Amazing. Perfect for a nice, intimate, romantic date night. Call ahead for reservations, this place is small and fills up fast. EVERYTHING on the menu is delicious. We’ve been a dozen times or so and it was delicious and wonderful every time. One of my very favorites.

Just had an amazing meal at this little gem of a restaurant. I was charmed by the excellent food, friendly service and reasonable prices. Each dish was carefully prepared and delicious. I will definitely be back!

We were pointed toward Le Bistro by a friend who knows pretty much all of the spots worth knowing in Petaluma. With only 24 hours’ notice, we easily got a reservation on a Saturday night at this cozy little spot with only 9 tables.
We were seated immediately when we walked in (which was probably good considering there’s not a lot of floor space on which to wait around!). A lovely little table along the banquette, which was intimate but not all that private. Within just a moment, we had our wine opened and poured and a basket of tasty French bread in front of us to munch while we surveyed what the menu had to offer.
The menu here is simple but very well done, with a nice variety for differing appetites. The special of the night was the halibut, which our server pointed out was caught by her dad who was seated at the other end of the restaurant. (She didn’t get it when I asked if he caught it for a particular reason or just for the… halibut (!), but oh well). Cool as that was, I went with the pork loin medallions and my wife had the lamb.
We started by sharing a Roma tomato and goat cheese salad, which was very fresh and tasty – drizzled with olive oil and just a little pesto. The bread worked well as a scarpetta (look it up) to get the last tasty bits off the plate. Main dishes arrived soon after and they were beautiful! Healthy portions of my pork loin and her lamb, complimented by sublime sauces along with potatoes, asparagus spears, and fresh green beans. Truly, this was a dinner-​sized plate of food and not the $ 30 «sample» that it seems we’ve grown to expect. Both meats were cooked perfectly and the plates were clean shortly thereafter.
A couple of dessert specials were offered on our visit: a chocolate flourless cake with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate pot de crème with port wine. Those sounded and looked great, but we went with the brandy, pecan, and walnut tart and the Kahlua gelato torte, both of which were terrific and a perfect pairing to the last drops from our bottle of wine.
We learned during our visit that this place is a «mom and pop,» with the husband flying solo in the (very small and open) kitchen and the wife scurrying around the front of house, chatting and making sure everyone’s meals were satisfactory. I assure you, ours was!
We brought our own wine, so we were only on the hook for the $ 15 corkage, which is more than reasonable. Including the corkage and tip, we were out the door after this memorable dinner for under $ 100 – a steal in Sonoma County (in Healdsburg or Sonoma this would’ve been half again as much, at least!).
To the folks at Le Bistro, thank you for a wonderful meal! To the rest of you, make a reservation and get over there!

I love the tiny little place with the talented but quirky chef/​owner. I send people here all the time. Excellent food, romantic spot. Good wine list. Service is efficient but not overly warm. They try to do two seatings a night so if you want to linger go later. Great desserts. Love it!

Very bad experience today — our waiter never asked us if we wanted anything to drink. He didn’t take our order until we asked him repeatedly — we were the only table he had, the restaurant was empty. He never came by to ask how we were doing — I am not asking to be pampered but he made the entire dining experience very poor.

So, I live here. I can tell you that we, despite the new popularity by yuppie techs and marinites, that the only place to go back in the day was Cattlemans. I am a foodie too. I mean hello! I live in the wine Mecca of America and am in San Francisco daily. Of course I am! I was at French Laundry when you could eat there for 100 $ per person. (now 300). So… This place, Le Bistro Petaluma (known for chicken coops, dairies and arm wrestling) is a perfect place for a quiet simple perfectly prepared meal. It’s not trendy. In fact, I find the menu old fashioned but I was pleasantly surprised. Service was great! It’s for locals and non– pretentious visitors perhaps.

The food is really good.
But the service on the other hand is horrible and that’s why I’m giving it one star. I usually don’t write reviews, but after my last visit I don’t think I see myself going back there. I have been wanting to bring my boyfriend and friends there for a while now and when I finally did. Our customer service wasn’t the greatest. One of the girls had a horrible attitude and looked annoyed the whole time and would roll her eyes at us. She asked us what wine we wanted and when we told her we were ready to order as well she turned around and stormed off saying it would be a couple minutes. We waited a really long time to get our wine and and even be able to order our food. When she finally came back to bring us our wine we politely told her we wanted to order and she just sighed and walked off and told someone to take our order already. It’s a small place so you can feel the tension there.
As I said before the food is really good. But it’s not worth going there if I’m going to get shit service and feel bad to ask if I can order my food and drinks.

This place is the antithesis of your average frou frou, ridiculously priced, obscure ingredient, «we serve only farm to table», jive celebrity chef, aren’t we just so cool restaurant that you have ever visited.
The food is good. It’s well presented. The wine prices are not quadrupled. It is in fact, a bistro. The tables are close together, the place is small and the service-​so they say on this site-​is hit or miss. However, I’ve never had that experience here. My theory on people that trash the service is that they pretty much bring it on themselves. They usually don’t get something because they don’t ask for it. Hey, this restaurant is extremely small. How much can they possibly ignore you?
The prices are incredible. We had two apps, two entrees, one dessert, one bottle of wine and another two glasses of wine. The tab? $ 100.00.

Awesome romantic mini-​bistro. They only have a few tables and it is attractively low-​lit. The wait staff is very polite and professional and the food is worth the reservation.
To me, the most surprising thing about this spot was the prices – not an expensive place despite the atmosphere and quality.

By far the best restaurant I’ve had in Petaluma. The chef really knows what he’s doing! I had the tomato with goat cheese, tomato and roasted red pepper soup and the parmesan crusted prawns. The tomatoes were great– the balsamic sweetened them up and the goat cheese paired amazingly, while the tomato and roasted red pepper soup was perfectly balanced between the red peppers and tomatoes so the flavors weren’t overwhelming on either end.
The Parmesan crusted prawns are some of the best I’ve ever had — the chef really knew what he was doing, the parmesan crusted was a perfect compliment to the perfectly cooked prawns. His champagne pesto sauce had such complex, wonderful flavors I can’t even do them justice with a description, you’ll just have to go in and try them.
For dessert we overindulged and ordered 3 since we couldn’t narrow it down — Their crème brûlée and pecan walnut tart were all amazing. But if you’re there and the apple crisp is on the menu — order it. Its one of the best desserts I’ve ever had.
On top of the amazing food, the service was great. We really liked our servers and enjoyed joking around with them. The place has about 7 – 8 tables so I recommend making a reservation since they’re only open on weekends, but its really worth trying. For the food you get, the prices are really reasonable for a nice night out.

Wife and I stopped in for a quick bite to share. We had the arugula salad with proscuitto and a sherry vinaigrette, the halibut special and the mini pot de crème with a glass of port. The dessert with port was only $ 6!!! This place rocks, the service was awesome, I love the small intimate feel of the restaurant, the food came out so quickly and everything was so good. Not 1 complaint
We will be back for sure!