RÊVE Bistro - Lafayette, California

Andy S.

Nice place. The staff and service were amazing. I expected a lot from the food from the other reviews I had read. I give the appetizers an 8 out of 10. I must have got the French onion soup on a bad night. I was disappointed. Not very much flavor. The ribeye was very good, and the dessert was the best. So I give the food a 7 out of 10.

S B.

Based on many very positive reviews, decided to make a reservation for 5:30pm on a Tuesday. We were greeted promptly upon arrival and seated right away. Overall, our interactions with all staff were very positive and friendly. Appreciated being asked by the hostess sitting us at our table if we would like still or sparkling water to start and we had a large bottle of San Pelligrino placed on our table within 30 seconds of sitting down.

Amuse-bouche: Cougeres were light and tasty as expected. Olives a la Provencale were tasty but I would have preferred a lot less garlic covering the olives. We were also provided with two small glasses of Gazpacho (chilled watermelon, tomatoes and strawberry) compliments of the chef which was much appreciated and tasty.

The Soupe a l'oignon gratinee was served hot and was quite tasty and authentically french.

The Noix St Jacques (scallops) were perfectly cooked and tender served with a delicious and tasty corn, mushroom risotto; however, the chef must not have tasted the scallops or he/she would have realized that there was too much salt added. The scallops were tender and usually don't require much salt to be added beyond what they have naturally. The tender and somewhat sweet taste of perfectly cooked fresh scallops was missing because of the extra salt.

The Filet de Fletan Poele (halibut) was perfectly cooked and served over a very tasty whipped polenta with chorizo chips.

Finished up with the Vanilla Creme Brulee which was quite tasty with a lightly toasted sugar topping.

Overall, we were quite pleased with our experience at this pricey French Bistro restaurant with only the salty scallops keeping this a four star instead of five star rating.

Abe S.

Relaxed atmosphere, friendly and helpful staff, authentic French cuisine

Rafael M. J.

Just took my wife to Reve in Lafayette for her birthday, and wow, what a night! This charming French restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor seating. We were blown away by the food and can’t wait to go back.

It was our first time diving into French cuisine. The meal started with an amuse-bouche, a chilled tomato, watermelon, and strawberry gazpacho. Talk about a refreshing start!

Next up, Gougeres. These bite-sized French cheese puffs were light, airy, and packed with cheesy goodness. Then came the escargot. The herb garlic butter made them quite tasty, but Julie was done after one bite. Turns out she had pet snails as a kid!

For the main course, Julie had Noix St Jacques, seared day boat scallops over Brentwood corn and summer mushroom risotto. While the scallops could have used a bit more searing, the flavors were spot on.

I went for the Moules Frites. Steamed PEI mussels in a white wine, shallots, garlic, and cream broth served with fries. The flavors were incredible, and the fries had the perfect crunch. Best fries I have had in a long time.

And of course, we ended the night with Julie’s favorite dessert: Crème Brûlée. One word: AMAZING!

J O.

I'll call it a 3.5, but give them the 4 star because they were nice.

Service was nice and very friendly. 5/5

Atmosphere was interesting. Tiny place, super casual. Would have liked to sit on the patio, but space was limited. 3.5/5

Food -. I really liked the complementary bread...but I was also very hungry. The escargot was good. The 16 oz steak was fine, nothing special at all. Pate was good. And the scallops were fine.

Price - The food is very simple and casual. But the price is a little closer to something that would be higher end. 2/5 for value.

F B. (.

It's not a fancy French restaurant, but definitely a gourmet French restaurant. Food is amazing. Service is excellent. Atmosphere is cozy and warm. Love it. No doubt it is Michelin mentioned. Only drawback is parking. Most of the parking spaces are compact and they are so tight. According to our waitress, they share parking spaces with the school next door. Maybe next time we will park there.

Jackie Z.

We came in on Black Friday night and started with that day’s special vegetable soup and the classic escargots. The soup is top notch, well-textured creamy base with a subtle lift of a special mixed vegetable taste. The flavor the escargots is at the lighter end of the spectrum. Be sure to leave some of the juices in the shell so that you can add them on while you are chewing their bigger than average escargots. Steak frites (medium rare) and ris de veau rôti (roasted veal sweetbread) are followed to wrap up the night. The thinner cut of the ribeye brings a more delicate tasting experience, the peppercorn sauce compensates well with the meat and most importantly - not too heavy. The offal flavor of the sweetbread is perfectly muted by the sauce, leaveing us only the joy of the tender and creamy mouthfeel. However, the best part of both entrees is no doubt the sautéed vegetable. Cooked to a perfect temperature, from just a day-to-day potato to morel mushroom, all the juice and freshness of each vegetable are held and packed with well-balanced flavor at the same time. In hindsight, we definitely recommend try out their sautéed vegetable dish if they have one on their menu of the day you visit. The dessert menu is relatively short but full of highlights, the floating island we ordered is definitely worth a try. The light mouthfeel from the briefly cooked floating egg whites compensates very well with the sweetness from sugar and vanilla. Service is amazing, fits perfectly with their comfort bistro vibe. Last but not least, please, drink some wine when you are in a french restaurant.

RÊVE Bistro gets rewarded as Michelin Bib Gourmand 2021. Just like what this award suppose to be, this is truly one of the top (if not the best) reasonably-priced french restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area.

Tam R.

We originally discovered this restaurant on Check Please Bay area. We had the pleasure of sampling the delicious food at the KQED Taste and Sip. We made a reservation for 4 at the restaurant. And we were very happy we did. From are starter to dessert every thing was delicious. Well worth a visit to Lafayette.