Best Contemporary French Restaurants in Echo Park

My best friend and I had dinner at this beautiful restaurant, which I would recommend to everyone! The decor and ambiance are warm, modern, and inviting. The aromas from the kitchen greet you the minute you walk in. At that moment, you know you have arrived at the right place. The libations: Drinks: We ordered the spritz and a dirty martini complete with a sidecar and the Japanese house vodka--yummy! The passionfruit spritz is fruity and dry at the same time! The dinner: Aioli grani is a medley of veggies from the farmer's market and tasty aioli. Sweet potato gratin--If this dish were a person, I would marry it. Wow! The balance between the sweet, cheesy, and savory consistency and flavor makes this my favorite of the night. Dry-aged burger and fries: The default for the meat is medium rare, which is a must! The grilled jalapenos added a nice kick! The French fries come with a dijon aioli and curry ketchup are tasty! The service? It was excellent and added much to the overall dining experience.

As usual, this was a wonderful evening. The service was great. The food was delicious and the setting, as always, was just this side of magical.

We sat at the Chef's Bar. It was cozy and so interesting watching the chef's cook. Jake was our server. He was outstanding. It was our first time at the restaurant, and he guided us beautifully through the menu, including by telling us HIS favorite dishes, which we always appreciate. Service was amazing; we never felt rushed, and our meal was timed perfectly. The food -- gosh, just next level. Even the classics were elevated by care of preparation, extra layers of taste, and beauty of presentation. At some places, these strengths come with a trade-off in smaller portions -- not here; the servings are generous. We started by sharing the beet salad and the onion soup gratin, then the mussels and fries for me and the Big Mec and fries for her; we finished with the triple-chocolate soufflé (chocolate soufflé, chocolate sauce, snd chocolate sorbet). The fries are cooked in clarified butter rather than oil, which makes for a cleaner potato taste. All the food was outstanding. The prices were fair in relation to value. Oh, and an excellent sidecar cocktail to start. And the baguette with a quality of butter that you can't get at the supermarket. Amazing place, wish we'd discovered it sooner, and will now return frequently. Amazing meal and fun evening!!!

This was our first time to see a performance of the LA OPERA. I wanted to have dinner before the performance and felt that something at the Music Center itself would be best because of the traffic. Good call. Viewing the menu in advance of our evening, it seemed good but frankly, I had only moderate expectations. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! We started dinner out with a shared Caesar Salad which was excellent and the bread was fantastic. For dinner, my wife had the Steak Frites and I had the Brick1/2 Chicken. They were both superb. Our server was extremely polite and attentive. The noise level was low. You can talk and actually hear what the other person is saying. This is going to be our new go-to restaurant prior to attending performances.

The escargot, the beef bourguignon , and the duck leg confit were all excellent. The frisée salad is also delicious and has a fantastic dressing. The lavender earl grey tea is really fantastic.