Le Comptoir - San Rafael

What a strange experience we had here…We loved Le Comptoir a few years ago. Amazing food and service but it’s clear something has changed. We were seated and waited sometime before being informed that there was no wine list despite an extensive number of wines at the bar. We were told to go “look at the fridge” of the grocery store they own next door. Ok…we’re not snobs…so we go and look at the wines and there are no prices whatsoever. We pick a wine and just go with it because it was a special occasion. We drink our wine, $46 a bottle (not bad luckily and wait for menus. We’re having a nice time chatting so it’s no concern, but about 25 minutes in we still don’t have a menu. The owner (I think? comes to our table, and while nice, he frankly seems like he’s had a few glasses himself. He sort of gives us a pretentious chat about how Americans don’t appreciate French food. He proceeds to tell us “you can have the tasting menu it’s $70 a person or if you don’t trust me I can tell you what we have”. Alight…no menus…we decide to trust him and go with the tasting menu. Here’s what that entailed…one shared appetizer of salmon pate, jambon and and beets. Some bread on the side. It was fine, but nothing to write home about. For dinner it was another shared plate of overcooked pork in a brown sauce and then a bunch of rice with shrimp on top. Not very French to me…I can make pretty great overcooked rice and Costco shrimp at home. The dessert was equally unceremonious, on a shared plate. A chocolate mousse, an apple tart, and a small cake with vanilla ice cream. It all tasted store bought and if it’s not oof. The kicker to all of this? $362 with tip for 3 people. Sheesh. For a tasting menu, I’d expect better food and service. On top of all this the service was just ok…walked away feeling ripped off. Sorry le comptoir, but get it together.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Le Comptoir last night. I had the beet salad and my entree was the salmon. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned and served on a bed of tasty vegetables. My daughter's fiancee had the mixed greens salad, the hangar steak, and a chocolate brulee. He thoroughly enjoyed everything along with some wine suggested by Stefan. The staff was very attentive and checked on us often. It was a delightful evening and we plan to return again very soon.

The food was delicious, and the house wine was good, but we didn’t appreciate the lack of a paper menu. The proprietor rattles off the dishes so quickly in his lovely accent, it’s hard to even catch words, let alone decide what to eat. The cost was quite high also. But worth it for the excellent cuisine.

Simple and warm welcome by Stéphane and SuzannaTasty cuisinePerfect wine and dish pairing by the French sommelier StéphaneThanks to Stéphane and SuzannaWe recommend

Just had dinner there with my lover last week or so. The staff including the owner are a riot once you get past the phony Gruff exterior who's the name is Stefan. I don't know if I've got the spelling right, so if you're reading this, S, get over it! Seriously: thanks for letting us in, I mean, genuinely welcomed in. Will be back again soon!