The French Gourmet - Did they live up to their name?

The French Gourmet in Pacific Beach was very memorable this past weekend. It’s been quite awhile since my wife and I last visited, but we are sure glad we did. Our meal was great, the service excellent, and value undeniable. In fact, it felt like San Diego Restaurant Week had started early!

3 Course Prix Fixe Dinner for $25!!

Come on… how can you beat $25 for a 3 course French meal? You can’t! To start they server fresh french bread that was perfectly crispy, flaky, and super soft inside. Throw a little butter on and it’s like eating a pillow from heaven.

I started with their fish soup, which was rich and deep in flavor. It had a tomato base that held just the right amount of acidity to compliment the seafood (fish, mussels, and misc goodies).

My wife started with the French onion soup. While the cheese was tasty and perfectly melted, we prefer a soup that is a bit more robust in flavor. However, some people like a lighter flavor, so it may suit some better this way. It was good, but not great… you’ll have to go to France for that.

For my entree, I decided to get the catch of the day. It ended up being a red snapper. A minute or two later, I overheard the waiter telling the next table there was no more fish. Boy, I am glad that I got it! It was perfectly prepared with fresh butter and herbs, and perhaps a little paprika. It was accompanied by a potatoe au gratin (cheese) that was delicious and well recommended by our server. The outside was crisp and the inside a creamy cheesy goodness.

My wife ordered the filet mignon medallions, although it only came out with one medallion. Luckily it was sizable enough, so we didn’t really notice. It was topped with a beautiful bearnaise sauce that went really well with the meat. My only criticism here was that the meat itself was a little tough in certain areas and proved difficult to cut even with a steak knife.

Luckily for me, the French Gourmet is also a bakery. They bake some fantastic looking cakes, cookies, and pastries daily. So, when it came time for dessert, I was happily surprised to see that they added a pastry tray to their list of desserts. The tray probably had a dozen options, and we elected to sample the tiramisu cake and chocolate moouse cup with berries. The tiramisu was a bit better as it had a rich coffee flavor layered within the submerged cake. The chocolate moouse cup was decent, but the moouse lacked a little chocolate flavor in comparison to some others I’ve had before.

All in all, for $25, it was a huge success! The staff members were very nice and accomodating. I can’t wait to go back. So, “yes” the definitely live up to their name – The French Gourmet.

The French Gourmet

960 Turquoise Street

San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 488-1725

[google-map-v3 width=”580″ height=”350″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”roadmap” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”960 Turquoise Street, San Diego, CA 92109{}restaurant.png{}The French Gourmet” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]