Left Bank Menlo Park

Left Bank is our standby for good food (though over the years it has fluctuated at times), ambience, and pleasant surroundings. We have dined here frequently for many years. Also like the all day bistro menu which lets us come when we want to!
Unfortunately this time we brought friends to thank them for many favors and our waiter was "over the top" with his casual attitude. We had also had him earlier in the year and thought then he overstepped but this time it was inexcusable! He even show us pictures of his dogs at one point bantering away about himself all the while and the capper was when he was clearing and spilled water down the front of one of our guests.

Mussels and calamari were divine. Service was prompt, well-paced, and considerate. We will be back. Oh yes, ravioli best ever!!

Service wasn't as good as i remembered: waiter arrived quickly after we were seated and tried to take my order before he took my date's (she was amused). Food was a little slow in arriving but not bad; my wine, however, didn't arrive until the entree. The team who actually served the food were very good; my coq au vin was properly prepared table-side (and was very tasty). Overall, it's fine, but a couple of slips on the waiter's part diminished the experience a bit.

In direct contrast to many previous dining experiences at Left Bank, at both Larkspur and Menlo Park locations, this visit was extremely disappointing. Service definitely was inferior (quite spotty, and we had to ask for bread and water more than once); items brought to our table and put on our tab were not ordered; loud, disco-like music was very irritating, and first manager was unable to adjust either the volume or type of music, as we learned that both are "controlled by corporate"; mussels were excellent (always a reason for dining at Left Bank), but soup de jour and calamari fritti were decidedly ho hum; and plates, when finished, were not cleared within a reasonable period of time. At the end of the meal, second manager genuinely solicited our feedback regarding this unpleasant dining experience, and then kindly offered to adjust our tab--much appreciated, to be sure. This was to be a memorable special occasion for us at the Left Bank, but unquestionably and unfortunately it turned out to be otherwise.

Great dinner!

My vegetable soup was absolutely delicious...the service not so much. Understanding that the place was busy due to lack of personnel. Our table was set but that was about it for 15-20 minutes while we conversed. Asking for water twice didn’t work; drinks were delivered haphazardly, but my Manhattan was tasty. My skirt steak was just average and less than I would expect at a place like this. The frites part was bit disappointing because I remember them as being much better than they were tonight. Creme brûlée finished my meal off and was way to egg heavy in the mouth feel.
Must have been an off night. My past experiences have been good so I’ll return another time.

Just a great place. We LOVE it, everytime we visit and eat their great food

Authentic French with local fish, etc. wonderful decor, polite staff, delicious food, great desserts

Generally a pleasant place with reliable and good food. However I ordered chicken paillard/ and was served a flattened chicken breast that had been breaded/ also brined.
That’s not chicken paillard. Chicken paillard is pounded and not breaded and not brined. It was ok. Not delicious and not what I expected.

Had a wonderful Brunch this past weekend. Service was great and loved the Duck Confit Hash and the Fondue to start was great. WE had a bit of time constraint and but everyone help us get out on time. We sat in the main dining room but the patio looked lovely can't wait to get back and sit outside.

Food is not as good as it was a few years ago. Steak ordered med rare came medium and pork tenderloin had no taste. The food is not the same and we were very disapointed.

Great place for lunch. The menu had a good selection and the lamb sandwich was excellent.

A good place to meet friends for lunch. Easy to talk/listen. Never feel rushed.

Servers were very nice, but the first entree was cold and had to be sent back. Asked for salt & pepper, never came.

The service is still great but the quality of the food has really deteriorated. They need to get to work on re-training in the kitchen.

Second and last time I go to left bank. HORRIBLE service, slow and disorganized. food is wanna be French which is code for expensive Denny's.

The food is good but once again the service is horrible. Had to ask for refills three times....Had to go inside to get salt and pepper. Two out of three meals arrived, we waited and waited, asked two people, just ignored while we watched our third meal given to the wrong table. Had to wait for the third meal to come when they realized they had an extra plate when they tried to serve the other table with our meal.
They brought bread to one out of four tables, ignored the request for refills. The wait staff are awful, they just don't care, the servers don't know which table is which. We have been here many times and always hope that the service with improve but it doesn't.

Service was a bit slow this trip. Food was excellent.

We had a delightful evening at Left bank. We hadn’t been there in years. We were looking for something special for our anniversary and it was perfect. Friendly attentive staff and delicious food

Great food quality and preparation. Service is a bit stretched but very friendly.

The food was good (as usual), the service satisfactory, but the noise level was disturbingly high. As a result of the noise level, we will likely not return.

We went to Left Bank on a Monday night to celebrate my wife's birthday. We were happy to find a restaurant open on a Monday night. When we arrived, we were given the choice of anywhere in the restaurant to sit! We chose a large booth that was semi-secluded. For an appetizer, we chose fondue, and it came with both bread and fruit/veggies to dip in the molten cheese. The cheese was superb! For entrees, we both had the duck, and it was excellent. After our meal, our waiter brought my wife a creme brulee with a lighted candle on the side of the plate - it was complimentary (not many restaurants do that these days)! We shared it, and didn't need any other dessert. All in all, a great evening.

I’ve been going to LB for over 20 years. I think their food is at its best these days! Great mussels, steak tartare, lyonnaise salad, salmon, roasted chicken, just to name a few things you should try!

Everyone should come and enjoy the Thursday special Boeuf Bourgignon and profiteroles. Lovely evening with old friends, attentive service and authentic French cuisine. We had a lovely evening and will go back soon.

The food was excellent. But what a huge draft on a cold evening with so many doors and windows open.

Great as usual. The octopus special (Wednesday plat du jour) is particularly good.

ONE OF OUR REGULAR SPOTS. FOOD IS ALWAYS RELIABLE. HAD THE FRIDAY SPECIAL OF WHOLE BRANZINO. IT WAS TERRIFIC!

Food and is quite good, but service has steadily deteriorated and is now pretty poor. Long waits at almost every turn after being seated, and difficult to get a waiter's attention. Waiter whisked away our bread when we ordered bruschetta appetizers. After a long wait, mains showed up, followed by appetizers. To his credit, the server saw we already had our mains, so just turned around and took the appetizers with him. The waiter showed up with a totally different wine than we ordered - said he couldn't find the one we wanted. We took it, then when the check came discovered Left Bank charges the same for the two bottles, despite a marked difference in quality and cost. Speaking of the check, the bill we were given was for a small order at a different table. Eventually able to swap this for the right check, to pay our fair share.
I really like Left Bank and hope they can get back to where they used to be.

We love coming to Left Bank, and think of it as our special spot. The service is always exceptional here, with the staff being very attentive. They brought us a special dessert when we were there most recently since we were celebrating our anniversary, which was very sweet of them. The food is very authentic and always incredibly delicious. We love getting the French onion soup and steak frites. Would highly recommend this spot for a date night, special occasion, or just went you want delicious French food in a fun but casual environment.

We had the most amazing service I have ever had at a bay area restaurant. Gabe on of the front end managers oversaw the service and gave an incredible experience. We will host many of our business lunches here in the future. Thank you so much for the amazing service!!! :)

Always can count on Left Bank for a great meal and excellent service!

The service was a little slow for our group. The restaurant wasn’t that busy to warrant it.

I expected to get the same wonderful mussels as I've always ordered here. Now, instead of a light marinieres with spinach and a light fennel touch, they are served in a spicy tomato sauce reminiscent of southern Italian spaghetti. A disappointment.

Love this place...been going there for years...seems to only keep getting better after all these years! Great muscles, salmon steak & Fries. Try happy hour you won’t be disappointed !!

Always enjoy Left Bank. Always busy so make a reservation. Bar and outdoor seating for walk-ups.

Wonderful menu and great service. Their appetizers weren’t very good but the main dishes and service were excellent. Skip the escargot, fondue and calamari.

We went out for a family brunch celebration and had a really nice experience! Very good food in a classically beautiful dining room. Reasonable corkage. Service was spotty, though. It got busy but we were able to have a good conversation and linger over the meal. The bar looked like it could be fun in the evenings. Will try it again, most likely.

The food is delicious. I wish there were more seafood and vegetarian options. Our server, Steve, was simply amazing.

Very slow service, noisy, food just Ok. Lunch was better than dinner.

Over the last ~5 years we have come here for celebrations and with good friends, say every 6 months. The food used to be prepared perfectly; now, it is mediocre overall and some things are not even fully cooked (farro), or, obviously pre-cooked and poorly warmed (the 1/2 chicken), or very sloppy in the use of spices (concentrations of pepper, or the entire absence, on the duck), or just bland and visually dreadful (calamari). Very disappointing.