Le Rive Gauche

I was pleasantly surprised to find this cozy little French restaurant in Palos Verdes. My girlfriend and I were driving around one afternoon, and we noticed the sign ? La Rive Gauche, from the road. It was about four in the afternoon, and there was only one other couple in the restaurant. The owner, Jaques attended to us and was very friendly and charming. We started with a delicious appetizer, Coquille St. Jaques, which is a rich casserole with scallops and mushrooms in a cream sauce. We ordered a nice bottle of wine from the extensive wine list. Jaques recommended the Chateau du Pape, and it was excellent. Soup and salad was included with our meal and the cream of celery soup really hit the spot. For dinner I ordered the Veal Ossobucco and was definitely not disappointed. My girlfriend had salmon with a horse radish dijon cream sauce and was equally pleased. After dinner, we went for a walk on the trail above the restaurant to round out a truly romantic dining experience! Two thumbs way up for La Rive Gauche and Jaques. more

my craving for escargot is what lured me to this french restaurant - that and the fact that i heard it was well...delicious. the food was delicious, the escargot needed more garlic (but i'm a garlic-holic). the salmon in champagne sauce was excellent followed by a chocolate souffle and an extraordinary port wine. all this aside, the service was extremely lacking. at first, i thought it was only our waiter, but all the wait staff seemed either to have their mind somewhere else or cared not to be working. the waiter not even once poured the wine for us, leaving us to pour ourselves. was it because he had to pour it in a waterford decanter and was scared to pick it up??? i try to see the positive in all cases, but the peach walls & decor from the 80s blurred my vision and the xmas banquet in the background singing karaoke seemed all a bit too much. Pros: food is good, nice wine list, great dessert Cons: service was lacking...perhaps an off night???? more

I ate here on Christmas day. The food was good and enjoyed by all, but the staff passed out the dinner rolls like rations on a ship lost at sea. There was a quiet and somber air of stuffiness that permeated La Rive Gauche. Pros: easy parking more