Bon Vivant Cafe

This is a beautifully appointed restaurant and the wait staff were fine however, the food was well below par. We were there on a Thursday evening at 7.15pm - a busy time for dining in downtown Palo Alto -but  there were only 4 people in the entire restaurant. This was immediately a red flag for all 6 of us but we reluctantly decided to try it anyway as we liked the décor and it was relaxing. I do not know how they are still in business after a year and a half - get a new Chef! The place is lovely, great location - shame to see it close!

Very delightful dining experience. My wife and I are "veteran" Palo Alto residents with considerable dining experience but had not heard of BV until today and decided to give it a try. We were both impressed well beyond expectations. The food was fabulous:  scallops on bean purée with olives and cherry tomatoes, fennel and pear salad, duck breast entree, ravioli with arugula and black truffle, triple dessert sampler with pumpkin pot au creme, caramel bread pudding and chocolate torte with raspberry sauce, cappuccino. Wines (California in our case) by the glass were nice too and the short but widely varied list was intriguing.  Every dish was yummy and delivered with spectacular presentation. Service was smooth, timely and pleasant. Prices were reasonable for this level of dining.  We will definitely be back.

Had ZEE most glorious meal here!

I still reminisce about each tasty dish. The shrimp bisque, pate, french onion soup stewed for hours, rabbit with pickled red cabbage and roasted apples, filet mignon, rack of lamb, pot o' chocolate...

Even the crushed, frozen raspberries/palette cleanser was rave-worthy! Oh, and the ambiance! Unique, French-inspired photographs handpicked by the owners. Dreamy. And the rustic table setting is too adorable to resist Instragramming pre-meal. I mean, there were spoons with spiraly ends for goodness sake!

Also, great people work there (thanks, Igor!)