La Foret Fine Dining & Lounge

Had a wonderful dinner at La Foret. It was the night before Valentine’s Day so we made an early reservation. We arrived and decided on a drink at the bar. The owner told us just to let him know when we were ready. The bartender was helping out for the evening and was still learning the bar layout. He was fantastic. He really enjoys his work and it shows. He gave us a sample of one of his signature martinis. We were in no rush as we thoroughly enjoyed sitting and chatting with the bartender. When the time came to be seated, the owner sat us close to the live entertainment, Marlon Mackey. I normally prefer to sit at a distance from the entertainment are but seeing Marlon was as good as hearing him. He sang beautifully and graciously took some requests. Our server was attentive and professional.
The food was excellent. The filet was folk tender and the rack of lamb substantial. The owner was constantly checking the room and took a moment to ask us how everything was. I had no complaints at all. I would definitely return here.

In Bakersfield for work on a Wednesday night, so I searched for a nice local restaurant. I chose this one based on the reviews.
I entered to a raucous crowd at the bar. It almost looked like the restaurant was full, but the host/​maitre d told me that a group had rented part of the restaurant for some kind of professional presentation. I was seated at a different section of the restaurant, but the presentation was loud, and the group’s drunken banter punctuated my meal.
Ordered the crab cakes and ribeye medium rare. The crab cakes were tasty, but I wish they were served a bit warmer. The ribeye was deliciously seasoned, but a bit too chewy.
In short, the atmosphere that night was annoying, but the meal was good enough that I may go back in the future. I’ll probably try other restaurants in Bakersfield before coming back.

Great service. Great food. Great atmosphere. Leave the kids at home – this is the perfect date night place! Highly recommend!

My husband and I went out on a date night and after reading a few Unilocal reviews we made reservations and thank you! Finally a place with all around great service, good drinks AND delicious food. I cook almost daily and the times we treat ourselves to a restaurant it’s almost always disappointing and I am left wishing I had just cooked at home BUT La Foret left me wishing I had found this place sooner!

This review is solely for their brunch– I’ll update when we get a chance to try dinner.
La Foret occupies the former Tavern on the Green. The restaurant is on the second floor, with ample views of the golf course. We tried their Sunday brunch on our visit.
First off, this restaurant has wonderful staff. Everyone was attentive and friendly. For one of the «nice» restaurants, it was nice to see the staff wasn’t stuffy.
The brunch has a decent selection. A crêpe station had savory and sweet options, although no fresh fruit or whipped cream, a small touch that would help elevate this place from 4 to 5 stars. Guests can also select dishes from a pasta and eggs station with several mix ins. On the pasta, I was a bit surprised to see two cream sauces, but not a lighter red sauce option. Still, the cream caper sauce was great.
As for the buffet line, it skews more towards lunch type fare. On our visit they had a baked Brie, chile verde (very tender with a mild kick), tri tip, caper shrimp (which was fantastic!), and green beans cooked to perfection. It’s hard to serve beans buffet style and still retain crunch, but they did it wonderfully.
Our options also included some breakfast meats, very basic fresh fruit (melon and pineapple), plain bread, skillet potatoes, and biscuits and gravy. The biscuits were good, although very sweet– something that didn’t pair well with gravy, but would have been fine with jam.
Overall the selection is good. We were a bit surprised there weren’t breakfast breads or more baked goods, but it isn’t a deal breaker. For the number of hot entrée options, it’s very worth the price, especially since a couple mimosas are included.
We’ll definitely add La Foret to our breakfast options.
As an aside, we had just one comment to really improve the experience. The brunch opens at 10, which was when we arrived. They were running late, so things weren’t ready for about 10 – 15 minutes. It wasn’t bad, as the staff still got us settled I with drinks, it just felt a bit odd when we walked to get some food and were told to stay at our table and wait a few more minutes (very politely– it just caught us off guard).
Overall a good time. I hope they find a following, as they certainly enhance the local brunch offerings. We look forward to trying their dinner service!

Had date night tonight. And this place was awesome. Get food and service. Everyone was so friendly and our steaks were perfect. A must try.

This place is perfect for date night. The ambience is romantic and private. The food is excellent. My husband and I have been there twice now and we love it. The staff is great too. The dessert chef actually came out and made a presentation the first time we were there! This place is a gem in a city filled with chain restaurants. It is located right by the golf course so it is pretty quiet. We will be back soon!

Awesome first time experience! I can’t say enough about our server Keagan. Excellent customer service and suggestions. The food was mouth watering and perfectly seasoned to tantalize my taste buds! The chef even came out and talked to us about our food. The owner was very attentive and personable! Will definitely return!

Great food and great service!!! Tonight was our first time here and we are coming back for brunch tomorrow…

We went to the Sunday Buffet. Let’s just say that I will be a regular and it’s affordable fine dining at it’s best. Great golf course view. The crepes and pasta bar are fantastic. It’s a must go.

Last night was my second experience at this new restaurant. We actually only wanted
drink to end a nice evening. The bar area was rather empty but the owner welcomed us and said we could sit by a window in the dining room.
We ordered 2 classic cocktails so we could appreciate the manner in which they were made and the quality of the ingredients. We were not disappointed!!!
We ended up ordering a couple of appetizers which were delicious. The service was impeccable and we truly enjoyed the time we spent there.
I shall return!

As promised my fellow Korean brother. I don’t say this lightly because I’m serious about my food, But LA Foret is on par (haha it’s on a golf course) with any four star LA dinning. The atmosphere is great with live music and dinning on the second floor. This is the best place you can go for a romantic date in Bakersfield. The staff are all incredibly friendly, the chef’s make it a point to visit every table, and the owner takes time with every guest to ensure their visit was pleasant. And now to the food; this was our second visit and once again we were not disappointed. For appetizers we had the crab cakes which is a must here, and the calimari, both were amazing. For the main course I had the ribeye and added the lobster, which I’m not normally a fan of because lobster is very easy to get wrong, but it was perfectly seasoned and cooked just right so that it melted in your mouth. The ribeye was perfectly seasoned and is easily the best in town. The Chef obviously takes pride in every dish he serves because it comes through in every detail on the plate. What really sells me on this place though is the personal attention from the staff and owner. On our last visit the dessert chef came out to go over the menu options and the owner walked us out at the end taking the time to get to know us and remembered us on our return visit for me that personal touch means every thing! Thank you again for an amazing dinner and forth meal. I highly recommend LA Foret to any one that loves food.

Came for dinner Friday and left a review and were so impressed that we came back for Sunday brunch. Very classy. Great food, great service, view of the golf course, good music. Relaxed ambiance.

We celebrated our anniversary here for dinner. The ambience was great, soft music and who wouldn’t like the beautiful green golf course to look at while eating.
The food was amazing. I had the filet mignon and it was the best I have ever had. It had a slight crunch top and the Knife cut like butter thru it. The crab cake appetizer is a must. You won’t be disappointed by this Resturant. The staff was so attentive, the cook came and talked about the food we had just ate. Our waitress even bought our desert for our anniversary:)
Great experience will be back!

There are few restaurants in Bakersfield that can maintain a balance of elegance and relaxation but this place does it well! My husband and I were looking for a nice, classy place for dinner but without the stuffy environment. We came across this place through Unilocal and decided to give it a try.
We had reservations on a Friday night at 7:30pm. We were immediately greeted as soon as we stepped foot inside the restaurant and shown to our table. Kama Ruby was performing that night and we were seated right in front. I was a little concerned that it would be too loud however she kept a great volume and sang beautifully. I also enjoyed her interaction with customers as it gave a very laid back, relaxed feeling to the dining experience. There were several other groups in the restaurant however I expected a much larger crowd. This place is relatively new and in an odd location as Sundale is a retirement community so I’m hoping that the word will spread about this place because we definitely need to keep such great establishments in business!
I did my Unilocal research before we went and as per many a recommendation we ordered the crab cakes, rib eye and honey whiskey crème brûlée. Do yourself a favor and order these items too, you won’t regret it! The crab cakes were my favorite. so much crabby goodness and so moist! We also ordered the cheese plate, a bottle of Moscato and the pastry chef’s special of the day which was a 15ish layer crêpe cake with pumpkin and cinnamon. Everything was cooked to perfection and tasted amazing! My only complaint would be the cheese plate in that I love cheese and would have enjoyed a more unusual selection of cheeses however the ones we received (a hard parmesan type, a goat cheese and a blue cheese) were fantastic and complimented the honey walnuts and berries perfectly.
Service was impeccable! My wine and water glasses were never in danger of being empty and we were frequently checked on to make sure we were enjoying everything. (But not too often as that can be annoying especially in mid mouthful) We found it pretty cool that they don’t have a dessert menu, instead the pastry chef comes to your table to explain his menu which is great because you get a sense of his passion and excitement for the dishes he created. We also had the opportunity to meet the owner on our way out. Its always a good sign when the owner of an establishment wants to hear how you enjoyed your experience.
We didn’t get to experience the view as the sun had set by the time we arrived but we will definitely be back to check it out!

4 stars = exceeded my expectations
Wow! This was a surprise. Was looking for a place to dine kind of late (~9 PM) and this place was open. 20+ reviews and 4.5 stars — I though to myself, «How have I not been here before?» So the wife and I walked in, and the place was fairly empty. It was late and the hostess/​server was a little unsure if the kitchen was open. After a quick check with the staff and a mention from me that their Unilocal page says they were open until 10 we were seated. They had live music which was nice, but for me it is always about the food. This place was shockingly good. We did not order drinks because we were late and I had been drinking wine at a prior engagement. So I can’t speak about the bar side of things. I ordered the pork belly and my wife ordered the steelhead trout.
The pork belly was a pretty large portion cooked well with a nice hint of tarragon. It was served on a bed of tasty apricot risotto with some hericot vert on the side. It was seasoned aggressively which was just on the edge for me but I actually liked the boldness. This dish was very rich, so my stomach was very happy afterwards.
My wife’s trout (which is very similar to salmon) was fantastic. Cook perfectly so that it was very medium RARE. This allows the oils in the fish to provide so much more flavor and mouth-​feel. Most of the time restaurants cook the hell out of the fish so that there is nothing left but a dried out fish-​like cracker. It was also seasoned nicely with fragrant herbs and served over a bed of Swiss chard. It came with wild rice but I didn’t try any of that. I was more interested in the fish.
So why does this place deserve 4 stars? Because we spent $ 40 on two incredibly well prepared dishes that would have cost the same at many of the other local restaurants in town and been half as good. The prices seemed to be very reasonable.
I wanted to try some of the deserts too, but the Mrs. wasn’t going to be helping me. I just didn’t want to push the limits posed by the goodly portions of a fairly rich meal all by myself, so I opted for a pass.
The staff seemed to be very interested in doing a good job. I think we were visited by almost everyone in the kitchen as well as the owner. They have only been open since April, and the word needs to get out about them.
We will definitely be coming back for another try, and this time I hope to bring a bigger appetite!

We just had dinner at LA Foret for the first time, and I’m happy to say it was a very worthy experience.
The service had a couple of slow moments, but even so it was as attentive as it could be with such a small weeknight staff, and very friendly.
The food was definitely the star. My companions’ ribeyes with peppercorn sauce were so flavorful and perfectly cooked to medium rare, and my scallops were also wonderful. The Brussels sprouts were also divine! My sundried tomato risotto was a tiny bit salty, but still nice.
All in all, worth the trip.

Nothing better that dinner with your Best Friends!!! This was our first trip since the change from Tavern on The Green. We had reservations at 6:30 which we promptly arrived a few minutes early. The hostess took us straight to our table without a wait. The place was about a ¹⁄₃ full which became about ¾’s full around 7ish. The menu which I tried to find online but was unable too was really nice. Most all of the dishes I couldn’t pronounce the name but the description was awesome. Like the name most dishes were French minus the heavy sauces. Our waiter was young and a little green but did a descent job. There were only a few times we had to ask for refills. We started off with the crab cakes which came with 5 more like crab balls. They had a nice crisp outer layer with a nice fresh tasting inner. He sauce on top was nice and light and didn’t over power the crab. The ladies ordered the scallop’s my bud order the duck and I had the pork chop. Every dish was absolutely tasty. The scallops were the bomb!!! In a good way. The pastry chef visited every table and explained the list of creations which was something you don’t normally see in Bakersfield. We order 4 different deserts so we could share with each other. The only one we didn’t like was the deconstructed peach cobbler. Totally missed its mark. The Honey Bourbon Crème Brûlée was awesome as well as the crêpe which at our table were the top 2.
The reason for the 4 stars and not 5 is the 2 person band was way too loud. This should be addressed by the management. Our table was located right in front of them and we asked to be moved, which they did to a different table. It was still a little too loud but manageable this time. Everything on the menu appeared to be under $ 30. Our bill was $ 211 plus tip and that was with a bottle of wine. Great experience and recommend for a great dining experience.

There were some hits and misses with our Friday date night dinner. The service was good and we had a nice view from our table of the golf course.
Things we liked:
Calamari Appetizer (Nicely seasoned and flavorful)
Seared Scallops (Nicely browned and not overcooked)
Brown Butter Risotto (Creamy and Yummy)
Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake (Enough said)
Things we didn’t like:
Calamari dipping sauce (Tasted like jarred marinara)
Dinner rolls (Strange. Had cinnamon in them? Very offputting)
Blue Cheese dressing (Hard to mess this up, but not the greatest)
Lamb Shank Entrée (Fatty and not served hot to the table)
For us, it was about the details. Our dinner had the potential to be good, but didn’t quite live up to our expectations. My husband was most dissapointed in his lamb entrée.
***Update to previous review. Chef John reached out to us within 24 hours of our visit. He was kind enough to ask how he could make things right and let us know our experience would not go unnoticed. We really appreciated that he responded so quickly. ***

Hands down my favorite restaurant in Bako! …The food, the ambiance, the service is perfect! …It’s wonderful for special occasions… and it’s my favorite place to take my friends who are visiting from out of town. The view of the golf course is beautiful.
I love their Sunday brunch, but I especially love having dinner at La Foret.
I love rib eye and had been on the hunt for the best rib — eye in Bako. I knew I was going to get the rib eye at La Foret after reading the other reviews and knowing they serve prime meats. Though I knew the steaks were large. There were wonderful sauces to choose from. I picked the balsamic sauce, and got it on the side as Darryn recommended. In the end, I found the steak so flavorful, I didn’t use the sauce much. Incredible.
I had to splurge and try some of the appetizers. Kim loves grilled artichokes so we ordered one of those. It was amazing.
Our wonderful server Darryn recommended the crab cakes. I usually don’t get crab cakes because they often taste dry to me, but she seemed very enthusiastic about them, so I ordered them. The crab cakes were perfection… the best I’ve ever had. I don’t how John gets the crab cakes so moist and flavorful. The presentation was beautiful. Now, I get them EACH time I go.
This restaurant has exemplary service and we are always treated like royalty when we go (as was all the other customers) … Our server Darryn loves her job, and takes pride in it — as I know everyone does that works there. Jay the owner came over to say «hello» and the chef John came out also and checked on us often. I can’t get over how much everyone cares about the customers. That personal touch makes the restaurant very special.
Usually I get the soup of the day. I’ve never been disappointed. Last time, the soup of the day was a very extravagant soup with a variety of cheeses in it. It sounded too rich for me, so I did’t order it. But when we sampled it we all just loved it. It was great for dipping the bread in. After we ran out of bread, Mia dipped artichoke leaves in the soup. It really was delicious.
Mia got the rack of lamb, and Km got the duck, and we all tried each other’s dishes. All of the dishes were wonderful. Km really liked the risotto that came with her dish. I really loved my garlic mashed potatoes. Shelley got a chicken dish and really liked it. And she’s picky! lol…
The rack of lamb is just incredible. One of the times I went, I was a bit less hungry — wanted something incredibly flavorful, and ordered half a rack. Also, ask to go lite on the pepper. This is what our awesome server told me, and she was absolutely right. It is perfection with less pepper.
Tonight I went crazy and ordered something other than the rib-​eye and the rack of lamb. When in doubt, ask the man –John the incredible, never steers me wrong. John suggested the pork belly. It was amazing, and may be my favorite entrée here now. It comes with a delicious risotto. I intentionally only ate half so I would have something delicious to look forward to for lunch tomorrow.
I’m not a big dessert person, usually too stuffed to order dessert but when I do order dessert here, I usually get one of the wonderful crème brûlées. My favorite dessert we ordered thus far is the special crème brûlée with Jack Daniels. Darryn said she was going to have that for dinner lol… It was heavenly.