Cheval Bistro

Love everything about this restaurant; the food was magnificent! Great place for me to practice my french;)

I came here couple times for the mussels. I got uneven sizes and the qualities fluctuates. You need to research or ask them to find out when is the best season for the mussel.

* FYI: Cheval Bistro permanently closes this Sunday*
I have had one of the best dinners of my life at this restaurant! My boyfriend and I started off with a dozen oysters and they were FANTASTIC! I have had oysters at other places with large chunks of shell surrounding the oyster ruining the texture and feel of it, but Cheval’s chefs shucked them PERFECTLY! Next was the steak tartare mixed with capers served with bread. This was perfectly seasoned and chopped, you wouldn’t even know it was raw beef (for those picky eaters). Then we ordered the escargot and it was one of the most amazing dishes I have ever had. I would have never thought i would crave snails, but my gosh they were delicious and I wish i could return again. Unfortunately they are PERMANENTLY CLOSING THIS SUNDAY! If you are a fan of amazing cuisine, especially french cuisine i HIGHLY recommend coming down to this place this weekend. Don’t miss out on the last chance to try out this amazing food, and I haven’t even gotten started on their drinks. So many wines to choose from, handmade cocktails specials, fantastic beer, and an amazing selection of liquor! You cannot go wrong here! I had 6 different drinks, ranging from beer to cocktails to ports and i was not disappointed in the slightest, every choice was phenomenal. They even have sour ales here, which is hard to come by in Pasadena.
I am very sad to see this place go, and i will definitely try to come back on saturday, their last day of business. I wish i had more time and discovered this place sooner, it is a true gem in the middle of old town Pasadena.

This isn’t Providence. You’re not going to find genre defiance, molecular gastronomy, bleeding edge weirdness here. Just good food. And that’s perfect for a family meal.
Cheval Bistro is classic French food in a great atmosphere with a good wine list.
LA is a French food wasteland. It’s just not what we do here. Which is why Cheval Bistro is such a breath of fresh air. You’ve got your classics… your coq au vin, your boeuf bourguignon, your steak frites. They’re all good, they’re all exactly the way you want them to be.
If you’ve never had classic French cuisine, this is a great place to start.
We took our kids (ages 9, 13 and 15) to this place and they adored it.
We started with the salade de canard confit, gougères, and the crêpe du jour (rabbit with thyme in a cream sauce… absolutely divine). The kids predictably devoured the gougères and, to my astonishment, loved the crêpe, too.
My wife and I split the Côte de Porc (coriander crusted pork chop, brandied pork shoulder & wild mushroom ragoût over a cake of polenta) and it was pretty great. The pork chop cooked perfectly, the sauce just a tiny bit too salty, but otherwise luxuriously rich and complex.
One kid had boeuf bourguignon (now her favorite thing in the world), another had the hanger steak, and another opted for steak frites. We nibbled each others plates and it was all very good. Simple. Classic.
Our server cheerfully and generously allowed my wife and I to taste a small range of reds to have with our pork, and the one we landed on (Gigondas, Domaine Grand Romane 2009) was great.
We all split a perfect chocolate soufflé.
The kids are still bugging us to take them back there.

Ok, this should have been a perfect review, right? BF and I decided to go on Feb 13^th to avoid the crowds on Valentine’s Day — I’d booked it on Open Table, with a special request for a placard saying «Happy Valentine’s Day» to be placed on the table… well, as luck would have it — no such luck existed. Alrighty then! First minor disappointment of the evening.
We arrived classically early (as opposed to interminably late; always a pet peeve of mine). Without a wait, we were seated promptly, right next to their banquet room. And, as luck would have it, it was populated with little kids running around and thru the door (again, right next to our table), laughing and having fun as kids (usually) do. And hey! I love kids, I do. But the restaurant IS fine-​dining, is it not? Certainly the prices would say that it is! Ah, c’est la vie, right? The ambience for the evening was thus not nearly as romantic as I would have hoped — and asked — for. Parents — letting kids run around a fine dining establishment just isn’t kosher. It really isn’t.
The food? The bread was fantastic — I do love a nice, warm bread brought out to the table immediately upon sitting down… the delightful crunch, the lovely taste of butter, and washed down with a sip of a fantastic pinot noir…
I ordered the cauliflower soup — which was very, very nice indeed. BF ordered the Salade d’endives — which he did indeed enjoy as well. So far, very nice.
BF ordered the Steak Frites, which he proclaimed was merely «good» — not the «great» I was hoping for. As he’s a bit of a cook himself, I know he expects a fine dining place to cook it the same as — and hopefully better than– he himself could. Such was not the case. However, it WAS cooked to order, so that was indeed a plus.
I had the Cote de Porc — a nice pork chop, though a bit drier than I would have liked it. Pork is just hard to cook, it seems — very few restaurants can get it right. I do hold out hope — eternally– for one to simply blow me away with one done perfectly! I’m not there yet– as Cheval Bistro simply didn’t take it over that «edge».
Finally– and here was the problem — once our wait team delivered the food? They were hardly seen again, except to ask if we wanted dessert. No more bread was offered (and that was a crime; I surely would have eaten it) other than the one initial order we were given. I do recall getting asked if we wanted more wine– once the food had been eaten. Not a great way to end this evening.
A note about our waiter — for a fine dining establishment, I expect finesse and a smooth, soothing voice. He was a bit gruff, and reminded me of one I’d expect to find serving me in a local choke-​and-​puke joint. Albeit dressed more nicely, of course.
So, when asked about dessert, we quickly said we weren’t interested, paid our $ 150 bill (that did include a tip), and went on our way.
The attempt to beat back poor service and long waits on Valentine’s Day was thus a bit of a bust for us. I’d expected perfection in many respects. Two demerits were due to poor seating and the lack of a placard on the table; the other demerits were due to the lack of follow thru with the wait staff and no additional offers of bread; one demerit was for pricing — it was over-​priced for the ambience and the overall service level. They do need to step it up a bit. And need to enforce fine-​dining standards as well, which shouldn’t include kids running around the place as if in a McDonalds. Yes, I know the parents deserve blame here — but the restaurant needs to enforce standards of conduct so as to not disturb the other diners. That’s my little soapbox, and I’m sticking to it (!).

We made our reservation for February 15^th just to avoid the Valentine’s crowds, and the place was still fairly busy. Perhaps, my observation only, but the crowd was generally older and conservative. Even though I had a specific table reserved (stopped by the place a day earlier), that table #80 wasn’t waiting for us when we arrived politely 5 min early. The hostess said that they held another table especially for us (why?); we didn’t make a fuss and just followed her to the table in the back. I thought the whole place could use just a little bit more lighting and a lot bit more of interesting décor solutions. With deep dark walls, dim lighting and large paintings on the walls, it looked just a little too gloomy and medieval. Nothing really spoke of its French-​ness and some Parisian melodies would have been quite appropriate.
Our server was an older gentlemen with impeccable manners, so no complaints there. He helped us with the choice of wines and made some good recommendations. Even after the food came, he kept checking on us and we felt well taken care of.
Now the food. In the first place, I expected a bit more choices and (again!) a little more of a French theme. Also, let’s just say, if you are not a meat eater, you will not be satisfied. We had a Classic Boeauf a la Bourguignonne and Truite aux Amandes (beef and trout) and both dishes were delicious. The complimentary baguette before the meal and Crème Brulee for dessert were pretty decent as well. I guess for an upscale place like that I expected more. More precision, more class, more style, more chic. Alas, Cheval Bistro didn’t do it for me.

This is my second time here I really enjoyed it the first time that’s why I chose to come here on valentines day. And the fact that they have a variety on their small menu. The service hasn’t failed so far but the food this time wasn’t as good as the first time. The Moules Dijonnaises (mussels in cream sauce) didn’t seem to have enough flavor, my bfs Confit De Canard (duck confit) was pretty good, but my New York Steak Au Poivre was over cooked and had to be sent back-​when they came back with the 2^nd one I was surprise it only took about 10 mins but it was undercooked this time and they forgot to give me the fries. I’ll give them the excuse of it being a holiday and that they were busy. So I’m willing to probably give it one more try sometime in the future. But if they fail me again that would be it.

The food here is great! For the prices, maybe not so much. Most if their entrees start around $ 30 and up. I’d be glad to spend a little for better quality, but for what I paid… I’d prefer going somewhere else. You will notice that this place is part of a chain, I recognized that this place shares the same owners of Arroyo Chop House (now that place is worth the money).
They first start by brining out a basket of bread and butter. This is pretty standard… nothing special about it. I ordered the hanger steak. It was pretty good, the flavoring was smoky and sweet. There wasn’t much of it so I was still a little hungry. The string beans and mashed potatoes went well with the steak.
They offered a large variety of wine. I forget which bottle we ordered, but it was good with our food.
For dessert, I had the chocolate soufflé. I have to say that I’ve had better.
The service was really great. Our waiter dropped by many times to check up on us. When we weren’t ready to order, he allowed us to take our time and provided us with recommendations. The only downfall, our waiter had a harder time communicating because of a language barrier, but he played it off pretty well.
I enjoyed the company that night. The food was good. The prices could have been better. Overall, I don’t think I’ll return… maybe to their other restaurant, Arroyo Chop House. If my friends or coworkers ask if they should try… I’d probably point them somewhere else. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, but nothing stood out enough for me to return.

Argh, I really wish I wrote this review a three months back when I first had brunch here. I’m trying to recall all the wonderful details of why I consider this place a five-​star rated review. I just remember it being such a wonderful experience that I wish I could frequent this place more often.
First kudos goes to our awesome server Chris. Seriously, nicest guy (and very easy on the eyes as well, ladies!). He was so attentive, very sweet and understanding about our babies and how they kept wanting to get out of their seats, great sense of humor, the works. If you can request him as your server, do it!
The restaurant was larger than I thought when I walked in. It still isn’t very large but there was this back portion deeper in that I didn’t see at first glance. The décor was beautiful and elegant all the way. There was a subtle sophistication about it, nothing gaudy or cheap.
The children kept walking around, so it wasn’t enjoyable so much for us because we had to walk around with them, monitoring all their little hands and feet to make sure they weren’t going where they shouldn’t have been or making big messes, etc. Thank God the restaurant was more or less empty at the time we were dining there, otherwise it would’ve been a much less pleasant experience for everyone there. At least all of the staff kept saying, «Oh, that’s okay! They’re so cute! Omigoodness, they’re adorable! It’s fine, don’t apologize.» I loved that they were nice to us about it.
We were here for their Sunday brunch. I can’t remember most of what we ordered (it was a LOT of food). I do recall a few things:
–Brioche French Toast: Super thick slices of toast, sweet and topped fresh berries, served with maple syrup and crème anglaise. Wonderful. Definitely will do again.
–Beet Salad: Gold and red beets, goat cheese and a vinaigrette. I always get beet salad if it’s on the menu, no matter where I go. The Cheesecake Factory still has the best one. I was unimpressed with Cheval Bistro’s.
–Gougeres: These weren’t very good. They’re typically made together with cheese. Instead, it was a plain puff with shredded cheese sprinkled on outside. They were also not hot enough to melt the cheese, making it doubly not as delicious as they could have been.
–Blue crab & shrimp soufflé: I can’t remember how much I enjoyed it, only that there was a decent amount of fresh tasting seafood, so it couldn’t have been bad.
Another thing that stuck out was the restroom. Clean, immaculately clean. This is always a huge plus when dining out. It smelled so fresh in there. The paper towels were so thick and soft that I actually confused them for cloth towels. They even have little cups and a mouthwash dispenser for you to use after you’re done with your meal. Our friends, family and I had a really good experience here. Our friends kept raving about their dishes and how they would drive all the way back from Venice to eat there again. Even though it may not seem like a great review based on what I can recall about the food, there were items that I really enjoyed, I promise! I’m just sorry that I can’t remember what those things were because it was several months ago when I tried this place. I’m generally stingy on rating establishments five stars, but this place does deserve it.

I’ve walked by this restaurant for years, until a friend — a famous local radio personality — urged me to stop in and try the cassoulet. He said it was fantastic, and I’ve been craving cassoulet.
We made reservations ahead of time, and were immediately directed to table 32. Please avoid table 32 at all costs. It is the least desirable table in the restaurant, at the intersection of bedlam and chaos. Every restaurant has a «least» desirable table usually referred to as «Siberia.» Table 32 is more like the woody allen movie where the house is under a rollercoaster. The table shakes. Literally and often. Waitstaff go in one door, come out of the other, the table is inbetween. hot dishes. dirty dishes. rushed dishes. You are smack dab in the middle getting shaken, whiplashed and stirred to ask for another table.
There were many large parties. Our waiter seemed overextended. He dropped off menus, then disappeared to cater to large parties. The lime martini took forever, and it was probably the best thing served all night.
The hostess, the host, the waiter stopped by to say they’d reseat us soon as something came available. They comped us nothing for our troubles, long waits, and shakes.
Frisee lardon: This is usually one of my favorite salads in the whole world. They served it with a hard boiled (poached) egg. One of the beauties of this salad, is a soft boiled egg that you mix in with the salad. Again, takes forever to flag someone down, ask for a new egg. And then they leave my companion with his dish, me nothing.
Cassoulet: I’m used to more of a stew. This was overcooked. The beans were cooked out, stuck together like mac and cheese without the gooeyness. The meats on top were overcooked and dry, dry, dry. At $ 27, We took the leftovers home in hopes of repurposing
French fries: Matchsticks. The first batch waitress brought, she asked me to try to see if it was hot enough. She could see the answer in my face as I hesitated. She went back for another batch. If the kitchen KNOWS they might not be hot enough, why do they serve. Tom Colicchio would have a fit, I could hear him.
With such terrible food, I had to relay this horrible experience to my friend. Ironically, he ate at the bar, 5:30 PM, about two hours earlier. I guess if you’re not «famous,» you’re treated like the tired masses.
The mark of a great restaurant is one whose food and service standards apply to everyone equally. Earlier this year, we dined at Kitchen Galerie in Paris. They knew we were tourists, and as much as we might liked the experience, we couldn’t be regulars. Still, when one dish was served not quite right, they rushed to make it right. They re-​fired the entrée. They apologized. They brought us some comp dishes so we weren’t just sitting there waiting, or one of us eating in front of the other. That is a restaurant I tell everyone about, that I’m saving up to return to.
As for Cheval Bistro, there are so many choices in Old Town Pasadena that one really has to question why pay for an experience fails to live up to the promise?

It was in December on Christmas Week last year on a cold rainy wet night and she had on a Backless Midnight Blue Dress with her hair to the side.
We decided to come here just because of the classic ambiance of elegant dinning especially in Old Town Pasadena.
Knowing this location use to be De Lacey Club 41 and been coming here since about 1986.
Prior to arriving I made sure the reservation was made before we walked in the front door I seated her to the end table reserved for us candle light waiting.
The mood was set just for her.
I remember her eyes and watched her as she spoke to me being captured by her radiant presence in the very back booth to the corner.
We ordered the Coq Au Vin and Pomme Frites and a bottle of Bordeaux Cotes De Bond.
The menu had excellent choices everywhere we looked and hard to decide.
We hardly ate and just enjoyed the last time of each others company hoping this wasn’t going to happen.
It was just us and none else in the world there but they gave us the absolute privacy.
As we left I held her hand and walked with her to the Valet and wondered the rest of the evening.
Remembering how long ago the first time I came in when it use to be Club 41 De Lacey and always so romantic and elegant to be here.
25 years coming here wasn’t going to just go away this is one of the most enjoyable restaurants you can take someone for an evening with that person across the table.
Moreover the presentation and dinning experience is better than almost anywhere in LA you really want to come here.

The bread, magnific! The escargot, ho ho! The steak, any of them, wee wee! The drinks, not bad! They were kind of slow but we didn’t care. We were also a little tipsy and loud but they didn’t care. The food overall was good. The Smith bros do not disappoint and can probably buy a smart car with the money I’ve given them for their food and alcohol LOL. ENJOY!

I’ve passed by this restaurant multiple times visiting old town Pasadena and it wasn’t until i came in that I knew this place was a romantic french restaurant. The restaurant was dim and had a romantic. The food was great, and the service was awesome. Many of the people here had business suits on and seemed to be having a little kick back after work.
This quaint off the beaten path restaurant will set the right amount of romance for a date night with your significant other or for an intimate night out.

So during my first time here, I was thinking it reminded me of Parkway Grill (also in Pasadena), and now I just noticed on the website that they’re actually linked! Both under the Smith Brothers Restaurant Corp and both classy, lovely places for a date.
Cheval Blanc (Bistro?) is dark, romantic, and the noise level allows for conversation (at least that was the case on a late Friday night).
I love cheese and the Assortment of Three French Cheeses did not disappoint. Recommended.
The presentation of the escargots surprised us — I’m an escargots noob. I prefer them in the shell.
Saumon Fume wasn’t my favorite, I would have like the smoked salmon to be a bit more smoked.
They were out of mussels that night.
We also shared a fish entrée, I believe it might have been one of the specials of the day. It was good, but I was already too full to enjoy it.
Great service and experience, but nothing jumped out at me so much that I plan to be going back soon.

I got a Unilocal gift certificate for this place and finally decided to use it.
I opentabled a seating for brunch at this Old Town Pasadena restaurant. Weird how it didn’t show on my review :(
Ordered pastry & bread basket, blue crab & shrimp soufflé and hamburger.
Pastry and bread basket ($ 10.00): croissant, pain au chocolat, brioche toast, baguette, home made raspberry jam, sweet butter. I expect a better basket for $ 10.00 since most restaurant give aways free bread. even Melisse. The brioche toast and croissant are good and I don’t care for the others.
Blue crab & shrimp soufflé ($ 16.00): soufflé with tarragon bechamel sauce. The soufflé is okay but the au gratin potato is so good. Allow 25 minutes for this soufflé.
Cheval burger ($ 16.00): tomato confit, shallot fondue, gruyère cheese, black truffle aioli. The burger and fries are kinda good.
My waitress is great. Kristi is friendly, fast and attentive. The manager is nice too.
Take advantage of Pasadena 90 minutes parking garage. Cheval bistro is located right next to one of the parking garages.
3.5 stars!
Cheval bistro is kinda yummylicious!

My friend and I came waltzing by this past Saturday night. Most places were busy and not taking walk ins. For the life of us we couldn’t figure out why we would have to wait for over an hour at EVERY SINGLE restaurant in town. And then, I looked around. They were all paired up, 2 by 2. Coo-​ing and whispering into each others ears. Um, lame-​o, it’s February 16^th, Valentine’s weekend! Everyone that wanted to avoid Valentine’s Day crowds and/​or hated the idea of loving someone on one spectacularly commercializing, price boosting day but decided they didn’t want to piss their significant other off by simply ignoring it… was out… in Pasadena… this past Saturday night.
Luckily we stumbled upon Cheval. They, too, weren’t taking walk ins. However, they had communal tables next to the bar that were open and serving the complete menu. So we opted for that rather than wandering around aimlessly hoping and searching for a nice place willing to give us a table in less than an hour. The ambiance is great, it’s dimly lit, the décor and setting reminds me of an old steak house. The patrons seemed quiet and older. Listen, if you’re looking to woo someone and whisper sweet nothings, this place definitely cultivates romance. Hey, they are French after all.
We sat down and ordered drinks and some bread while we perused the menu. Both of us skipped over all the frou frou –y heavy stuff and decided on the Kobe burger and I was okay with that. If any of you have read my reviews before, you know I’m a share –er. Ok, really, it’s more like I’m a try-​er. I don’t allow people in my party to order the same dishes, cause if they did, I couldn’t try what they’re eating!!!
MMMMM, I was salivating thinking of this burger. Kobe beef, gruyère cheese and a black truffle mayonaise! BAM! How could we go wrong? But it did. It all went sour when our waitress told us… they ran out of the Kobe burger. Who runs out of burgers??? Arrrggghhh, that either means it’s a REALLY good burger and EVERYONE knows about it or DAMN there are some cheap bastards that tried to bring their partners out for a nice romantic meal but, whoops, didn’t think it was going to cost this much.
Bastards!
Well, alas, we ordered the Boeuf Bourguignonne and the Coq Au Vin. The flavors were good although the beef and the chicken were a skosh on the dry side. The mashed potatoes were delicious as were the carrots and pearl onion accompaniments. Oh, and my friend couldn’t stop raving about the bread and butter, real, fatty, creamy butter. Anyhow, I’d go back. I GOTTA TRY THE BURGER!
Oh, and a shout out to our server. She was great! Every restaurant should have an employee like her. She was polite, courteous and super enthusiastic about the food that the restaurant served. She sold it and made our dining experience very pleasant.
Parking in Pasadena is what it is. There is a convenient structure right down the alley. The first 90 mins are free. We overstayed a tad but it only cost $ 2.

My man and I come here for special occasions. Best deal is during Pasadena Restaraunt week with a three course pre-​fix menu for about $ 34 or $ 44. We have never been disappointed.
Great wine list, waiters are knowledgeable and courteous. Try the savory crêpe of the day and you can’t go wrong! A little pricey, but worth it.

The place wasn’t too pack at 8pm but for some odd reason it took over 15minutes before the waitress came to take my order?! I was parched too.
I got the poached egg salad — crunchy and refreshing and the poached eggs adds an extra umph to the taste !
cheese balls were originally out of stock, but the chef made more –one of the better cheese balls I’ve had.
had a special vegetarian order– something with mushroom and bread– not bad, very flavorful
also ordered the ratatouille– by the time this dish came out, i was already practically full!
the waitress really pushed on this apple pie cobbler but it was just mediocre.

Came here during Old Pasadena Restaurant Week. I’m not sure why the Unilocal page indicates the attire of this restaurant as dressy, because some people were dressed really casual there.
We got there before Happy Hour ended, so my bf and I each ordered a glass of the Pinot Noir they had on special – only around $ 4 for a big glass.
I ordered the Steamed Mussels, Hangar Steak, and Lle Flottante off the prixe fix menu. I was looking forward to the mussels, but was pretty disappointed by it. The mussels were cooked well, but I did not like the smell of the dish. It could’ve been the sauce (which I didn’t care for), but it smelled like the mussels weren’t very fresh. The steak was cooked well, but overall the dish was nothing special. The dessert was interesting – definitely try it if you’ve never had it before.
My bf ordered the salad, Duck Confit, and Profiterole. The salad wasn’t bad, but it was just a typical salad. The duck was crispy and tasty. It was odd how they only served one profiterole – I wasn’t impressed by it.
Service was pretty slow. Our waiter didn’t check on us enough.
The restaurant is right next to a public parking structure, so it wasn’t difficult to find parking.
I don’t think I would bother coming here again unless if I was in the area for happy hour. The food portions were small for the price (but I guess that’s expected of a French restaurant) and service was slow. Some dishes were good while others were subpar.

Visited this place during DineLA with the bestie Michelle K. Nice quiet Tuesday evening and I was ready to grub!
This french bistro has very old school, dim lighted, wooden furniture feel to it. The prices are on the higher side, so DineLA was the perfect choice to test the waters with this one.
Appetizer: Mussell in cream sauce. Very light in portion. Not too creamy where I can taste the seafood. Mussels were tender and not rubbery!
Main Course: Duck confit. That’s all I have to say about that. Didn’t take any pictures because I pretty much cleaned my plate out in 2.5 seconds. Well you get the picture right??? It was good! Juicy. moist… not gamey at all!
Dessert: Opera cake. Not too sweet, fluffly mouth feel and great almond flavor.
Cocktails = strong as usual. Just the way I like it!

Escargot nice…