Juste Le Debut

closed!!!

Not surprised they’re closed.
Hope they find a way to bring their excellent food to this area in a different business model

So, I’ve been eyeballing this place for a few months now and finally decided to stop in for some take out after work this evening. The concept behind this place is unique and refreshing and I’m all about supporting a young business owner.
My experience: Service was friendly, just one chef/​cashier, prices seemed fair enough for the stated quality. I ordered the sliders for my husband, chicken fingers for the little one and chicken nachos for myself. Had some questions about the jalapeño romanesco sauce for the chef but he was not familiar with it and mumbled under his breath that it must be new and he was not aware of it. OK. Otherwise, the service was quick and we were on our way home in 15 minutes.
The food: It was just OK. I think this may have been chef related especially since most other reviewers thought the food was great. The nacho chips were stale and chewy which was disappointing because the Mornay Sauce really shined (what a great concept, BTW). The paper menu, as well as the the big screen TV that shows pictures of the meals, state and show these nachos accompanied by the usual condiments, salsa, sour cream, etc. There were no such sides included. The chicken on the nachos was decent but a little bland. Could’ve used some basic seasonings, salt/​pepper, before hitting the sauté pan. Husband reports that the sliders were decent but dry. He suggested adding some cheese. Of all three items the chicken fingers were quite impressive for the cost. HUGE portion and clearly hand battered and perfectly fried with a lovely crust.
Overall impression: Not exactly what I was anticipating but I will go back and give it another shot. I am also surprised that I have never seen the «Owner/​Founder» in her new restaurant considering how often I frequent the plaza. Would be nice to put a face with the store and might also help with quality control. Just a suggestion.

Cute place and they are super-​nice and helpful. Really enjoyed the berry salad.

Well I had been hearing things about this place so I decided to drop in before class. I’m not really a fish and chips person but another customer recommended them to me so I went with them.
The food: I also agree, for the price the portion size was excellent and cooked very well. Everything started out very hot and the sauce was excellent. However the to go box I got it in did not help and my fries became soggy very quickly which was sad because I tried those first and they were very good. The fish was cooked excellently and went very well with the sauce. I also tried the chocolate mouse dessert, and although i’ve had, better this was pretty good. Although for the price I felt the portion size was a little small.
The place: Small. Way too small. This place definitely needs more seating somehow. I feel like if I tried to bring anyone we’d be out of luck, but the entire point is how fresh everything is so I don’t want to get to go!
The staff: Friendly, but possibly over worked. I came in and there was only one other customer there who got there when I did, but the cook seemed rather busy trying to get a lot done and even when I was eating and he had no customers he went back to running around. Nice young guy, obviously he can cook, but this seems like a place that could use two people at all time.
so TO SUM UP:
Good food, decent price, ok place with an excellent concept. I plan to go back at least one more time, although I probably won’t spend that much on dessert again.
Edit: I went back and had their calamari and sliders. I really loved that they let you do half and half so I didn’t have to decide, however both meals were quite awful and I had to take away a star. The calamari was rubbery and cold and most of the batter fell off before it reached my mouth. And the sliders were dry and tasteless. They had an onion spread that just wasn’t flavorful enough on it’s own. My friend had the fish and chips on my recommendation and loved it, so maybe for right now that’s the only good thing on the menu. If they changed the menu i’d still go back.

I’ve been meaning to write a review of this place for awhile, so understand this is based on our visit about a month ago.
I like the concept… alot. We tried a few appetizers: chicken wings, onion rings and zucchini. Liked the blueberry ketchup once we got past the embedded link in our heads of tomatoes with ketchup… overall I think this place has promise. The quality is good, the owners are nice. I have just one problem — it’s really more of a place I’d rather sit down in and have a glass of wine with the appetizer. It’s so small it defaults to a take out place. That’s okay, but they need containers that work. You can’t put appetizers designed to be crispy into a box when they’re hot and not expect them to ‘sweat’ and become limp ol’ things that you figure ‘would probably have been good if we’d eaten there’.
It’s a little pricey, but there’s nothing comparable in the area, so it’ a nice option. I’d love to see some of their salads pre-​made so I could just drop in and grab one on my way home. I’ll try it again soon.

In a bit of a fog from a hot stone massage, my honey met me at Juste Le Debut for a quick lunch before running errands.
I had trouble deciding what to order from their nice variety of appetizers, salads and small entrees but remembered reading good things about their fish and chips. «Small entrees» is a bit misleading. For just under $ 10, I got a two large pieces of nicely breaded cod and a generous serving of french fries. I could easily have gotten two meals out of their fish and chips except that I didn’t want to leave the fish in the car while we ran errands.
The kitchen is in the front of the restaurant so we watched as the chef prepared our meals. I didn’t necessarily need to know that the batter for the fish has bud light in it, but it was nice to see that they make it to order, as opposed to having a vat of batter standing by. The outside was crispy and not to greasy while the fish stayed moist and flaky.
Their homemade tarter sauce was delicious and I look forward to trying their other homemade sauces soon.
Located just a short walk from the Pleasant Hill movie theater, they have a deal right now where if you spend more than $ 15 with them, they will sell you two movie tickets for $ 15.

I stopped in and had an impromptu dinner here the other night (BBQ Tri Tip Sandwich). It was VERY yummy. The fries that came with it were very good, they were made with sea salt. Ask for the homemade aoili. it was yummy. The restaurant is very small, it only has 2 small tables. The menu is mostly snacky type foods, meant for the «in between meals» hunger strikes! Its really meant for to-​go food due to the small space. even though I ordered to eat in, it was served in a to-​go box. The chef was very nice and the restaurant appeared very clean.

i found Juste le Debut by accident. i was sitting at an outdoor table, just finishing up some froyo, and i looked up to see a generic printed sign that said «fish and chips and chili cheese fries available.» i looked into the store front and saw, what looked like an open kitchen with a granite counter, two student chefs and television screens displaying the menu. this sparked my curiosity, but seeing as how i was only in the area to just hang out and i had lunch earlier that day, i didn’t indulge in finding out what the eatery was about.
until…one of the chefs (Levi) came out for a break. i asked if they were in fact student chefs, and i was clearly corrected, that they were actual chefs (my apologies), and what the eatery was or what they served. Levi then went around the corner and grabbed a paper menu. he said, «this will explain it a lot more than i can.» he was wrong, but we continued to talk, and basically JLD is a «fresh» alternative to most pub, restaurant types of meals. now don’t expect to get a three course meal here, it may be possible, but not really. JLD is meant for on the go, fresh appetizers and quick bites.
Levi then asked if i liked fish and chips. i said, «are you kidding? that sign has been staring at me since i sat here.» and he continued to boast that they have the best fish and chips. i didn’t believe him, but lately my run in with fish and chips hasn’t been a positive one. Levi then continued to say, that they get their cod fresh, and by fresh, we are talking the whole cod itself. JLD hand fillets each piece of cod in your serving of fish and chips. can you get any fresher than that? i think not.
anyways, i decided to hold off on ordering food, and thanked him for the information. more time passed, and the smell of fish and chips started to linger in the air. so i said, «what the hell?» and preceded to go inside and order.
the fish and chips were amazing! the best i’ve every had in a very long time. the fish was cooked perfectly, and by perfectly, i mean nice and flaky, and still moist. it was accompanied by the garlic fries which were good, but nothing out of the ordinary. what blew me away was that on top of the fresh fish, they also make all the sauces from scratch. i dipped my french fries in the home made ranch sauce and i was in heaven. keep in mind, i’m not much of a french fry ranch dipper, but this got me hooked.
the idea of «fresh» food is always appealing to me, so i will definitely come back to try the rest of the menu. next up: the Calamari or the Nachos
*Note: to Jeanette, ignore the date of the posting of this review. i went to JLD a week after you had, and after briefly chatting with the chefs and talking to them about your particular review, they informed me that you were served by two chefs that no longer work there. i recommend that you come back again and try it. ask for Levi

Yikes. I just spent 33 bucks on dinner and I am still hungry. The only thing I liked was the fried fish. The fried mozzarella, onion rings, and chicken strips were much to salty to be edible. The salad was mostly spinach with very little else, the 3 milks dessert (they were out of the others) was too dry to eat, and they forgot my french fries.
I was really hoping to like this place. Bummer.

i am writing becaue i had lunch there a few weeks ago and liked it so much that i now have them delivering lunch to our business just about everyday. we have a menu at work and we call in the order and they deliver it. everyday it is good and different. thanks for the good service. a nice girl delivers it, sherry. very friendly. great food for lunch in our office. no trouble. we don’t have to go and get it.

What CRAP! Ok first we were told there was no utensils when I asked for a fork & knife, then the Chicken fingers we ordered were RAW in the middle, And it smelled like a very dirty sponge! There is no way we are going back!

Came here through Wanugee N.‘s review.
My boyfriend and I shared the mozarella sticks and seared apple salad. The service was really great and I totally forgot the cook/​cashier that was helping us. He made everything fresh and was just awesome altogether. The food was delicious and actually enough for my boyfriend and I. I know they’re brand new, but I look forward to new items and hopefully a bigger menu.

Awesome sauces! really good snack/​finger food.
Ran in there with a friend on the weekend and was pleasantly surprised.

This place only opened a week ago!
You have to like the owner’s attempt at something different.
His mission:
«To provide an exciting snack, gourmet meal substitute, or delicious dessert in a friendly, welcoming environment for value-​minded customers on the go.»
So the name, Juste le Debut, meaning just the beginning, features appetizers, snacks, salads and desserts. It is like Gourmet Finger food, but not too expensive.
The most expensive thing on the menu is fried Calamari for $ 9.95, or the Chicken Finger Combo (also $ 9.95), which is 4 chicken strips deep fried in a tasty breaded crust, with fresh regular fries that smell like potatoes instead of frozen, tasteless carbs, and a 20 oz bottled soda, with their unique «warrior» gourmet mustard dip. I had this and it was very good for chicken strips and fries. Much better than Cluck and Fries at Red Robins, or way better than Mickie D’s. You could actually discern the different food’s flavors instead of tasteless unfrozen carbs.
They have Pizza Bites, Onion Rings, Mozzarella Cubes, Nachos, 7 Layer dip, RPC’s (Ritz crackers topped with dill pickle and melted cheddar cheese, 10 pieces for $ 7.95), a vegetable platter, Chicken Wings, Caesar/​Greek/​Ale/​April and Seared Apple Salads, and oops, I lied as the most expensive option is the Sampler Platter Bonanza for $ 10.95. (2 Chicken Fingers, Onion Rings, 2 Mozzarella Sticks, 5 RPCs, and BBQ & Romesco sauce.
What they really try to feature are a range of gourmet like sauces to upscale the simple dishes, To wit:
Blueberry Ketchup Sauce (for the Onion Rings)
Warrior Whole Grain Mustard (chicken fingers)
Spanish Romesco Sauce (for cheeze cubes)
House Made Dressing (7 layer dip)
White Mornay Sauce (Nachos)
House Made BBQ (Chicken Wings)
House Caesar, Aphrodite, Balsamic & Berry Vinagrettes, and Citrus for the salads.
There are only 2 tall tables in the front, but there are several tables for 2 outside on the large sidewalk, but these are often taken by the CoCo Swirl Fro-​Yo eaters next door. (Which also produces a lot of foot traffic for this place). But this stuff is meant to be ordered on the run. Service is fast and friendly.
Not sure if this formula of good food, limited seasonal menu, and reasonable prices as a sustainable business model, but it is a nice change of pace, so check it out yourself and see what you think.
It is on PH’s remodelled Crescent Drive, which offers a lot of competition in dining choices.

They just opened 3 days ago, LOVED the garlic fries!
«They provide an exciting snack, gourmet meal substitute, or delicious dessert in friendly, welcoming environment for value-​minded customers on the go. Their on-​site kitchen and culinary-​trained executive chefs assure fresh ingredients, quality preparation, and tantalizing results.» — straight from their menu =)
it’s right next to Coco Swirl in Pleasant Hill.