Cafe Bleu

I love simple, well done meals, and this brunch was perfect. The bread and jam appetizer was great, and then I had a chicken fig/​bacon salad and a small cup of french onion soup. The waiter also recommended a great refreshing white wine. Everyone in my party really enjoyed their food and I thought it was simple, quality food that was not over done.

The hype is real. This place is AMAZING!!! I was feeling adventurous; wanting to try something new! 4 ½ stars and over 600 reviews; I was sold!
First things first, the staff recommends making reservations especially during Sunday brunch.
Luckily, there were open seating!
I definitely ordered the bottomless mimosas. Followed with French onion soup and finished with crab benedict.
EVERY DISH WAS STUPENDOUS!
Lastly, I can’t wait to come back!!!

We had a terrific dinner here. With reservations on Valentine’s Day, we were seated promptly upon arrival. The tables were a bit tight, but not so badly that we felt crowded. Our server Grady was attentive and helpful, but not overbearing.
We had the mussels, boeuf bourguignon, and salmon. But the meal started with a surprise amuse bouche of beef tenderloin in puff pastry and a light dijon sauce, which was delicious. The mussels were cooked to perfection in a delicate broth. While I would have preferred a more assertive broth, the preparation really highlighted the delicate sweetness of the mussels.
The boeuf is prepared here with boneless beef short ribs, in a rich red wine sauce with pearl onions, mushrooms, and fingerling potatoes. The short ribs were so rich and tender I barely needed a knife. The salmon fillet was also cooked perfectly, with a nice crust on the outside but moist and flaky inside. The fillet was served on brussels sprouts and a polenta cake. It’s farmed Atlantic salmon, so it doesn’t have the same intensity of flavor as wild, but it was quite good.
We finished with a flourless chocolate ganache cake. The cake had a custardy, soufflé-​like consistency and an intensely chocolatey flavor. I think it could have used a fruity compote or something to cut the richness, but it was still delicious.
The restaurant is located in Mission Hills. There is a small parking lot in back, but it’s quite tight. And street parking in Mission Hills can be challenging. But this place is worth the trouble.

First of all our server was Joshua he was awesome attentive and took care of us every step of the meal and he is the main reason I’m writing this review. I’m a server too and I really respect good hospitality and care when I am dining in a restaurant, so thank you josh.
As for the food and the setting all I can say is try this place out. They bring a out a complementary beef puff pastry with a Dijon sauce that is incredible I would consider making this a full meal option cause it’s delicious. Complimentary bread and we also got a cheese board to start which josh helped us pick out and all were great after informing him we didn’t like goat cheese, so again props to josh. I got the steak frites and my girl got the French onion soup and both were incredible.
Thank you josh and café bleu for the awesome experience and I will be back soon.

Wow, I couldn’t believe their prices and the quality of the food. It’s so rare to find a good French meal without breaking the bank. This place is intimate and the staff is so friendly and attentive. For our starter, we had a warm crab dip that came with pita chips. They have a great cheese selection as well that is very well priced for starters. This is a wonderful place to go on a date and I highly recommend it.
GET THE DUCK BREAST. It is so good and they cooked it at a perfect medium.

On a unusually cold San Diego night I was craving some good ol French onion soup. I looked at my book marked restaurant list and saw café blu. There is a shortage of good french cuisine in San Diego but with all those good reviews on Unilocal I was sure I found a winner.
Upon walking in we were greeted quickly by the bartender whom seated us. Only 1 other 2 top in the cozy restaurant. I asked the waiter for his opinion on a few dishes and he basically said everything is good lol. I hate it when they can’t be honest about their product! Just tell me «this is better than that» or «I would get this dish». When I go out to eat I want the best dish in the joint. Not mediocre food.
Amuse bouche came out quickly after ordering. It was excellent (5stars)The sauce was something I wanted to drown myself in. I was pretty excited for our food at that point. Next came the French onion soup, mushroom vol au vent, and warm crab dip. The cheese on the French onion soup and crab dip left a lot to be desired (2stars) I think they either left it under the broiler too long or used the wrong kind of cheese because it was hard as hell. When you spoon out your first bite of the soup the cheese is suppose to be a little stringy if melted properly. This certainly did not have that. The mushroom vol au vent was good I would say it’s a solid 4* choice.
At this point of dinner I had to ask for bread? Which I think is awe fully strange for a French restaurant. 9 times out of 10 French restaurants serve the almost amazing breads they want to show case it. Once I reviewed the bread I understood why they did not give it out. It was very disappointing bread (2stars). The butter they gave with it was good though!
Bouillabaisse and duck a l’orange were up next. The bouillabaisse is a staple at any French restaurant and event though it’s a pretty simple dish this place completely fell short (2 stars). I think the chef was having a off night because it was not seasoned at all. The broth was almost like water (no flavor). What saved the dinner hands down was the duck. It was pretty amazing. Even the carrots were cooked perfectly and had good flavor to it.
All and all normally this place would be getting 2 stars from me but I think maybe they were just having a off night so I’m going to be nice and give them 3 until I come back and try a couple more things. Hopefully they will find a better baker by then lol

Not wanting to be a part of San Diego Restaurant Week and all the craziness, I selected Café Bleu to have dinner w/​my in-​laws. Apparently, Café Bleu was not listed on SDRW 2016’s list of participating restaurants, but when we arrived, we were surprised to find out that they were, and had a pre-​fixe SDRW 3-​course menu for $ 29.99. This was our 3^rd time to dine at Café Bleu, and had I given a Unilocal review on both previous visits, they would’ve received 5-​stars on those occasions as well.
My wife & I opted for Boef Bourginon with slightly different appetizers and desserts. The braised short ribs were delicious! They had small chunks of pork belly in the broth. Yummy! I had their creamy asparagus soup and my wife had a chef’s hors d’oeuvres. No complaints on either selection. A complimentary beef tenderloin puff pastry dish was served and it was very delicious! I chose their cranberry fig bread pudding which was tasty but a little tougher than I’m accustomed to (I still finished it). My wife had a cheese plate for her 3^rd course. She chose their purple haze goat cheese plate which she said she’d order again.
If you haven’t tried Café Bleu yet, add them to your restaurant bucket list of places to try! Service is outstanding, dining room is a little small, their bar has maybe 5 stools, and parking is hard to get up in Mission Hills. They have a small private lot out back which you should try 1^st before making your circles around the block for a street curb spot. Bön Appétit!

Been here twice and each time it was delicious!
First time we came for happy hour, enjoyed a cheese plate, asparagus soup, salad and beef tartare.
Second time we enjoyed wine and the French onion soup.
Definitely one of my go to places for French food.
Only thing… I wish they had more items on the menu bc everything is sooo delicious

We came here for lunch on a Tuesday. It was pretty quiet, only about 3 other tables. The hostess was very accommodating and was ok with us bringing a sleeping toddler (who remained asleep the whole time).
We got French onion soup, tuna salad sandwich, chicken mushroom vol-​Au-​vent, and a cheese plate.
The single cheese we selected was good however — my only small beef is that the cheese cut was very small — and the plate was almost $ 6. I was expecting more cheese than that.
The onion soup was tasty. Rich but not thick and mixed with delicious melted cheese. I dipped the bread into it and it was soooooo good! The chicken mushroom vol Au vent was also flawless and — thought it said it would come with a petite salad, the salad was huge, covering half of the plate.
Overall I had an extremely pleasant and quiet experience with tasty simple French food. The portions are not big but it’s also reasonably priced (lunch runs $ 9-​$ 15) given the quality. I would definitely recommending coming here for a good lunch!

Great service and great food! Delicious and warm French bread offered at the beginning of brunch, and delicious potato an leak cake that is to die for! For dinner try the salmon, and anything with polenta or fries.

Café Bleu is one if our new favorite places to eat. I took my best friend for her bday DVD we were nit disappointed. Had the cow au vin which was excellent. My fried thoroughly enjoyed the Sunday prixe fix menu. Javier the owner made it a special night and was very welcoming. Excellent service.
I returned in May with my Mom, Grandma and my husband. Javier and his crew did not disappoint with 2 very picky eaters. My husband also enjoyed his meal. I can’t remember now what we all had to eat. Ill do a better job next time. I will be back with my teenage boys next time.

My boyfriend wanted to check this place out to celebrate our monthly anniversary last week. This restaurant is very small and intimate and luckily there is additional parking in the back!
We received complimentary amuse bouche to start, which were these cute little pastry puffs dripped with some creamy white sauce. Then we ordered the French onion soup for him and mussels for me. The soup was very too cheesy for me, but my boyfriend really liked it. The mussels didn’t have enough flavor for me, but it was still good. Our server gave us extra bread to dip with the sauce.
Instead of ordering entrees like we normally do, we decided to get more starters to share– the brie en croute and steak tartare! The brie was wrapped in a light pastry shell and once you cut into it, the cheese oozes out. It was huge for an appetizer and very delicious! I thought that the steak tartare was just okay though.
We were full, but left enough room to try the flourless chocolate ganache cake for dessert with some muscat to pair it with. The cake was nice– very moist and not too sweet. For being a French restaurant, the prices of the entrees are very reasonable. They also have a 3 course prix fixe menu on Sunday nights for $ 25 you can take advantage of. Also, If you love cheese, I noticed a daily cheese menu towards the bar you can check out. I had a nice time here and our server was friendly and professional. Next time, I want to try their signature dish, the coq au vin!

Highly recommended by a good friend of my wife.
We had reservations for two at 6:30 pm and were promptly seated… parking is available behind the restaurant, but we were a bit flummoxed as to the exact location and parked across the street… the setting sun was right in our eyes, really blasting!
Grady was our server, and he was excellent… well versed in the food offerings and suggesting wine pairings.
We started with a glass of Prosecco ($ 10.00) for me and Chardonnay ($ 11.00) for my lovely dining companion/​AKA wife. I do recommend the Prosecco, not too sweet and very refreshing.
Grady brought out an amuse bouche of a mini-​Wellington in a lemon butter sauce… the puff pastry at Café Bleu is some of the best I have ever had… more about that later.
We ordered the Brie en Croute ($ 8.95) for her and the small Canapes ($ 12.95) for me, but of course, shared. The Canapes change often, and this selection was from the top, Small Meatballs, light but flavorful, Shrimp with a spicy remoulade over a sauted slice of zucchini, and goat cheese mixed with red pepper on a slice of french bread. I loved the meatballs, and the flavor/​texture of the red pepper goat cheese, but found the shrimp VERY fishy tasting and the zucchini a bit slimy… even so, would order again. Had a glass of Rose for this course ($ 8.50).
The Brie was the BEST I have ever had. Perfect, light puff pastry over the creamiest, butteriest Brie ever, lightly seasoned with Balsamic reduction and a mixture of dried and braised fruits (fig, dates, mango, apricot…) Absolutely delicious, and if served with a green salad on the side, a very filling meal.
For entrée, we had salmon filet with red bell pepper polenta ($ 18.95) for her, and the «Surf and Turf”($ 28.95) for me. It came plated with two sauces, with mashed potatoes on top, served with a scallop, a couple shrimp, and a filet, cooked to order, as well as perfectly seasoned baby green beans (haricots vert).
The filet was a bit gamey, although cooked perfectly. The fishy shrimp flavor showed up again. Am very particular about shrimp, and for some reason, these were just not awesome. The texture was perfect, but maybe the supplier didn’t provide top quality product? Not sure, but would be careful about asking when we return. The scallop was seared perfectly. Grady recommended the Cotes du Rhone ($ 11.00) and it was dead on wonderful. Dry and big, but complementing the flavors perfectly.
We finished with the Crème Brulee ($ 5.95) and is was a beautiful end to an almost perfect meal. Light, creamy and not-​too-​sweet.
This is a small and romantic restaurant for dinner IF… other patrons are considerate and don’t bring small children/​babies or try to cram in large groups… there are plenty of places where that makes sense and is easily accomodated, but this is not one of them. We loved Café Bleu, and with the exception of the shrimp, have little to complain about. Will be back, and soon!

My friend and I go out to celebrate our birthdays together each year. We love everything French, so decided to check out Café Bleu. It is a really adorable restaurant and definitely has that French flair, though not stereotypical or overstated. I had already glanced at the menu online, but when we arrived, we learned about the Sunday Prix Fixe menu which includes an appetizer, entrée, and a dessert. With a price of only $ 25, we had to choose the prix fixe. We both started with the chef’s canapes, which included four different pastries. I chose the salmon and my friend chose the coq au vin. We finished our dinner by sharing the dark chocolate cake and a small cheese plate. The food was excellent, and portions were large. I was surprised how large they were. We both took half our dinner with us for lunch the following day. I liked how for the cheese plate, you get to pick your favorite cheese from a list of that day’s cheese. It come with a little bread and different fruits and spreads. For an additional $ 17, you can do a wine pairing with this menu, but instead I had two glasses of a French red I hadn’t tried before.
All in all, this was an excellent meal in a great atmosphere. I would love to give 5 stars, but I just wish the service had been a bit more welcoming. The service was not bad, just seemed a bit rushed. I will chalk it up to being a busy night and I will definitely return to Café Bleu!

Nothing but good things to say about Café Bleu! I’m new to the French scene and this place made French cuisine a new necessity for me.
Came in around 6:30p on a Tuesday night and the restaurant wasn’t busy at all. Our server sat us and started us off with some water and a mini beef Wellington, compliments of the chef. It was a small bite’s worth of beef tenderloin wrapped in a flaky puff pastry and a creamy sauce to accompany it. He also offered us bread but I sadly declined due to the influx of carbs I’ve been eating as of lately. They have a full bar and only a handful of beers on draft, but definitely a handful of good draft beers.
To start, we had the French onion soup to share and it was literally the best French onion soup I’ve had. It has chunks of bread, onions, peppercorn kernels and of course, a soup cover’s worth of cheese on top. I highly recommend you try this soup!
Entrees:
+Salmon filet
The honey and Dijon crust gave such a beautiful crispy glaze to the salmon that had to be my favorite part of the dish. The salmon was topped with a tomato salsa which went well with the fish. It was accompanied with red pepper polenta (good for the first few bites but after awhile I got tired of it) and green beans.
+Surf and turf
The Filet mignon was cooked perfectly medium rare, and the shrimp were indeed jumbo and juicy. It also came with one scallop and garlic mashed potatoes, and let’s be honest, you can never go wrong with a side of garlic mash.
We were celebrating a birthday and received a complimentary flourless chocolate cake! I was bummed that it didn’t come with a scoop of ice cream as it’s usually paired with, but it’s definitely one of the better flourless chocolate cakes I’ve had. It had such a different texture than what I’m used to and I enjoyed the uniqueness of it. It wasn’t too chocolatey even with the chocolate sauce it was drenched in.
The service was spectacular and I’m extremely pleased (and stuffed!) Café Bleu is such a comfy and cozy little spot and I can’t wait to come back for more French onion soup.

I’m normally not a fan of French cuisine, but this place really changed my mind. I’ve converted! The only reason why I’m giving them 4 stars instead of 5 is due to their slow service. It was slow when I needed a new napkin, it was slow when we wanted the check, and it was slow again when we waited for our credit card to be returned. It wasn’t even a packed night. But the food more than made up for the service. Here’s what we ordered:
Appetizer:
Warm crab dip gratinee (⁵⁄₅) — perfect app to share! The dip was warm, rich, and inviting.
Entrée:
Crevettes Parsienne: Shrimp, gnocchi, sauteed spinach, & a creamy pesto sauce (⁵⁄₅) — absolutely spectacular. My only qualm was I wished there was more. Much more.
Almond Crusted Jumbo Scallops with a coconut risotto cake & a squash and onion relish (³⁄₅) — the coconut risotto didn’t add anything to the dish. It wasn’t very tasty. But the scallops were really good.
I’ve heard good things about their brunch. Perhaps I’ll come back for their crab florentine eggs benedict next time!

I had a great experience at brunch today. We got there right when they opened (10am) and enjoyed the restaurant to ourselves. I ordered the French toast which couldn’t have been any better. The bread had the taste and texture of a cinnamon roll. It wasn’t too sweet either… I barely needed syrup because it was perfect on its own. My boyfriend ordered the chicken mushroom pastry puff dish. He absolutely LOVED it. It was a very rich and filling plate. Service was fantastic. So prompt and friendly. I most defiantly will be returning to try their dinner menu.

What a great spot for a late night bite on a Friday night. Its not just a wine bar, they have a great draft beer list too.
Mini beef Wellington (Chef’s tasting) — A bite size beef tenderloin wrapped in a puff pastry with mustard sauce. Great way to start the meal.
Mussels — sautéed in white wine, butter, garlic, shallots, red chili flakes, tomatoes, and herbs. Very very good.
Steak Frites — grilled hanger steak with shoe string fries. Super delicious and quite simple. The hanger steak was so tender and juicy. What a great cut of meat. It was a better steak than what I had at Mastros for $ 40 less… Take that!
I want to come back for brunch. I’ve heard great things.

The Sunday fixed menu is a fantastic deal– for $ 20 you get a three course meal and actually get to choose your courses. We started with the french onion soup (fantastic and hearty) and the chefs sampler appetizer (perfectly tender and garlic escargot). The mains were less exciting with the coq au vin incredibly dry and the salmon decent but not that memorable. The desserts were a hit with the cheese plate and a delicious bread pudding. The staff was incredibly accommodating for our dry chicken and so we rounded out review to four stars.
Wine pairing was also excellent and worthwhile.

Solid restaurant, and much better than it appears on the outside of the street. I didn’t expect it to look so quaint and nice inside. Its just a little square box that is nicely decorated and has good food.
I tried the surf and turf and onion soup. I topped it with crème brulé for dessert. Everything was good, nothing blew me away but I only tried a few things.
I would definitely be back to try again, kind of a cute little date place :)
Happy eating!!!

My wife and I had our third anniversary dinner at Café Bleu. Reasons for choosing the restaurant was because of half priced bottles of wine on Monday’s, a large happy hour selection including a 3 cheese plate, and it was some place different and new for the both of us. First thing first is their web site menu’s are outdated as prices have increased. The Unilocal menu prices look pretty accurate so I would look through that.
Parking was easy to find in the back of the restaurant at 5:25pm. There were plenty of spots available in it’s shared parking lot. My wife and I started with the happy hour menu as we ordered the Olives, Almonds & Dates and the 3 cheese plate. The restaurant has a daily selection of 10 cheeses to choose from. My wife loved the cheeses and all the fixin’s that came with it.
For entrees I ordered the bleu burger and my wife decided on the Coq Au Vin. I really liked the shoestring fries that came with my burger. They were heavily seasoned which is something that I prefer. The burger for me was OK, I am not that fond of blue cheese to begin with but felt like a burger. My wife also enjoyed her dish. Service was a bit on the slow side, I could have used more water refills since I drink a ton and one of the servers never brought me ketchup after I asked for some. Fries were good though so it was not essential for me. They did bring us a dessert for our anniversary which was nice of them.
All in all we enjoyed having our anniversary dinner at Café Bleu.

Ask you walk in, you are greeted by a friendly staff.
The décor is eclectic and and the food delicious French bistro.
During the week, there is happy hour till 7pm
And the menu offers a variety of flavorful appetizers and drinks.
I came on a Sunday once and I love the prix fix menu which is a great value and surprisingly delicious food. Prix fix is popular throughout France. It’s offers you to experience what the chef offers for that day and it’s a tasty and affordable offer.
Service is friendly and accommodating.

One of my girl friend was celebrating her birthday in San Diego and wanted brunch, so we found this place since it had reservations. We had to push the reservations back for half an hour, but they were accommodating. There were 8 of us on a Saturday afternoon and the place wasn’t too crowded. We found street parking in front, which was lucky for us. I liked the open windows that this place had, but small restaurant.
Everyone started off with bottomless mimosas ($ 8), which is a deal. They were always refilling our drinks, so yay for that. They also offered bread with butter and jelly to start, which is good but I wish they brought it before we ordered. Anyways, I ordered the Croque Madame ($ 13) with half fries and half salad. I definitely enjoyed both sides very much while I didn’t get around to my croque madame. It was covered with cheesy goodness and an egg, but the bread was a bit tough for me. I tried a friend’s French onion with the bread and it was delicious though.
When paying, they separated all of our checks for us as well, which was so kind of them to do.

Cute place for a leisurely brunch in Mission Hills. A solid 3.5 star place.
The food was not spectacular but they have bottomless mimosas for $ 8.95 and the service was great. The egg white omelet was nothing special and the potato pancake was nothing like the fluffy latke I was expecting but I’d return to try other items on the menu. The great thing is it was not super crowded on a Sunday during peak brunch time like so many other places are.