Chez Maman West

Food
Crêpe ham and cheese — was good nothing crazy special though, egg and salad on top
Service
Was fine, checked up on us a good amount
Atmosphere
Small café feel few bar stool seating and few outdoor side patio seating. Right on Hayes St so good for people watching or meandering around the shops

This was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. I’m not exaggerating– from the service staff (shout out to the cute bartender) to the wine selection to the dessert, I could not have been happier with our experience here. Two of the people in our party went to the location on 18^th street, but our waiter was really courteous about letting us sit and hold a table for 30 minutes until they arrived! After two glasses of champagne each, they presented us with complimentary moscato at dessert. Although it was too sweet for me, it was a wonderful touch. My chicken panini melted in my mouth, and the gelato I got after is my new favorite dessert– for under five dollars, it was a generous portion. We also tried a crêpe, escargot, french fries, and the two wines our server recommended. I was dining with some difficult to please friends, and even they said they hoped to return soon. Thank you for a wonderful evening, Chez Maman! Worth every penny.

Authentic French food, your belt won’t be happy but your stomach will! Portions are huge and this definitely is on the heavy side of French cuisine. A little pricey, but worth it. I got the frisee salad– has bacon and egg on top!, someone else at the table got mussels, which I had a few (and they were great). My fiancée had the vegetarian crêpe, which just had hella cheese and a few veggies :(the travails of a vegetarian foodie.

Ah, Chez Maman West, I will dream of your French onion soup tonight. Excellent service, as we walked in and throughout the meal. Bread and butter served promptly, and food came out expediently. I have to say, chunky layers of cheese and onions made for a delicious appetizer. I agree with my girlfriend in that I wish they baked their own bread because the Acme loaf we had was a little stale, but the mussels in a white wine butter broth and herb-​flecked fries with garlic aioli made that all better. Plus, the bread was easy to soak in. For three different plates to share, it was only $ 40 with tax and tip. That isn’t bad at all, and the mussels were cooked perfectly so that they weren’t rubbery and came right out of the shell. Extra bread was asked for and graciously given to sop up the white wine broth. Good times were had by all, especially the boisterous restaurant manager and waitress. Escargot and steak frites next time for sure. And, most likely a glass of wine or two. Remember though, this place is tiny, so make a reservation. You’ll thank me later for that one.

Great food, good selection of wine and French food, my son had the escargots and the steak and French fries, he enjoyed it. I had a complete crêpe, was great too, although a bit more salt and pepper would make it even better.
Service was quick and clean.
4 stars only because of the expresso, overpriced and in a French restaurant I expect a cup (tasse) completely filled up, not just half like the typical American way.

Came here for weekend brunch and there was no wait for 2. Service was really friendly and attentive. There’s cozy seating inside and a few tables outside good for people watching.
Getting a burger here is the way to go! We got the basic burger ($ 12) with avocado and Swiss cheese ($ 1.50 extra each topping). The burger was so juicy and had a delicious creamy aioli. The ciabatta bread was the perfect texture. I was a huge fan of french fries you can order with it. Soo amazing with the aioli.
We also got the chicken apple sausage omelette ($ 14) which was filled with cheese, tomatoes, and bell peppers. The sausage was extremely flavorful and the serving size was so filling. The omelette itself was good but nothing memorable compared to the burger.

3.5 stars
What?! A French restaurant I like? This rarely happens. Although it may just be because I thoroughly enjoyed my daily soup which was a roasted sweet pepper. It was so delicious I wish you all could have tasted it. The flavors were so fresh and bright it was almost too good to share but I had to so others could experience the wonderfulness.
The rest of my part got burgers which were rated ok because the ciabatta bread was too dense and there was too much aolie. The fries were good. We also had two salads and a crêpe. The salads were light and delicious. For extra you could get a choice of protein or goat cheese. The cheese was great because it was lightly fried. The crêpe was very good but had way too much cheese in there compared to crêpe and mushroom.
Service was ok. They were friendly enough and somewhat attentive.
Decent value too!

#overit
I liked my Chicken Crêpe because it was saucy.
Grendo unliked his because it was saucy. #twss
C’est la vie, non?

I have been dying to come here forever, but their no reservations policy makes it tough to find a time that works. I came on a Wednesday night and arrived around 6:45, put my name down and we were seated around 7:30.
We ordered:
— French onion soup — Delicious soup, so-​so toast. Gruyère was beautifully melted but the trade-​off was that the toast was very soggy. We substituted with the complimentary bread.
— Mussels mariniere — A HUGE pot of delicious mussels in drinkable broth — they recommend fries to go with it but we opted out, using bread to soak up the amazing broth.
— Veal with creamy white sauce — not bad, but also not amazing. Would not try again next time.
— Ratatouille (side) — delicious! Highly recommend.
All this plus 2 glasses of wine came out to about $ 40/​person after tax and tip.

A delightful steak fritte. The fries were perfect. There was a little book rare in a little bit tough for my liking, but the flavor was excellent as was the sauce. I love the setting there, especially the outdoor seating on a lovely evening
The only pain is that they don’t take reservations, so on a Saturday night even when I arrived at 6 I had to wait a half an hour for a table for two

What a cute spot for yummy french bistro comfort food! I came based on recommendation from a friend and it didn’t disappoint. We had the beef tartare, onion soup, Mac and cheese, pork chop and the flat iron steak. I have to say I was most impressed with the appetizers and the Mac and cheese. The soup was simple and warm and cheesy, and the Mac and cheese made perfect with a touch of truffle oil. The meat was a bit over cooked to my taste, but the flavor was great and the sauce amazing. The beef tartare was a simple delight! Next time I am saving room for dessert (which we regrettably didn’t try).

Absolutely great and true French food in a relaxt setting. No upscale manners here, but boy is it good. We are both from Europe and love French cuisine. We started with the Steak tartar and the melted Camembert, can’t beat them anywhere in SF. Next we ordered the Veal and Salmon, both cook to perfection.
For a 2, there was a 30 min wait on a Saturday night, which is just enough time to grab a drink next door.
Love this place, gonna be a regular here!

Chez Maman, comfort French Food. Love this location in Hayes Valley. No reservations. Just put your name down, Have a drink in the neighborhood. Service is friendly, causal. Love the window seats, people watching.
The food is always pretty good. Not a fine dining restaurant but comforting atmosphere and always good food.
My favorites are their escargot. Escargot de Bourgogne made with parsley, butter-​shallots & white wine. YUM! I can eat two orders of that myself. Also dipping bread into the sauce is amazing, So yummy!
Also love their French onion soup. LOADED with CHEESE. Love Chez Maman.

It’s pretty rare to find a casual french joint in the city! I’m so grateful for Chez Maman for it reminds me so much of France!
I tried this place during lunch and ordered:
Savoyarde crêpe with potato, prosciutto & swiss cheese ($ 12). I really liked everything about this dish! The Arugula salad on top of this crêpe was a great addition.
Also ordered the mussels with white wine, garlic and lemon juice sauce ($ 16) with fries ($ 5). I loved thisss. The mussels were nice and meaty and there were tons of and garlic! The white wine sauce was pretty strong so I wouldn’t recommend this sauce for those who don’t like strong wine taste in their food. The fries were also bomb! — perfectly crispy and it came with garlic aioli … yumms.

So glad we managed to land perfect timing after deciding on Chez Maman for dinner. We were in the area and made a game-​time decision to stop in for a post happy hour dinner. It was a Tuesday night around 8pm and the restaurant was extremely busy. Not surprising because it is TINY, but surprising being a Tuesday. Anyways, we were swiftly taken to a table where we placed our orders. Our waitress was kind and attentive. Wine came out quickly, as did our brussel sprout appetizer, burger, and ham + gruyère crêpe. I thoroughly enjoyed the brussels and crêpe. Hub ate every bite of the burger so I’d call that a win, too.
Only negative was how loud and crowded it was. It was hard to have a conversation and honestly, we were pretty eager to leave as soon as the last bite was enjoyed.
All around, 5 stars for the food, services, and prices. So reasonable compared to what we’re used to in SF!

Came here for dinner on a Thursday night. I put my name down for a party of 2 at around 7:50pm, and we only had to wait 25 minutes to get seated. The restaurant is pretty small, and the layout is very compact. They also have maybe 3 tables of outdoor seating on the sidewalk, which might be nice on a warm night or for brunch, but people waiting for their tables do tend to hang around nearby.
Service was great! Despite the restaurant being packed, our waiter was very attentive, and the food came out really quickly.
A P P E T I Z E R S
1) Escargot — These come in the shells with fancy tongs and small forks to help you pick out the meat. I was really intrigued — I’d never had escargot in the shell before! The meat was juicy and just the right amount of chewy. It comes in a butter and parsley white wine sauce, but the sauce left a little something to be desired. I would have wanted it to be a lot more buttery and have a slightly stronger wine flavor.
E N T R E E S
1) Basic burger + mushrooms + egg with fries — I messed up by not adding cheese to this; it would have made all the difference, but the burger was tasty nonetheless. It comes with two pieces of a rectangular roll sliced in half, instead of a regular bun. The egg was runny, beef patty cooked medium rare, mushrooms piled on top, aioli smothered on the bread. Everything was delicious. It would have been better if the caramelized onions were warm though; they came cold with the veggies and tomato slices.
2) Flat iron steak with fries and green peppercorn sauce — Steak was medium rare and not overcooked. It was on the slightly smaller side, but definitely enough to fill you up. The special green peppercorn sauce on the side added a lot of flavor to the meat.
The fries were so good! They were not too thick and really crispy, and the aioli is amazing!
At the same intersection as Absinthe, I’d probably pick Absinthe over Chez Maman next time in terms of food. They are at different price points though — Absinthe is a bit more costly — so Chez Maman would be the more everyday choice.

Correct price nice service food is delicious et sans chichi ! Moules poulette miam !

So glad we stuck in there and waited for a table. We came around 5:45pm and there was already a 10 table wait ahead of us. And no, they don’t take reservations. In total, we waited an hour for a table, but it was SO worth it!
AMBIENCE: Very small and intimate — no more than ~15 tables inside. Low lighting and cramped spaces made it very romantic and what I imagine a quaint restaurant in France would be like!
SERVICE: Our server came by quickly to take our order and made sure we had enough wine at all times.
DRINK:
We ordered some white wine to go with our mussels. A glass of Chardonnay William Hill & Bordeaux Blanc Château. The Chardonnay was a little dry at the finish, but both were pretty sweet and easy to drink.
FOOD:
+ French onion soup ($ 7) — The most important thing about French onion is the cheese on top — and this one came hot, melty, and amazing. It was so melty i could lift my spoon 6 inches in the air and it wouldn’t break! The beef broth was delicious and the onions and croutons soaked up all the broth wonderfully.
+ Les moules mariniere ($ 16) — a bucket of mussels in a light white wine, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley broth. The mussels were cooked well and fragrant from the white wine. Take my advice: get fries to dip the broth or soak it all up with bread! You won’t want to waste any of the broth even after you’ve eaten all the mussels.
+ Chez Maman Mac & Cheese ($ 14) — This isn’t ordinary mac & cheese — it has truffle oil swimming throughout. It was the most delicious thing I’ve had in a while. It came boiling hot to the table, so we waited for it to cool down before digging in. Which was really hard because you could see the cheese bubbling and smell the truffle wafting up… I’m drooling just from thinking about it. Every bite I had was infused with truffle, which was great with the melted gruyère cheese. The semi-​crunchy bread crumbs on top soaked up a lot of truffle oil so it was extra truffle-​y. Please please please order this when you go!
I really wish we could’ve gotten dessert, but that will have to wait till next time — which may not be too long from now!

Last night I wanted to catch up with a friend and gave him the opportunity to choose the joint. He mentioned this place and I was sold. A cute French restaurant in the Hayes neighborhood? Yes please.
Such a cute, quaint and warm/​cozy place. Literally. We walked in and it was toasty hot, but soooo cute! Very small place, so if you don’t come early, you’ll probably wait, no matter the day of the week. They don’t take reservations. At first glance, the place looked like a little French café/​coffee shop, turned restaurant. Minimal art and décor; simple always goes a long way. Nice bench seating along the window, super comfy. The service was awesome. Multiple people kept checking up on our table to see if we needed anything, but not in an annoying sort of way. They seem to come at just the right time!
For dinner, I kept it simple. I got the Grilled salmon for $ 17.The usual order comes with a salmon piece, roasted potatoes, fines herbes and crème fraîche. I typically don’t substitute my dishes but I’m on this weird diet so instead of the potatoes, I got a salad. It was a delicious spring mix with olive oil and balsamic dressing. The salmon was perfectly grilled and spiced nicely, although the cut was a bit small for the price tag. No worries, I was content when it was all said and done. If you want your money’s worth, though, get the burger. It’s less in cost and much bigger with lots of herbed fries. Can you guess what my friend had that evening?!
All in all, I would definitely recommend this place! I can’t wait to return and try authentic dishes like the escargot! Come by and check them out!

Came here on a week night for dinner with a friend. Good selection of food items. The only thing that really stood out to me was the French Onion Soup. That thing as to die for. It’s probably 70 percent cheese and 30% soup = bomb.
My friend ordered the frites with mussels. Good amount of mussels, flavors were good. But nothing to rave about. I ordered the tuna nicoise salad. The salad was a generous in portions, but the tuna and salad under dressed for my taste.
Prices were okay for San Francisco prices and service was decent. Overall a decent dining experiences. Possibly a good location for date night due to the dim lighting.

This place is a cute little small restaurant! My mentor and I went to have lunch and it was decently packed. After we were greeted, the waitress immediately offered us water and gave us the menu!
The place is super famous for its mussels. It comes in 4 different flavors; my favorite is the last one but I don’t recall the name.
I also had the French onion soup and the beef tartare; both really really yummy.

5 stars for the hostess who kept our seats.
5 stars for wait staff, who kept our glasses filled.
4 stars for the food typical of Bistro fare.
1 star for the rude person telling us they needed the table.
Let me preface this by first covering that I have been a long time patron of the Chez Maman location on Potrero Hill from 15 years ago and my experiences there have always been glowing. This was the first time I had ever visited this location in Hayes Valley. Frankly, the horrid traffic/​parking nightmares as well as tourist hordes inhibits my traipsing in the area but I was meeting a Googler friend of mine there so proceeded with his plans.
I ordered the burger, medium rare, with a fried egg on top. My friend ordered the Eggs Benedict. My entrée reminded me of my meals at Café Claude so while the food experience was good, it wasn’t exactly blowing my shoes off. The bun was too chewy and dense so I consumed only ½ a bun. I should have stuck with the Croque Madam but after being in France, I am a bit hesitant to order anything that might jade my experience.
We were sitting there chatting after finishing the meal and barely had the credit card returned when the idiot told us we had to give up our seat. This is after I noticed others from the establishment looking at our table from the inside of the restaurant as well as lurking behind us since we were seated outside.
My first reaction was that of indignation. They were telling us to vacate ON TOP of our waiting 40 minutes for the seat in the first place so it seemed
rather back handed. Second, the last I checked, restaurants are first-​come first-​serve, so it’s not my problem when new clientele choose to show up at 2:30 for brunch when they technically missed the classic brunch window.
His lack of customer service was rude and unacceptable. I didn’t even encounter this type of rudeness when I visited Paris twice this year AND at the Michelin rated establishments I visited! How very un-​French of them.
Will I come back?
Absolutely not. They don’t deserve the patronage.
I’ll stick the original location in Potrero Hill.

Best thing about this place was the service, the toasted camembert and the crème brûlée.
We ordered the salmon with potatoes and flat iron steak for entrees and both were ok. The salmon lacked flavor and the potatoes were nothing special. The steak was also just ok, did not have a distinct flavor and the vegetables I ordered with it were sauteed and lacked seasoning. The sauce it came with also didn’t pair well with the steak.
The toasted camembert was very good. It came with toasted bread, roasted garlic, and some salad. It was definitely a great appetizer. The cheese was melted and perfectly spreadable on the toast and tasted fantastic with a piece of roasted garlic. The light lemon salad washed it down very well.
The crème brûlée was extremely good! You must order it, the top wasn’t toasted too much to make it hard to crack but perfect enough to break with a single whip of the spoon. It was super creamy and very vanilla-​y. It was delicious! My favorite part of the meal!

Bistro français bien sympa à SF, loin des quartiers touristiques où les locaux viennent également manger. Bön service, bonne bouffe! Prochaine visite dans le coin j’essayerais Chez Papa Bistrot (du même proprio).

YUMMY! Je recommande! Super cuisine!
J’ai gouté le veau sauce vin blanc crème et champignon, un délice!
Quand aux moules marinières … Parfaites !
Foncez y les yeux fermés !!