Le Charm

12/18/10

Worst dining experience in my life!

by monami17 at Citysearch

Food-Raw risotto. Requested a re-fire to only receive a slightly more cooked with remaining crunchy bits of raw risotto. A friend and I had to send it back. He had his dish replaced with the steak (requested medium and received medium rare--leaning on the rare side) and I had mine replaced with the salmon. The salmon came raw. I got tired of sending food back and by that time my appetite had faded away. It's hard for me to not want to eat, but this place did it. The manager apologized that I didn't like their risotto, but I mean who would like undercooked risotto?

I then attempted to talk to the manager about the three times I had to send back food and express my dissatisfaction even till the final dish (tart tartine). It was burnt. I even had other friends taste it to verify it and confirm that it was not just my rage. She apologize insincerely and said that they could have re-fired the salmon (SERIOUSLY??? Third time sending back raw food and you still expect people to trust that they won't get sick from your food?). After I walked away, she was stupid enough to give dirty looks when the rest of my party was still there. I definitely do not recommend this restaurant to ANYONE, even my greatest enemies. There are so much more exceptional or even average French restaurants in San Francisco that no one should waste their time at Le Charm Bistro.

01/07/07

It's all about the patio

by heathrowsch at Citysearch

The prix fixe is a great deal, especially for French food in this city. Service and ambiance are good and if you are lucky enough to be seated on the patio it is hard to find a more romantic place in town. My boyfriend and I have been here several times and we always leave smiling.

• Pros: beautiful patio, great value
• Cons: parking is iffy but worth a walk

11/04/06

great customer service, great dessert.

by binky5806 at Citysearch

We had a family reunion last may... daughter graduated from law school. there were 22 of us ages 1 to 51. Everyone enjoyed the food and the ambience, even our picky eaters. The manager was very helpful and kind.

• Cons: only one bathroom

10/01/06

The price is right, that's about it

by foodielover at Citysearch

For $28, the 3 course prix fixed meal is worth it. I wouldn't rant and rave that it's particulary wonderful 'tho. The French Onion Soup was nicely prepared, mine had a lot of cheese but my friend complained his hardly had any. I liked that this soup wasn't over salted. The pork pate was quite firm, served w/toast & a salad. It was not memorable. Both diners who ordered the duck confit complained the legs were very, very dry. Either the ducks were precooked long ago, and left in the refrigerator for days before reheating, or the legs were stored in the fridge for days prior to cooking. The Pomme Causeur served w/it was just "ok", didn't like it enough to finish. The grilled beef tritip brochette was sm portion and spicy. The pomme frites served with it was the only really good thing on that dish, thin & crispy. My friend had the steak which she thought was good. The desserts were the highlight of the whole meal - especially the orange creme brulee, a creamy brulee with wonderful crunchy crust and hint of orange, garnished w/orange slices. The apple tart was good but not great as was the rum raisin pudding soaked in rum. Lots of rum and raisin, but a sm pudding bread - which was quite good, if you didn't mind the overwhelming rum. Our server was friendly & apologized for forgetting to give my friend the dessert menu to look at. The restaurant has a sm front room and a larger back room where we say 2 long tables of men meeting for dinner. The neighborhood isn't great(street bums) and you would need to go for an early dinner to find street parking.

• Pros: dessert were better than the meal
• Cons: duck confit too dry, food ok but not wonderful

09/16/06

Good prices for soso French food

by eminamy at Citysearch

We were there at Le Charm because one of my gal pal highly recommend it. The price was good but I didn't feel so much "charm" from the staff there. The food was also just so-so with really small portion if you order from the "deal" meal. I left feeling that I need to go to another French restaurant so I can get really good pomme frites and get more food.

• Pros: Cheap French food
• Cons: Cheap French food, food portion made for skinny models