Best Contemporary French Restaurants in Berkeley

“It was just like being at a café in France!” Exclaimed our 89 year old aunt who loved her steak frites with pepper corn sauce. The food is outstanding here. Service equally wonderful. The short ribs tender and flavorful. Apple tartin had the right amount of tartness and paired well with our lattes. “If I still lived in SF I’d be here every week.”

Lovely dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday. We sat out on the outdoor patio which was nice and cozy despite the chilly weather that evening. Our server Arlene was friendly and gracious, providing the right level of attentiveness and interaction. The food was delicious as well. I love a good moules frites and the mussels were nice and plump and the fries were perfectly salted. It appeared there were other parties also celebrating birthdays the same night so if you are looking to have a good meal in a nice atmosphere, Reve Bistro is a great choice.

This was our second time coming to O' by Claude le Tohic a couple of days ago and it won't be our last. As with our previous visit the experience from start to finish was terrific. I had the 9 course option and and my wife the 5 course and both were superbly put together and delivered with extraordinary service. Rather than go into all the food, which is covered by other reviews, we wanted to celebrate the incredible people who make it happen. From the moment we walked in, Kevin at the front door was welcoming. Marc the Maitre d'Hotel was hugely accommodating and was kind enough to take us on a tour after dinner of the various kitchens that make up the several businesses Chef Claude has there. It was stunning to see. We were professionally assisted by Jasmine, Venron, Joaquin and Jeremy with the wines. They were always there when you needed something as one might expect from a Michelin starred restaurant but one does not always get, or gets too much. Chef Claude who comes out of the kitchen to greet his guests is a very engaging guy. I do agree that the wines on the list are very expensive but there is ample choice and reasonably priced options by the glass. We eat at many Michelin starred restaurants as we travel extensively and O' by Claude le Tohic is as good as any of them and better than most. We will be back.

Perfect French comfort food done with flair and flavor. Been a few times and does not disappoint.

We had the SF restaurant week menu on a weekday evening. It was wonderful! Although the choices were modest all the food was really well done. The salmon tandoori was actually creamy and nicely spiced. The butter chicken was “butter chicken” but the kofta sauce made from several vegetables was very interesting and spicy the way we like it. A dessert of kulfi with berries was a real treat. We had ordered extra duck samosa appetizers thinking we might need a bit more food but they were not needed although excellent. I especially want to call out the bartenders and wait people who couldn’t have been nicer or more accommodating. Great experience!