Chouquet's Restaurant
Bright Fillmore Street cafe serves up classic bistro fare with West Coast flair.
Message from Chouquet's Restaurant
Whether a light lunch during a shopping spree, a fine dinner with those close to you, or an outdoor brunch, Chouquet's is your French Pacific Heights neighborhood restaurant waiting to host you. Besides our lunch, brunch, dinner and dessert selections, we have over 15 wines by the glass (including champagne) and over 70 wines with special emphasis on excellent value, smaller vineyard wines from the Pacific Northwest, Oceania, South America, and Europe. In addition, we serve our favorite beers on tap: "1664" from France, Sierra Nevada from California, and a "Guest" beer that changes periodically.
Editorial by Citysearch
The SceneBurnished wood floors and cheery orange accents set the mood at this small, light-filled eatery. A sleek bar lined with mod stools, shiny wood tables set with simple white dinnerware and orange napkins, and big windows make for a clean, modern vibe. The crowd is mostly well-heeled older diners and 30-something couples. Waiters, elegantly clad in all black, amp up the Parisian ambience with a slightly snooty attitude.
The Food
Familiar bistro faves get dressed up with mint emulsion, fig-honey sauce and California-inspired ingredients. Citrus-marinated halibut wrapped in cucumber offers a subtle, fresh flavor, with pink peppercorns giving a little kick. The fromagere starter, lightly fried balls of Brie, comes with a heaping endive salad; its tartness an apt counterpart to the creamy cheese. The steamed salmon entree can be a bit dry, but a flavorful, rich Maltaise cream sauce redeems it. Desserts include a gooey warm chocolate fondant and a superb but not-too-sweet peanut-butter mousse with caramel sauce.
Key Points
- Heated Outdoor Dining
- Extensive Wines by the Glass
- Saturday & Sunday Brunch
The Inside Scoop
- What to Drink - A reasonably priced wine list features more than 70 varieties, with an emphasis on smaller, harder-to-find vineyards.
- Where to Sit - Tables on the quaint sidewalk patio fill up quickly on warm days, but the prime view of Fillmore Street shoppers and scenesters is worth the wait.
- Know Before You Go - The sole bathroom is unisex; expect a line when the restaurant fills up.
Insider Pages Reviews for Chouquet's Restaurant
Chouquet's is a really fun place for a date on Filmore. It's small, bustling and although you're kind of right on top of the other tables - you can still have a conversation above the festive din of conversation. My wife and I tried it out on last Saturday night. Had to wait about 10 minutes for our 7:30 reservation, but enjoyed sitting at the cozy bar and having a drink to start. French proprieter / waitress was really friendly. They had a large party of about 20 people in there - seated a at long string of tables lined up along the one long wall (that probably takes up about 50% of the inside seating). She offered us an open table crammed in the corner or the choice to wait for another 2 top to come up. We chose to the corner and the kind people sitting next to us had to move their table over a few inches so we could get into ours. Despite that, and despite being right by the door - the table was great, and it wasn't at all drafty or anything. Service was cheerful and definitely steered us to the best apps for our entrees. Don't go here if you in a rush. Food takes its time getting out but is delicious. 7 hour braised lamb shoulder was great but the real standout was the rigatoni with truffle oil, foie gras and mushrooms - heaven.
Definitely a cool place well situated in the midst of Filmore St.'s goings on. I'd recommend Chouquet's for a nice dinner in Pac Heights area.
Posted 12/07/08 | Report Abuse
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Latest reviews from Citysearch.
Parisan Brunch Spot
by kckraft
As I sat in Chouquet's Restaurant on a sunny sunday morning in the fillmore I couldn't have felt more parisian. With little dogs parked alongside their owners on the streetside patio and intimate tables inside with light pouring it, Chouquet's falls nothing short of perfect. The whole menu looked dilicious and my meal was just what I wanted. Fabulous setting and delicious food. A sunday brunch must.
Posted 03/26/07
Nice place Good food
by franny67
I had dinner here with some friends last week and it was really good. There were four of us and we didn't have reservations. We all really enjoyed our meal and I liked the attention to detail in regards to the spices used. The crab salad by the way had to order twice as it was so so good. Anyway, the service was good (which is saying a lot in this town) and the ambience is nice. There is outside seating too so I think that would be nice for brunch sometime..
Pros: Great Food and good wine list
Posted 02/05/07
First and last time
by freshfigs
Had dinner at Chouquet's last night as part of "Dine About Town." My choices for the three-courses included the cauliflower soup, salmon, and for dessert, the chocolate souffle. The soup was rather tasteless -- I can't remember the last time I went to a nice-ish restaurant and had to add salt to my food. The salmon was very good -- a nice-sized portion, cooked to perfection, with a tasty sauce around it. The dessert was sub-par. We needed to ask for our water to be refilled -- in a restaurant with only ~15 tables, you'd think they'd have that covered. What really got my goat, though, was when we realized they were actually charging MORE for the "Dine about Town" prix fixe than their usual prix fixe. The waiter accidentally gave one of us the regular prix fixe menu when we were to decide on dessert. The menus were IDENTICAL, yet the prices were not -- $29 for the prix fixe usually, but $31.95 for the "Dine about Town" menu! Doesn't that defeat the purpose of "Dine about Town?" We pointed this out to the waiter and though he later brought us 2 complimentary glasses of champagne, we were still charged the $31.95 each. Dishonest management + mediocre food = a dining experience I don't intend to repeat.
Posted 01/05/07
Average
by sobremesa
Service was decent and food was just okay -- nothing to return to. My boyfriend ordered the sweet bread appetizer, which was so hard he couldn't even eat it! They were not prepared properly. My salmon entree was mediocre and my boyfriend's entree -- the vegetable muillfeille -- was overcooked and mushy. Desserts too were just okay. Overall, this is a place to go when all of the surrounding restaurants are booked, but certainly not a destination.
Posted 11/16/06
I'd definitely take friends here
by jbeckmeyer
I was pleasently surprised by my experience here. The appetizers we had (Chevre tart and Dungeness crab salad) were very very good (I've gone back just for the Chevre tart!). Our entrees (ahi tuna and lamb) were also excellent as were the dessert we shared (Fondant au chocolat). And the wine list is solid too. Overall, a very good evening with some memorable food, cozy ambiance and friendly staff.
Posted 04/13/06
great neighborhood restaurant
by dineoutjunky
The service was excellent. All three courses came out quickly and the waitress came by to check on us at all the right times without making us feel rushed. The restaurant is very small, but has an intimate neighborhood feel. The food was good, but a little bit bland for French food. Of course, its probably much healthier than most french food also.
Pros: service, service, intimate feel
Posted 07/08/05