Left Bank (Santana Row)

"Authentic French Brasserie"
multiple locations in Menlo Park, San Jose and Larkspur

377 Santana Row
Suite 1100
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 984-3500
website

Vitals:
Tuesday-Friday 11:30AM to 11PM
Saturday 11AM to 11PM
Sunday 10:30AM to 10PM
Monday 11:30AM to 10PM
Brunch is served Sat & Sun from opening until 2:30PM
Business-casual, but can be kid-friendly
accepts credit cards
***


Met up with a friend for brunch. It was a nice day so we sat outside and chatted a bit before we ordered.

Since I like calamari ($10.75), I suggested it as a starter. The calamari was done well - the breading was crunchy and not too oily and the squid was soft and tender. It laid on a bed of fried onions, which was a nice touch and the mustard dipping sauce was quite good.

Since this was a "French" place, I knew that I would have to try the quiche ($14.50). My friend ordered the eggs benedict (it was "Parisien" style with Parisian ham, not sure if it was any different than regular ham though - $10.75).

The quiche was made with crab meat, mushrooms, spinach and emmenthal cheese. It was just ok. The crust, which should have been flaky, soft and buttery, was hard and tasteless almost. The crab meat was overpowered, it didn't taste like any crab was in the quiche (I could tell by texture that crab was present, but couldn't taste any of it). The flavors were rather bland I have to say. The salad had a vinegary dressing that would have been a good complement to a rich quiche. The portion was adequate. So far, my favorite place to get quiche is at Twist Cafe in Campbell, and this didn't even compete.

As for my friend's eggs benedict, I can't say anything because I didn't get to try it. Maybe next time.

As for Left Bank generally, I think that it's a good place to go if you want french casual food that is simply and well prepared, but I do find it to be rather expensive. I've gone on other occasions and have enjoyed the roasted chicken, the bouillabaisse (good but the portion was rather small for the price - $24.75) and the duck breast (fabulous but expensive at $21.25), but I don't know if I'd go out of my way to eat here, unless I was specifically in the mood for some French food and was willing to shell out some serious cash.