Fraiche

I have read the past negitive postings and I disagree 100%. First of all, let me mention the hosts...I was warmly greated and immediatley seated. My boyfriend and I sat at the bar and the service was exceptional. We had a progressive dinner and amazing Chateau Margaux wine. The pastas were perfect and I was pleasently supprised regarding the bartenders quick skills. We are planning on returning this evening. I will repost if my experience changes. more

When my family and I dined at the restaurant for a recent birthday celebration we were very disappointed. The food was good, not great --dessert was really disappointing, but worst of all was the service. We dined late and got the feeling that the staff just wanted to get out of there. The waitress seemed impressive at first, but her attitude got increasingly annoying by the end of the meal. When a huge error concerning the check occurred, she totally blanked out and basically ditched us! I know Chef Travi and noticed that when he left for the evening, everyone else checked out--mentally! I did drop the restaurant manage a line the next day and he (or anyone else)never responded. Guess they really don't want my business. Pros: Pumpkin Bombolini (but not the accompanying sauce) Cons: cannot order bar menu at the tables more

You would think this place would be good after being written up in the NY Times, but rumor has it that the editor wanted a piece of the Culver City action in the article and Fraiche was seemingly the ""fine dining"" choice in the city. Well think again. The publicity is so fabricated. The service is terrible from the host to the server. By the time our food arrived we were not happy that everything tasted bad. In hind sight, it might have been good but my date was ruined and beyond repair. Good luck to whoever decides to take a risk on this place. Pros: Culver City Cons: Staff needs improvement, ambiance is stuffy more

Do not go here -- The owner will yell at you, the server will rush you, and the food is substandard. Pros: nothing Cons: service, ownership more

I was strolling through downtown Culver City last Saturday night with my wife and mother. We saw several open tables at Fraiche at around 8:00. We walked in and I told the Maitre'd we wanted drinks and appetizers at the bar. We weren't that hungry and my elderly mother doesn't eat that much. He told us they had some cancellations and he would seat us in the patio area. We ordered 3 drinks, 2 appetizers and 1 entree, with the intention of ordering dessert. The waiters mood immediately changed and I sensed something was wrong. Within 30 seconds, the assistant Maitre'd approached us and questioned our order, suggesting we didn't order enough to justify a table in the exclusive Patio area which had the undeniable odor of urine. After successfully articulating(so I thought) to this guy our reason for the size of our order, he left. Immediately, the HEAD Maitre'd showed up at our table and told us we did not order enough to sit at a table. He told us we didn't even have a reservation and he did us a big favor by seating us. He raised his voice and was visibly upset. I felt very embarrassed that this guy was raising his voice at me in front of my wife and mother, not to mention the entire patio area. The bus boys were obviously embarrassed by their bosses antics as they were shaking their heads in disgust. Apparently, this is standard practice at this place. We walked out. This place must be on the brink of going under because I have never seen this type of micro management of a customer. I wanted to contact the owner and advise him of this situation with the Maitre'd. I think my concerns would have fallen on deaf ears because the irate little Maitre'd, was in fact the owner. I can assure you that I will never set foot in this place again. I will share my experience at this place with all my neighbors and friends. more

We ate at Fraiche for two nights running, on Weds. Sept. 24 and Thursday Sept. 25 (as walk-in escapees from Fords Filling Station). We had reservations on Wednesday for 6.30 but arrived early. We were seated promptly inside, and as we selected a bottle of wine our server asked for our order. The wine we selected was a white. We had wanted rose, but the Marques de Caceras, which sells, retail, for about $7, was about $40 (as I remember) on the wine list. Mistakenly, we gave it to him. The appetizer (beets with ricotta) and soup (corn) arrived before the wine did; we sent the soup back to be warmed because it was already cool. The bread was stale and not particularly interesting--some of it was greasy. The wine was poured--and it was corked! We sent it back, and a replacement was sent without a problem. The corn soup was OK, and the beet salad excellent. Then the entrees arrived before we had finished the appetizer and soup! We protested, and they were removed. The flat iron steak was cooked to order but not particularly tasty; the fries were great. The ravioli--ordered as the other entree--were ethereal. The dessert, semifreddo, was marvellous. On Thursday we were seated promptly outside. We explained to our server that we did not want to be rushed, and he said he would ""customize"" the pace of our order. The wine we ordered came before the appetizers this time. The bread was fresh this time. We had two of the in-house cured meats, and liked them. Our entrees--the monkfish with pureed potatoes and spinach, and the lamb stew--were excellent. Although we don't usually order dessert, because yesterday's had been so good we ordered the pear napoleon, which was pleasant but not exceptional. Overall I would recommend Fraiche for good food and decent prices in a nice setting, but ask the server to slow down on service if you don't want to be rushed. Pros: Excellent food at decent prices; lively atmosphere Cons: REALLY rushed service one out of two nights more

My husband and I eat out every Saturday night. This particular Saturday, I went with my girlfriends to check out this place. We got there early and checked in with the maitre d'/hostess. Not very nice! We've been to alot of places; mostly on the Westside/Beverly Hills and the maitre d's behavior was not acceptable. They told us our reservations were 15 minutes later than what was originally confirmed and just plain rude. We were fine with the time; it was the delivery (we were going to have a drink anyways). Turns out, they never came to seat us, instead we had to find the hostess to 'remind' them that it was now 15 minutes past the later time that they had changed our resos to. I do love the outdoor patio and the bar. The bartender was very good! My girlfriend ordered the Raspberry Mojito but asked for it to be made with vodka. The bartender told her that it would be better with rum. Bartender was right!! The food was good but since there are many other restaurants in town with better maitre d's and service, I will not go back there. Pros: Great bar, great bartender, nice patio Cons: Awful Maitre d more

We were having a lovely evening outdoors and the food was delicious, then we ordered a bottle of wine....The cork was clearly ruined, soaked through and it broke when the waiter tried to open it. We tasted it - not aweful, but not quite right (this is a wine we've had several times). So we sent it back. Of the thousands of bottles of wine we've ordered in restaurants, we've made this request maybe 3 times previously. Our waiter departed. The maitre de came over to tell us that the owner had tasted it and disagreed with us. Strange response, what's the point of telling that to a customer? But we demured and, having had less than 1/4 glass each, said be that as it may, we'd just like a replacement bottle. The maitre de returned again to inform us that the owner was unwilling to replace it. Shocked, we asked to speak with the proprieter - we weren't really asking for his opinion, we just didn't think it was good and wanted to replace it. The proprieter came to the table and proceeded to raise his voice in telling us that he has excellent wine credentials, that we were wrong, and that he would neither replace it, nor would he sell us another bottle of wine. When he said ""I'm not in this business to loose money to people like you."" We asked for the check and left - in shock. \r \r So yes, the food is good, but no customer should be treated that way certainly not over a bottle of wine that was $75 on the menu, meaning it probably cost him $30 wholesale. We would have spent that much in coffee & desert had he had the grace to provide a hospitible environment in his restaurant. Pros: Great Food Cons: The worst attitude and service I've ever experienced. more

A friend and I have a monthly dinner date around town and we scheduled July's at Fraiche on Tuesday evening. We were not dissappointed: the food was terrific. I started with seafood risotto which was beautifully cooked - bits and pieces of absolutely fresh seafood, a slightly creamy sauce and al dente rice. My main was a monkfish Francaise - something you don't find often in LA but is very popular back east: delicately cooked fish in a light egg batter. It was served in the creamiest, richest mashed potatoes i've ever had along with some nice, fresh sauteed spinach. Dessert was a Paris Brest stuffed with a hazelnut cream and topped off by spun sugar. It looked like a mini wedding cake! I washed the entire meal down with a nice French Rose champagne - yummy! We sat inside because my friend was afraid it might be too noisy on the patio out front but, when i go again, i'll sit outside - it's a lovely patio. Only slight negative was that the service was good and friendly but lacked a bit of polish. Didn't matter as it was a wonderful evening! Pros: Yummy Food, lovely patio Cons: Service needs a little polish more

My husband and I were so excited to finally try Fraiche and made a reservation for Sunday night at 6:15. The hostess was not friendly and our waitress seemed overworked. We ate on the patio which was relatively full and she was the only waitress out there. It took forever to put in our order and also to then be served the food. The wine list was great, but the food was a little less than average. I had the pork chop which was unimpressive and my husband had the flank steak which was very tough and didn't taste good at all. How can you screw up steak? We won't return. Pros: Pretty decor Cons: Service and food are both bad more

We've tried many times to get a table at Fraiche at the last minute but it is so popular that you really do need to plan ahead. This time we walked in on a Saturday at 6:30 and it was already packed. We ended up eating at one of the bar tables on the patio. The food was superb!!! from the steak, frites, salad, tar tar...loved it all. Our waitress was warm, elegant & attentive.....loved everything. This place is a new top favorite in our book. As I left I complimented the maitre de on how much we loved our experience and he sorta ignored me and gave me attitude which was weird. How odd to treat a HAPPY customer like that...??? Anyway....we'll be back! Pros: this place has it all: food, service & atmosphere -- full homerun! Cons: need to plan ahead but well worth it. more

I recently visited Fraiche for the third time and it was a disaster! I was with three of my young, gorgeous girlfriends and we didn't have a reservation, so we agreed to wait in the bar. We were told it would only be 30 minutes. After having to practically tackle the waitress in the bar area to get our order in, we had glasses of wine and two appetizers. We waited for nearly an hour and a half to hear back from the host. There were open tables, so we asked the maitre d' about our wait. What a surprise, one of the open tables was now available. Once seated, we ordered a bottle of wine and four dishes from the dinner menu. Several minutes later the maitre d' returned to tell us that we did not order enough food for the dinner service and that they were too busy to have us sitting there. Very tacky! We were spending over $50 per person in their restaurant! It was so classless. We had a stand-off and after I explained to him that I refused to order and pay for food I wouldn't be eating, he left the table. Then our food arrived before our bottle of wine! The maitre d' brought our bottle of Cotes du Rhone. Unfortunately, we ordered white and he poured red, so once again, we had to wait to get the correct wine. Overall, the experience was terrible. If the restaurant was too busy to seat us, we would have gladly eaten in the bar area. But, don't seat me after I just spent over $80 in the bar on apps and drinks, and then ruin my meal by telling me I'm not spending enough money! The final kicker is that a table sat empty next to us the entire time we ate. I won't go back until the maitre d' is fired! Great food. Terrible customer service. Not worth the money. Pros: Great Food and Wine List Cons: Terrible Customer Service and Snobby maitre d' more

Ok\r so, my boyfriend brought me here for a date last week! FIrst of all, we sat at the bar, while we were waiting on a table! I toally recommend sitting at the bar before your table is ready, becaue the bartenders there are SO attentive and fun! There was this girl with pink hair that made us TRULY great drinks, I love the one called The grape. My bf had scotch. Then, we had an amazing dinner, the streak frites and all the seafood we had was out of this world! Then, we went back to the bar after dinner, and the owner gave us complimentary dessert wine and thanked us for our business. Fraiche really knows whats goin on, and they do everything right! I woudl recommend this place to anyone and I will defintley be back!!! more

I've been to this restaurant 3 times (I figure you have to give the place a chance). My first experience was right after the opening, the service was terrible, the food was over salted, and the maitre d was obnoxious. Because this place has and had phenomenal reviews I decided that every restaurant can have an off night. I went back two weeks later for a client dinner (everyone has been talking this place up). The staff was attentive the food was good and the hostess was pleasant. Unfortunately the 3rd trip was a total disaster. AGAIN the maitre d was back and on fire, he was extremely rude, rushed our group, and made us feel unworthy to eat in his 3 star restaurant. If you are looking for a fine dining experience go elsewhere...if you are hoping for a 5 star restaurant in all ways go elsewhere, better yet go to La Cachette your money is better spent! If they decided to hire a new maitre d I might consider returning otherwise my advice to LA is, AVOID THE HYPE! more

My friend and I went in there a couple of nights ago for a drink. That was it we said - ONE DRINK! The plan was to check the place out - a future reference sort of thing - and make it an early night. It did not go down that way hahah. \r \r First off the place is really beautiful - I would totally let a date bring me there. The vibe is extremely laid-back and pleasant. My friend and I had cocktails served by Kara, a fabulous LA looking girl (crazy red and pink hair) without the bulls**t LA attitude. I have no idea how it happened but one quick drink turned into four leisurely drinks and then into dinner at the bar. I blame Kara - she was so awesome and friendly that she made it hard to leave. \r \r The food was sooooo yummy! I had the risotto with bacon and cheese which was unbelievable and my friend had pasta with lamb meat sauce .... wow! We were tempted to try some desert but were too full of booze and food - but next time for sure! \r \r Definitely check it out! Pros: Great ambiance, awesome bartenders Cons: wish i lived closer hahah more

After an amazing day where my boyfriend proposed to me, what a way to top the day with a night out at what is the best restaurant I have ever been to. Fraiche service is beyond amazing, we were looked after from the second we walked in the door! The food was out of this world, staff were attentive and looked after us with what seemed like even more detail given we got engaged that day. Would definitely recommend anyone go there that doesn't mind spending good money for an amazing experience and talk to Terry for a wine recommendation, he was so nice.\r Also I thought City search for recommendation not for revenge.\r more

From start to finish - always a great time! We've been to Fraiche 4 times now in the past year and it never disappoints. We've enjoyed drinks at the bar and dinner in the main room and the more outside dining room which is next to the lounge and all have been stellar experiences. The service is impecable and the food is to die for. The wine list is deep and the owner/manager is always nice enough to stop by and chat it up. For such a busy restaurant, he's the most down to earth owner in the biz. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!! Thanks for making our experience exceptionnal and unique. more

The food was wonderful and our waitress was very sweet but the host at the door was by far the rudest human on this earth. I just returned from a 3 course meal with 3 friends, one of which is pregnant and was asked to stand at the bar for a table in an empty restaurant. Our reservation was for 615p and one member of our group was running late due to a 3 car pile up on the 10 Freeway (Welcome to LA). Although we asked repeatedly to be seated we were not indulged by the extremely rude host as ""he might need to use the table for another guest."" There was no one in the restaurant!!!! We finally had to announce that our pregnant friend was standing at the bar and that 3 out of the 4 guests were ready to be seated. We were reminded that it was 20 minutes past our reservation time and that our entire party was not there to be seated. I politely notified him that we would be happy to take our friend's order over the phone so that our group could be seated. FINALLY we were given a table. \r \r Now to keep it short, you can't order an appetizer without ordering an entree, once you order you're forced into the chefs time frame (don't bother holding a conversation), your plates will be removed with in minutes, once you order dessert the staff will hover your table to take it away and usher you out of your table. To top it all off the host told us that our time at the table had come to an end when we were signing the check. \r \r DON'T EAT HERE IF YOUR PLANNING ON HAVING A CONVERSATION OR IF YOU NEED TIME TO ENJOY YOUR MEAL! Pros: Great Food Cons: Rude host, rushed service, need a restroom upgrade more

night started off fine. some friends and i went and had some drinks. we werent being loud or drunk. my friend accidently broke a glass when he was talking. we later paid our tab and tip. as i left the place, the owner was at the host area i said, ""bye thank you."" he then came around and pushed me and told me to get out of his place. i asked why he pushed, i had done nothing wrong. he PUSHED ME AGAIN!! at this point i was really ticked off and almost punched him in the face but held back. my friends pulled me away and we just left. \r \r also, the bartender with the colored pink hair was extremely rude and probably on her period. i had asked for a separate tab from the very beginning because i didnt have cash. she then put all our tabs together. mine was the only one that was separate. i told her about it and she just said ""i dont care how you guys pay for it, just pay for it"" \r \r bad experience. never going back and i recommend other nice restaurants near by with friendly service. Pros: patio Cons: service, staff, owner more

I made a reservation for my husband's birthday dinner through the restaurant's website, and received a confirmation phone call. When we arrived for the reservation, we were told (shouted at, actually) that our reservation had been 30 minutes earlier, we were no-shows, and they'd given away the table. Despite showing the owner/manager/maitre d' our confirmation and explaining that we'd gotten a phone call from the restaurant confirming the time, we were screamed at and told that he ""never lies,"" that we must have misunderstood the phone call, and that he was not responsible for the online service. The hostess, who was slightly more sympathetic, gave us the phone number for the online reservation service, which we called. And whose rep told us that the restaurant had changed our reservation earlier that day (and not told us). We handed the phone directly to the owner, who proceeded to scream at the customer service rep for the reservation service... Finally, after about 20 minutes, he came back and shouted at us that he was going to give us a table (as if we should be grateful), but he wasn't happy about it. I could have cared less at that point, but it was my husband's birthday, and he wanted to try the restaurant. So we took the table, which should have been ours in the first place. \r After all that--the food was fine, fresh and pleasant, if a little boring, although admittedly a nice change from all the other French restaurants that tend to over-salt their food. The dessert was lovely (the only dish I had that seemed truly worth the hassle). The waitress we had was similarly lovely. But I can't say I'd go back. There are a lot of restaurants in this town where you can get great food and great service in an environment that's classy enough to not employ an abusive maitre d'. Pros: friendly wait staff, great desserts Cons: an appallingly poorly behaved owner; need to fight to keep a reservation more