Papillon Restaurant
| Address: | 37296 Mission Blvd, Fremont, CA 94536, USA |
| Phone: | +1 510-793-6331 |
| Site: | papillonrestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 5:30–10PM 5–9PM |
Location
Photos 1
Reviews 11
KA
Kat Bri
One rotten fish - forever spoils entire Papillon ambiance. We used to come here for romantic dates. It felt cozy and kindda cute with their shabby decorum. Until a month ago our date was completely spoiled with a rotten fish dish. My husband ordered their special that night. As usual it arrived on a heavily decorated plate with veggies, herbs, and sauce. He is not a big gourmet guy but even he stopped after the first bite. He said something didnt taste right. I tried it and it was disgusting! The fish was simply rotten! It had an awful bitter taste and foul smell. We called our waiter, he offered to substitute it. We got a chicken dish to go because it was getting late and we didnt want to wait for another 30 min. We paid the full price for our dinner, and our dinner date was ruined that night. (Mind you, the bill is always around $100). The owner came out to apologize, said hell fix it next time. Well, the next time we paid the full bill again. But thats the last time we went there. Now this place is forever going to be a restaurant with smelly rotten fish, dated and worn out tables, dusty and faded pictures on the walls, and arrogant owner....
AM
Amit Dubey
Papillon is what happens when you try to make a really good restaurant without really understanding what makes a restaurant good. The decor attempts to be classy, but borders on nouveau-riche gaudy. The walls and chairs are close enough in color, that you cant help but to notice they dont match. There is plenty of well-mannered waitstaff, but you get the feeling that they dont really like the restaurant or the food. Papillon is running on its reputation as The Place you go for special events in Fremont. The reality is different than the reputation. We ordered the kale salad, the soup of the day, a seafood Wellington, and oysters. None impressed. The soup and seafood Wellington were doused in butter to the point of losing the flavor of the dish. All were severely overpriced for the quality. The only reason to go here is if you have a special occasion and really cant make the drive to Oakland, San Jose or Palo Alto.
ER
Eric Tam
I think its hard to accurately rate the food here especially since we came in a big group for a birthday party; as such our menu choices was limited and I know it can be difficult preparing these type of food for 60+ people. Nonetheless since we paid full price like everyone else, I expect good quality food which Im not so sure. We had three entrees; the sea bass, the filet and the lamb. If I were to rank them, I would say sea bass was the best and done to perfection but the filet and lamb was so so. The filet wasnt really tender, but more like bruised meat. It wasnt flavorful and the sauce was a bit too sour for my taste. the saving grace is the vegetables was done right, still a bit on the crunchy side which is how I like it. The rack of lamb was plain and the sauce was too sour. At a later time I may give it a try but first impression is so-so..
MI
Michelle R
Wonderful food, great service, fair price for the high end experience. When we decided to go out, our hosts insisted on a trip to San Jose. I asked "there must be a place here in Fremont"? So we found Papillon 10 minutes away. From start to finish a real class act. The final step of comping a sorbet & fruit platter when we decided to not have desert was a great touch & really, really good! $10 cork fee was fair, did I mention great service? Visiting from Orlando FL, so I know what a "tourist trap" is. Oh yeah, we watched the baked Alaska & cherries jubilee served and you dont see that kind of table side preparation all that much.
JI
Jitka Adeleke
First of all we had to wait for more than an hour to be seated though we had a reservation and two kids with us. Second of all, there where too many waiters seemingly disorganized asking over the same questions and still it took them another hour to bring the meals. And for the third, French cuisine is very creative and playful - here we had six different dishes whish were okay but all had the exact same garnishing. I spend fun time with my family but otherwise I was very disappointed. Not going there again though it would conveniently close and attractive if it was worth it.
AN
Anton Chuvakin
Maybe not the best French food in Bay Area, but definitely best in Fremont area. Service is good, but not super - but then again so are the prices: as far as French food goes, they were reasonable. Do try to French onion soup! UPDATE: we went there again this week and I think it got better, actually. Mushroom soup was great [super flavorful!], and so was pork belly. Again, this is not "the best French place this side of Paris", but it is a solid, quality, not-too-exciting French restaurant. Of course, being French, it is not cheap. But then again -- see above: it is French :-)
ST
Steven Stokes
Amazingly great restaurant located in Fremont. Impress your date with the classic essence of timeless style. The waiters are dressed to impress, everything about the place says, this is what class looks like. In a day when you can get into any five star restaurant with shorts and flips flops this makes you feel classy. The food is above average but its really the staff that makes this place shine. I would love to come here every week but it would kill my diet. But if youre looking to impress your date or business prospects this is the place.
VI
Victor Berchet
This is not a fine / upscale French restaurant. It takes good/fresh products and french recipes to make a French restaurant. We havent found the products to be really fresh and no foie gras is not to be served on a buttered toast! The white wine was served too warm. If you pretend to be a fine / upscale french restaurant there should also be a good service and a nice decor which we havent found there. Overall we were disappointed by the quality/price ratio. But were french and out expectations may be were too high ?
DE
Dean Giest
Started with the escargot and burrata appetizers. The escargot was very good, large, generous portion with a excellent parsley butter and garlic sauce. The burrata was unique, crusty bread covering the burrata. Very good. We had the beef and sea food Wellington. Preferred the beef. The mushrooms were a very good with the medium rare beef. We were able to cut it a fork. Awesome in every way. Finished with sambuca and banana coconut creme with a coconut sorbe. Both were excellent.
BR
Brad Louie
Excellent service from a very courteous staff. Sean was our waiter; he and others were very, very good. We had the Brussels Sprouts app, salmon and Angus filet mignon dinners. All cooked very well. The filet was cooked a little more than the rare that I requested, but it was fine because it may have been the most tender piece of meat I have ever had in my life. All were very saucy (a French thing?). Overall experience was excellent.
RO
Robert Terkelson
TripAdvisor listed Papillon as #1 in Fremont, so when I picked up my wife from work I told her we going there. Our go-to meal at a new restaurant is always the filet, and we added the scampi they offered. Wonderful steak. The surprise to me, however were the vegetables on the side. They hit my sweet spot between crunchy and mushy just right, and made my least favorite vegetable, carrots, my favorite for the evening. Well be back.
