Cassis

After a long day in SF, shopping and sightseeing we decided to try this restaurant as part of the «Dine about SF» promotion.
What a treat, we had the prix fixe tasting menu, and it was fantastic! The execution and attention to detail was fantastic, it really was quite satisfying. The service was excellent, and perfectly attentive.
It is sad that they are now closed; I was looking forward to going back for the foie gras!
If you look on their website, they are hoping to open a new restaurant down the road and I look forward to it!
Cheers Cassis!

Came here for my bday dinner with wifey. Perfect timing with Dine About Town this week. Read all the recent reviews, and they were pretty spot-​on about the modern décor, and all the wait staff speaking with French accents… Chef Stephane even came out to check on everyone, which was a nice touch.
We tried the Dine About Town Pre-​Fixe Menu (always a good way to get a sampling a new restaurant)… We both had the Duck Foie Gras Terrine with Mango Chutney and Homemade Brioche (can’t go wrong with foie gras, and the brioche was lightly toasted to perfection), I had the Pan Roasted Fennel Seed Encrusted Halibut with Black Olive Mash Potatoes (just ok), wifey had the Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Parmesan Polenta (nice and tender), Cream Puffs with Dulce De Leche Ice Cream and Carmelized Hazlenuts (yummy), and Apple Crumble flambeed with Calvados Apple Brandy (pretty good)…
Service was extremely friendly, and wasn’t as slow as I had read in previous reviews. Overall it was a good experience, but nothing really blew me away. It was well worth the price for Dine About Town, and I might come back for the regular menu items… One thing to note is that they have a very similar pre-​fixe menu on a daily basis when Dine About Town is not happening… Something to think about.

I came here with my boyfriend last week on a Wednesday night for Dine About Town. I had heard about this place from a coworker who really recommended it as his favorite place for French cuisine in the city. I ordered the crab salad, pan roasted scallops, and homemade cream puffs. My boyfriend had the duck foie gras terrine, braised short ribs, and chocolate and banana mousse cake.
Pros:
–Décor. The restaurant has a very nice ambiance, great for a dinner date.
–Crab salad. I really liked my appetizer — the crab and the nuttiness of the arugula worked very well together.
–Scallops. The scallops were very buttery and delicious (plus I really like scallops!).
–Braised short ribs. I had a bite of my boyfriend’s entrée (even though I don’t typically eat red meat); it was extremely savory and fall-​off-​the-​bone tender.
–Chocolate and banana mousse cake. The cake was very light and had a distinct banana flavor that wasn’t overpowered by the chocolate.
Cons:
–Duck foie gras terrine. While the foie gras itself was great, the pairing with cornbread and jam was a little odd, as both are on the sweet side.
–Crispy wild Californian rice (served with my scallops). While I understand that it was supposed to be crispy, the crunchiness threw me off a bit. I prefer a mushier texture to my rice.
Overall, I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, and would probably come here again to try some of their non-​DAT menu items.
–L.

Had a girl nite out at this place. It happens to have a dine about town so we took full advantage of it. We still came away with a fat bill with a little bit disappointed.
The ambience was nice but very dark and gloomy. We realized it was a tad too dark when people including ourselves had to take a mini flash light to see the menu and what they were serving up. The hostess as well as the waiters could of been nice.
Overall, the food was ok. Expected more. Waitress should be more in tune with their customers. Too highly price for average course meals.

Went for DAT.
There was a fire alarm before I even got my cocktail. Everyone in the restaurant had to go outside, only to discover the the apartment above the restaurant had burnt their toast or somesuch thing. Fun.
I swear, my waiter said he was from Marseilles, but I have never met a Frenchman with such a horrid accent who didn’t understand a word of French. Just saying.
The food? It was good…
I think the crab in my crab salad came from a can. I’m from Alaska, and really picky on my seafood though. It could have been better.
My scallops were all cut by the kitchen staff to see if they were done or not. Poor form, that. Tasty otherwise though. The wild rice was fairly bland, and the curry sauce was… somewhere on my plate. I think.
I did appreciate the cocktail menu and the dessert, on the positive.
All in all, interesting. Could have been better, and probably would be if I went back, got a different waiter, didn’t order seafood, and there was no fire drill. Mais c’est la vie!

We were here last year for my wife’s birthday and since I was working on my birthday in the city I decided to return.
Everything started out nicely. Moderately close parking, warm greeting and a nice corner table.
Though there were four of us, they all had the same appetizers and entrees and then there was me.
They had the Cassolette d’Escargots (pan roasted snails) which was nicely presented in an edible bowl and Carré d’Agneau (rack of Lamb). Me, I had the Ravioles de Homard (lobster ravoli) and the Ravioles de Homard (Filet Mignon). My wife didn’t think much of her choices. Our guests seemed to enjoyed theirs. I liked my ravoli and the Filet was good. All dishes were artfully presented but what we didn’t care for was that all the entrees were served with barely warm plates so the entrees seemed cold.
Afterwards, three of us ordered the Nice Matin (Kalua & vodka) dessert cocktail but it tasted like plain, old iced coffee so back it went. My brother in law ordered the Fondant au Chocolat (Chocolate cake) but some how it became my celebratory birthday dessert. He never got the one he ordered though they did offer after realizing what had happened.
Since Tre Fratelli closed here decades ago, a few restaurants have come and gone from this spot so I do wish them well.

A long delayed review for dinner with the bf at Dine About Town.
The décor is warm and dark without the slightest bit of pretentiousness. Very welcoming staff that was attentive but not overbearing. The Prix Fixe menu had some great options to choose from (and appears to be their standard Prix Fixe options right now too).
We had:
First Course:
–Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Bacon and Pine Nuts
–Duck Foie Gras Terrine with Homemade Brioche
Second Course:
–Grilled Lamb Tenderloin with a Provençale Sauce and Crispy Polenta
–Grilled Tiger Prawns and Scallops with Roasted Vegetable and Mashed Potatoes
Third Course:
–Vanilla Crème Brulée with Bourbon Vanilla
–Fresh Strawberry Tart with French Pastry Cream
DE-LI-CIOUS…extremely flavorful and darn scrumptious. Our items didn’t have the least bit of «mass production» taste that many prix fixed dishes often have.
The Foie Gras was unctuous and worked really well with the compote. The simplicity of the Goat Cheese salad was kicked up with the crunchy lardon and pine nuts. The lamb was cooked perfectly and my bf claimed that the prawns and scallops were amazing (and he usually doesn’t even like shell fish). Desserts were light but wonderfully satisfying for a dessert monger such as myself. Our choice of Cotes Du Rhone and Bordeaux complimented our French cuisine perfectly.
We had such a wonderful experience with Cassis and look forward to coming back to try some of their other dishes. The Chanterelle Mushrooms in a Puff Pastry looked amazing and is on our must-​try list!
Superb!

Now I’m excited to report in about the brunch at Cassis. It’s typically French, and the decadence shows, from the perfectly-​executed croque madame, to the caramelized French Toast, to the strong coffee. If you’re a burger aficionado, they do an excellent one, and their fries strike the perfect crisp: soft ratio.
Being just a block off Fillmore, somewhat off the beaten path, is a good thing for getting a table, but make reservations just to be sure. It’s an unrushed brunch experience that leaves you smiling and satisfied (and is very reasonably priced), and ready to take on the day!

This Saturday was MY FIRST DINE ABOUT TOWN EXPERIENCE!!!
I’d have to say that hands down this restaurant has the BEST service ever. I mean we did have reservations for 6pm so it wasn’t THAT crowded, but even towards the end of our meal, they never once tried to rush us out, like how other restaurants keep coming back to collect the bill and clear your table. THEY WERE VERY NICE… i almost want to say too attentive. But good service is always better than NO service.
Our waiter even went as far as offering us other dishes or extra dessert if he saw that we had not finished our original dishes. He insisted on brining us other courses or desserts to try if we were not satisfied with our original choice. Cmon, i mean, WHO DOES THAT???
Among the four of us these were the dishes we tried (a lot of them were doubles).
APPETIZERS:
Duck Foie Gras Terrine served with Homemade Brioche — loved the foie gras and brioche, but the poached pear i could have done without
Caprese Salad (Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella) — didn’t try this, but it looked good and there were no complaints from my friend
Salade de Chèvre Chaud avec ses Lardons et Pignons — the portion was huge, especially for a starter salad!
ENTREES
Grilled Tiger Prawns and Scallops, served with Roasted Vegetable Tian and Saffron Mashed Potatoes — Prawns were delicious, but some of the scallops didn’t taste as fresh as the others.
Grilled Lamb Tenderloin with a Provençale Sauce, served with Crispy Polenta — I don’t like eating lamb, but i did try a piece, and for someone who is not a fan, it definitely wasn’t bad.
DESSERTS:
Homemade Cream Puffs with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce — i thought to myself… honestly how good could cream puffs be? everyone use to buy them in a huge plastic tub from costco, but THESE WERE GOOD. especially with the little bits of strawberry!
Vanilla Crème Brulée with a Touch of Bourbon Vanilla — decent. i’ve had better, and i’ve had worse.
Fresh Strawberry Tart with French Pastry Cream — love the strawberries!!! they don’t lie when they say FRESH :)
I think i must of gone by this spot a dozen times, but i never bothered to check it out. I’m glad I finally did though, and they even said they’re planning on extending the «dine about town» specials past june 15^th!

My experience at Cassis was one of the best experiences I’ve had dining at a French Restaurant. I came here last Friday for Dine About Town 2009 and I didn’t regret it one bit!
Cassis is a cute, chic, dark lighted, restaurant located in the middle of a neighborhood called Pacific Heights. It is located at the corner of Sutter and Steiner. This gem of a restaurant is unique in its location and outstanding service. The presentation of every plate was amazing and delicious.
Staff members were all so friendly and attentive and so TRULY french! It made me so excited because I was able to bust out my french too. and it’s been awhile that I’ve been able to speak to someone really french!
They were nice enough to accomodate the 8 person party we had after being late for 30 minutes, especially when the place was packed!
Wine by the glass varies from $ 8 to $ 12. Some of us decided to get the Cabernet and others tried their specialty cocktails, Cote D’Azur and Brive. The cabernet was delicious!
Appetizers DAT menu:
1. Caprese Salad– the fresh mozzarella was to die for. perfect with the hint of sea salt and pepper and fresh tomatoes.
2. Duck Foie Gras Terrine served with Homemade Brioche– fluffiest toast bread with the right amount of mousse texture to the fois gras. with poached pear on the side.
3. Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Bacon and Pine Nuts– the goat cheese had a very strong flavor to it but I loved it. different and very tasty. Definitely something you need to eat in small amounts though!
Main Entrees DAT menu:
1. Grilled Tiger Prawns and Scallops, served with Roasted Vegetable Tian and Saffron Mashed Potatoes– shrimp and scallops were cooked in a very tasty sauce. Perfect grilling to each piece on a skewer. The plating was fabulous!
2. Grilled Lamb Tenderloin with a Provençale Sauce, served with Crispy Polenta– I started liking lamb a few months back. and this was juicy and tender. the smell of the lamb wasn’t as strong as what it would be at other places which made it taste even better! the polenta waas cooked differently of what i was used to. it looked like a fruit at first but then cut it up, and you can taste its corn-​ish taste to it.
3. Braised Duck Leg in an Orange Sauce, served with Roasted Garlic & Thyme Fingerling Potatoes– this was probably the entrée i liked the least. I liked it but the last place out of the three. Duck was tender but I enjoyed the other dishes more!
Desserts of DAT menu (my fav part!):
1. Fresh Strawberry Tart with French Pastry Cream (my favorite!!!) — this pastry was SO LIGHT and delicious. I love how french pastries are made. not too heavy even in the cream. with the perfect assortment of strawberries. sweet and light with a chilled plate with strawberry sauce dabbed all over! i LOVED it!
2. Vanilla crème brûlée– usually i get sick of eating crème after half of the bowl/​plate but this time, the crème was so light that I could of ate it all. Mousse texture. like i said. delicious
3. Homemade Cream Puffs with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce — none of us ordered it. but the chef came out with some made for us! Another complimentary treat! Delicious with the ice cream sandwiched in between with the chocolate syrup dabbed on it! Thank you chef!
Highlight of the night was meeting the chef of the house. Chef Stefan! He was the friendliest, and funniest person ever. It was so awesome for him to come to our table and ask how everything was. then he even came back to chat with us, describe to us some of the dishes we had questions about. At the end of the night, he even came back to talk to us after he changed out of his chef uniform. Great guy. He’s only been to the states for 2 years! Previously had 2 restaurants in Nice, France! I am very glad that we came here!
Hats to the chef!

You know, I have to upgrade. Of all the times I’ve been to Cassis I have never had less than a stellar experience. Last night we went in for the prix fixe dinner menu and HOLY CRAP it was a lot of food. No skimpy portions here — we had to roll ourselves out. I totally recommend the floating islands for desert, and the onion soup is probably the best I’ve ever had. The service is always phenomenal and helpful, never snooty or pretentious, though always polished.
This place has got to be my favorite restaurant in SF.
** Update to the update **
I’m addicted. We went for brunch on Sunday and it kicked arse as well. They seemed a little understaffed though, half of our drinks were forgotten for a while, but as soon as we reminded them they came right out. The croque monsieur may not be the best I’ve ever had, but I loved that it came with a yummy pile of simply dressed greens and a few breakfast potatoes, and the Cassis mimosa is divine. The bloodies were really good as well, and the breakfast sandwiches (aka Sandwich Oeuf au Plat) looked awesome and HUGE. Plus, you can order the chocolate fondue for breakfast if you want, and that certainly doesn’t suck.

I decided to go here for the DAT menu after reading the reviews here on Unilocal. Place was really cute and the service was great but the food fell short for me. I have to say if it wasn’t for the great services and ambiance I would have probably given this place a two star.
Appetizer: Duck Foie Gras Terrine, Poached Pear with a Port Reduction, Homemade Brioche — I was pretty disappointed with this entrée. The duck foie gras was on the plain side and didn’t have that much flavor to it. The poached pear was actually disgusting an I almost had to spit out the piece I tried.
Entrée: Tiger Prawns with a Porcini Mushroom Sauce, served with Porcini Mushroom Risotto. Nothing special about this dish. Risotto was a little plain for my liking.
Dessert: Mini Warm Molten Chocolate Cake made with 70% Valrhona Chocolate — The desert was to die for. The cake was warm and once you cut a piece out the chocolate came oozing out. Really made up for the other dishes.
Overall, with the corking fee for our bottle of wine we paid $ 50 bucks a person. I wouldn’t go here again if you are looking for great French cuisine.

Don’t come here for Dine About Town. The supposed 3-​course $ 34.95 prix fixe menu isn’t a deal at all, in fact for many choice combinations you are actually better off ordering directly off the menu! Based on the published menu prices, most of us ordered the foie gras appetizer, tiger prawns and risotto, and lava cake for dessert since this combination would provide the best value (~$ 11 saved). However, because we ordered off the Dine About Town menu, the foie starter and lava cake dessert were about 50% smaller than the serving you get when ordering off the regular menu. What a scam! Taking the reduced portion sizes into account changes everything, and further reduces the value of the Dine About Town menu.
I have attached a link to a rather detailed excel spreadsheet that breaks down our menu options at Cassis. Yes, it was created by some investment banker buddies of mine. Take a look for yourself and make your own conclusions.
I’m not saying all DAT deals are bogus, but Cassis’ definitely was. I suggest making this type of analysis before going to any DAT venue.

After a few days of sinful indulgence, i.e. eating two pounds of foie gras, we ended our xmas trip with a nice light French/​Italian meal at Cassis.
The place was nice, baby friendly, but got a little loud when it filled up. For starters, the girl and I ordered the corn soup and the charcuterie plate. All the meats were fine but the duck mousse was especially good.
For our main entrées, I choose the duo of duck, the girl got a pizza, my dad got some amazing risotto, my sister received the creamiest lasagna I’ve ever had, and I forgot what the rest of the family got. The duck was spot on. The breast meat was falling off the bone tender and moist as can be. The confit was served with pepper and port reduction and it was just great. It came with sides of veggies and some damn good au gratin potatoes.
For dessert, I couldn’t help but try the Île Flottante, which is a floating island of baked meringues in an English cream sauce with caramel. My mom said I had to try so I did and it was pretty fun! The meringues were light and fluffy and almost reminded me of super puffed up marshmallows. I can’t imagine how unhealthy eating all that cream was =]
Cassis was very reasonably priced and an all around good time. I’d recommend them to a friend or maybe even go back.

After trying 9 other 2008 Dine About Town restaurants for January and June, my sister and I were just saying how disappointing the food has been at most of them. Then we brought our dad to Cassis for Father’s Day, and this place made up for it all!
The décor is trendy yet inviting. It is nicely lit and open, and the interior decorating makes one notice the little details that fall together well. Our table ordered one DAT menu, the chorizo-​wrapped scallops appetizer, and several entrees. All of the courses we had were very good, but the two I will highlight are the lamb and veal. I had the lamb medallions, which was stuffed with prosciutto and vegetables — this was absolutely excellent, and I highly recommend it! Not a lamb fan? Then try the veal scallopini: served in a wild mushroom cream sauce with gnocchi. The gnocchi was so soft and pillowy, obviously freshly made in-​house!
My dad wouldn’t stop complimenting how much he liked all the entrees we ordered, even though he normally doesn’t prefer French cuisine. My mom, experienced in French culture, also commented that Cassis is more traditionally French than Fringale, which is where we took her for Mother’s Day. Out of all the places I’ve tried for DAT this year, Cassis wins hands down (unless we’re talking trendy SF entertainment like AsiaSF or Supperclub).

This particular corner of Sutter and Steiner must have really bad karma. I swear every time I’ve dined at this location — which granted, is not often — it’s been a completely different restaurant. Perhaps it’s on top of a mass burial ground of frustrated food critics who were tired of being ignored and are venting «fairy fecal matter» on the dreams of each succeeding owner. Winterland was pretty nice, and I really liked Julia’s when it first opened. I even got my photo in the Chronicle Datebook review for looking very animated while dining there.
The same big bar is there under its new identity, Cassis. The name reminds me of one of those 1960’s romantic thrillers like «Charade» and «Arabesque» where hopelessly glamorous people chase each other through the Paris metro line to find a cache of stolen jewels. But there’s no Audrey, no Cary, but there are waiters who speak with French accents. Perhaps they know where the jewels are. The dining room is divided into two by huge levered panels with discs of turquoise glass. While it’s pretty, it also makes the space look and feel more cramped than it should if you ask me.
The fairly extensive menu moves around France and Italy. I felt I should have the $ 8.50 Kir Royale since it does have cassis in it. Tasty, and yes, for that price, I nursed it though my entire meal. My friend Maggie and I decided to share a couple of appetizers. The first was the $ 9.95 Vol au Vent aux Chanterelles et Jus Court de Viande. Impressed, aren’t you? I just copy-​pasted it from the menu. It’s just a mushroom tart. Really good. The other was a daily special — three day-​boat scallops, big ones, wrapped in bacon and stuffed inside a braised tomato. You really can’t go wrong with that combo… it’s a BLT without the L but with shellfish. Really good, too… but three for two people? Come now.
The entrees were quite good but they were missing that certain «je né sais quoi»…know what I mean, Vern? Maggie had the $ 18.75 Pan-​Roasted Salmon with a Lemon and Tarragon Buerre (Butter) White Sauce. It came with a smidgen of spaghetti squash mixed with pine nuts. Nice choice and not too oily. Mine was the $ 18 Pork Tenderloin with Onions, Carrots and Mushrooms in a Mustard Sauce. It came with these little rounds of Duchess potatoes. It was a little dry and bland, especially the potatoes.
As others have noted, the space is strangely crowded with tables for two squeezed against the banquette. I think they need some sort of feng shui expert to redo the furniture placement if you ask me. We skipped dessert because we were on our way to see Morcheeba at the Fillmore nearby. Something tells me the customers here are not a Fillmore-​type of crowd, but it is indeed located in a prime spot… except for those ghosts who wreak havoc with the revolving door of owners. Bön chance, Cassis!
FOOD — 4 stars… very good Franco-​Italiano dishes, falls short of remarkable though
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… I’d hang out at the bar and eat if I could, lotta space there… otherwise, beware claustrophobics!
SERVICE — 4 stars… solicitous but not overly so
TOTAL — 4 stars… hope they make it… Vive le Cassis!

Although it’s located near Japan Town, this delightful French bistro is solid when it comes to its food. The attention to presentation of the food helps make ratatouille, chanterelle mushroom tarts, and other dishes more appealing than just flavor alone. The risotto isn’t salty, but flavorful with a decent texture. The fat in the salmon blends well with the overwhelming light, butter sauce. Moreover, the beef stew is cooked with enough flavor to satisfy your taste buds even if it could be braised a bit longer for a softer texture.
The only things that could be improved are the desserts and service. Aside from the crème brûlée, the caramel custard and chocolate mousse don’t add much to the fine dining experience at a restaurant with a simplistic, but refined décor. Moreover, the friendly French waiters are short-​staffed, which means you could be waiting around trying to flag him or her down just to place your order or ask for water.
As for parking, it’s easy to find street parking or take advantage of the spaces in the nearby Japan Town garages. It’s no wonder why this sweet place, which is named after raspberries, is worth a try especially for Dine About Town.

Ok, I will say the during first 30 minutes, I wanted to strangle any staff member I could find. It was NYE 2007, I wanted to take my girl to a nice low-​key casual but semi-​upscale joint to wind down the year.
After using
to reserve the place, I was informed by phone that only the $ 65 pre-​fixe was available that night. Fine. It actually looked pretty appetizing.
The spot was romantic, dim, candlelit, kitchen noisy (in a good way) and had that semi-​Pottery Barn meets rustic French feel.
After checking in, we stood around the lobby for a good 5 minutes. The hostess was no where to be found after hello. They finally proceed to put together make shift table for two in the bar area. Not cool. Especially when you’re trying to talk, but the waiter is busy setting up the table in front of you. But I will admit the place had a couple of very large parties, and perhaps understaffed.
We waited day and night for our server. I had to actually get out of my chair, flag down the hostess to finally get served. After getting the stinkface from her as if it was my fault the server was MIA, our server comped our first two drinks. Fine. That was satisfactory. But the initial service was continuously super slow and frankly, unacceptable. But what can you do??? It’s NYE, and to be quite honest, if we stormed out, no other place is serving a full dinner at 9PM.
The server, who had a very thick French accent, was very friendly and humble about our experience. He went far to make sure that we were taken care of. In fact, he apologized many times, made our special night a little better. The hostess popped in finally towards the end, apologized deeply for the wait, apologized for the bar table, and gave us a $ 50 gift certificate and her name — next time we would come in, she’d take care of us. Nice touch, and forgiven, but not really forgotten. The regular menu actually looks appealing… Take a peek.
We had the scallop souffl with lobster sauce, not on the regular menu — it was light, mild, and pretty tasty. Had to remember it was a souffl.
I had the foie gras medallions with a port wine sauce. Umm, not great, at all. If you’re thinking hot gelatin silky tasty liver goo, think again. It was the cold ham butter. Pass.
For the entrée, she had the Maine poached lobster with ginger sauce. Actually came with a lot of meat — tender, firm, not fishy and very delicate and delicious. Instant hit. I had the lamb medallions in a perigourdine sauce. A bit raw on the inside, but it was still gamy and aggressive — just the way I like it. Nice cooking.
For dessert, we had the chocolate bomb cake — traditional lava cake type ad then she had this cream puff thing — it was really flaky, buttery, and light. Real interesting. I’d order it again. Can’t remember the name though. Sorry.
I will admit, I was going to bomb this joint by review, but with the genuine apology and gift card, it may be another look.
Worth 4 stars, but due to the combination of angry neck vein and synchronized pulsating angry forehead vein during the first 45 minutes, I unfortunately will have to dock it two stars. One star per vein.

Awesome food, neutral ambiance.
The entire time I was dining here I was thinking to myself Nua. While the cuisine is totally different (but equally excellent) the décor is strikingly similar. Wood grains and natural colors, but too light and open to be romantic, while not committed enough to a theme to be considered trendy. In short, it’s perfectly fine for taking out friends or family and even a date, but I wouldn’t consider it über sexy.
Of course it would be shallow to judge a book by it’s cover or similarly a restaurant by it’s ambiance. The good news is that Cassis crushes it when it comes to cuisine. The roasted vegetables stuffed with meat was a delicious and generous starter, which I followed up with yet more meat (catching a theme here :) — the fillet mignon. The steak was killer, served with a green peppercorn sauce. Yum, can I supersize that?
Because I was… well pigging out, I had to continue with a decadent dessert! I chose the fondue au chocolat with fresh fruit, a simple but great end to an excellent meal.

Cassis
Focusing on dishes from Southern France and Italy, this new restaurant opened in early summer 2007 in the old Winterland (
) location. The waiter was French. The chefs were French. So I have to assume that the excellent dishes we enjoyed were authentic French (I am not French, so I don’t know for sure).
Cassis is an old fishing village near Nice.
This place made me think of Chapeau! and Fringale, since all these restaurants allow us to enjoy French cuisine without taking out a second mortgage. Unless it is a special occasion, I prefer these casual places over those 8-​course meal which takes 4 hours to complete. While all three of these places are great, if I had to rank them, it would be:
1. Cassis
2. Chapou! (
)
3. Fringale (
)
DECOR/​SEATS: A good size bar with counter seats and a nice lounge area. The main dining room felt spacious and tables were not too close together, unlike Chapou! where seats are really tight. I liked the stylish but casual atmosphere with an opening for the view of the chefs.
FOOD: For French, dishes are pretty good portions, although I wouldn’t call them huge (see pic). I saw a couple next to us order a pizza as an appetizer followed by a main dish and I correctly assessed that they had to take out a doggie bag. Dishes, which were not overly seasoned, allowed us to taste the food, which was very nice. I predict that those that don’t like the food here would complain that dishes were bland. I really enjoyed their homemade pasta.
DEAL: Sunday-​Thursday, if you get there before 6:30pm, they offer a special $ 25 Three-​course prefix dinner, where I was given an option of salad or soup, a choice between 3 main dishes, and a dessert. If you study the regular prices, a salad and a main dish will run you about $ 25, which means you are getting the dessert for free.
PRICES: Reasonable.
A sample dinner for two:
$ 12 Pizza
$ 19 Beef
$ 18 Pork medaillon grand mere
$ 7 Glass of wine
$ 8 Glass of wine
$ 20 Tip and taxes
— — — — — — — — — — —
$ 80 Dinner for two