Cafe Jacqueline Review

We had a long dinner at Cafe Jacqueline, which served us souffles good enough to convince those of us who normally don't go for them to be willing to return to the restaurant for them.  When planning the dinner, I knew it would be long because these souffles supposedly take almost an hour to cook, but our visit was nowhere near that efficient.  The solitary waiter the restaurant had that evening was overworked.  It took more than fifteen minutes for menus to arrive after we were seated, and the main course souffles arrived probably an hour and a half after we ordered them. Crazy.  The delay gave us more chance to talk over dinner, which turned out to last three and a half hours.

The bread, warm and crusty, was a tad better than average.

For appetizers, we tried two salads, a (bitter) watercress salad and a tomato-and-herb salad, and were left "shockingly unimpressed."  The tomato and herb salad consisted of one tomato, sliced, arranged into a fan.  "I don't think I've had an $8 tomato before."

For mains, the four of us split two savory souffles (the right amount). We enjoyed both, the broccoli (with brie) more than the shiitake, basil, and garlic (with gruyere).  We'd ordered the broccoli with gruyere but the chef made a mistake.  Some people really noticed the brie (I did not), but as it turned out none of us minded the substitution.  On the other hand, I definitely noticed the garlic smell and taste in the other souffle, though others didn't find it so distinctive.

Dessert was a really good, light chocolate souffle, definitely one of the better warm chocolate cakes we've had.  The souffle was the right size for the four of us.

For temperature and air flow, the restaurant had propped the front door open with a chair.  When we arrived and needed the chair, they switched to a table.  Weird.  Have they never heard of a door stop?  "It's the French."

Incidentally, when we entered the restaurant, we immediately noticed how great it smelled.

Parking is incredibly difficult in North Beach.

The total was $44/person including tax and tip but not including drinks.

Original Announcement

Tonight we'll head to Cafe Jacqueline in North Beach for its famous souffles.  Yes, that means a savory souffle for dinner and sweet one for dessert.  It's an unabashedly romantic place, but maybe we'll just translate that into intimate catch-up conversation.

Comments from Other Attendees

Oj says his favorite souffle is the leek. -mark

Feel free to add remarks here.