Left Bank is in reasonable rotation here. They have live music, a small combo doing jazz standards, on Fridays. They have a lot of outdoor seating. The indoor bar is very pleasant in the afternoon. The cocktails aren’t brilliant but they are usually correctly made. The place has a long history in mp of doing fun stuff and events.
The food goes up and down a bit. Right before pandemic they had taken out a lot of menu items requiring more time and care, assuming because of staffing problems. Some of those, like the borginon, are back. The front of house service is about like most peninsula places, struggling a bit with people new to the biz.
You chose many of our favorite dishes. We get the salad niçoise a lot, and the French onion soup, as well. Had the oysters last week, too.
Oddly, there is a french place next door, Bistro Vida, which is entirely in competition, and also in exactly the same mold. We flip back and forth between the two of them. For a long time, the food at lb was better, but on the last year, vida has taken the edge. More personal touch, the owner is often there hovering. Cocktails are always better there.
With both taking huge chunks of the street, reservations are never required, so i would recommend checking the menu in both, and pick one. Vida is open 30 minutes later, which sometimes makes our decision for us.
Also - cafe borrone, a short walk, was always tops for a similar style dinner, but it seems they are not restarting dinner service - closing at 7 - long before our usual dinner hour. We will see, as the weather warms, what the owners decide. Although they do slightly different styles, i prefer the food at borrone to either of the French places. When they have music, borrone’s all stars are something special - a long running 6 to 8 piece that does trad jazz, often with a mix of oldsters and local kids - that really tears it up.
Thanks for the writeup and pictures!
