About
Bonjour and welcome to Jeune et Jolie, Carlsbad’s “Young and Beautiful” One-Michelin Star-rated French restaurant. And their One-Michelin-Star rating gives them status, bragging rights, and a need to make reservations in advance. This French culinary experience is a lot of fun and a definite must-visit if you’ve never had a tasting and/or tasting and pairing menu.
This beautiful place is known for its 4-course menu where guests make their own selections, but they also offer a “Le Menu du Bar” for walk-in guests which features a la carte plates and is served in their lounge and bar area. SoCal’s weather offers up so many gorgeous days and nights year-round that you will want to make a reservation for their quaint garden patio.
The surface area is a little tight for their 2-tops, but the tables are spaced nicely so that you can still hear your guest or have a conversation with the couple at the table next to you even when there is a large birthday party happening as was the case the night I visited.
Though the food is interesting and sometimes delicious, the staff is absolutely phenomenal. They really make the experience above and beyond what you’re served.
I arrived with my guest for our dinner reservation and they informed me that I didn’t have a reservation for that night and I insisted I did. Long story short – the hostess graciously seated us on the patio and never blinked an eye at my error. And it was indeed my error – turns out I had made two reservations for restaurants in Carlsbad and had switched the nights. So, kudos to the staff for their graciousness. And the service just got better as the night progressed.
The first order of business was to order a bottle of wine for the table, so our waiter sent over the Sommelier, which is a wine steward or wine expert. I have met some incredible Sommeliers in my travels over the years – ones where they could tell you not only the varietal but the country, region, and sometimes even the vintage…really an art form.
Unfortunately, Jeune et Jolie didn’t offer our favorite grape so we told him our likes and dislikes and he recommended a Cabernet Sauvignon from California’s own Napa Valley. After it was uncorked and poured it wasn’t one we would’ve chosen. The Sommelier (and waiter) did offer to swap it out for another bottle, which I hate doing, but in hindsight, we probably should have.
It did get a little more palatable after it was able to breathe a bit so that was a plus. They do offer a corkage charge if you prefer to bring your own bottle, but make sure it is a fantastic bottle as their corkage fee is not cheap.
Overall, we had a great night and as I said above, the staff were the bomb and really made the evening an “experience”.
Vibe
A night at Jeune is definitely a fine dining experience that doesn’t require a dress code, which is fantastic! Jeune et Jolie is a place to take a date if you want to impress and an excellent choice if you want to be pampered and have a five-star dining experience.
Jeune et Jolie: Menu & Drinks
My guest and I were all in for the 4-course menu and agreed to add the wine pairing on top since we wanted the full experience, and we always love learning about wines.
Being all-in for a fabulous night of tasting and pairing, we decided to start off with a selection from their Raw Bar Menu. This menu offers a variety of seafood such as oysters, prawns, scallops, caviar, etc. We opted for the Plateau de Fruits de Mer (seafood platter) which contained oysters, prawns, bay scallops, and mussels for two people, which was perfect. Everything was very delicious with the oysters being amazing and my fave which is odd because I am not a huge oyster fan, but they were definitely one of the highlights of the evening.
An excellent platter and I highly recommend it to start the evening off right.
My guest and I agreed that we would each order a different dish for each of our 4-courses and that we would share so we could sample more dishes. It is definitely, the way to go if you want to maximize your options, just remember that whoever orders the dish gets the majority of it—thems the rules!
Our Four Courses
- UN: Our first course presented us with three options, and we chose the Crabe (snow crab, verjus, kohlrabi, and basil) and Poireau (leek, buttermilk, wintergreens, and black truffle). The other option was Tartare (veal).
- DEUX: Our second course we chose the Champignon (chanterelle mushroom tart, date, buckwheat, and goat’s milk) and the Cuisses de Grenouilles (frog legs, black garlic, and cipollini onion nasturtium). As they say…when in France! The frog legs were excellent, and the knuckles were very delish.
- TROIS: Our third-course choices were Gnudi (ricotta dumpling, chestnut, black trumpet mushroom, celery, and orange) and Caille (Wolfe ranch quail, fig, sunchoke, and black truffle).
- QUATRE: Our fourth course was dessert and we opted for the Miel (honey, apple, date, almond and orange blossom) and the Pomelo (coconut, oro blanco, and lemongrass).
Tips
Just a few tips so that you’re not disappointed because a night out a Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad can be something very special.
- A couple of side notes – there were course offerings on the menu, but at an additional charge of $20 to $55, which I don’t know that I’ve seen that often – usually it’s just a set menu with no additional charges so take a good look at the menu first.
- A fun experience nonetheless, but I would say for the additional price of the wine pairing, don’t go there unless you want the full experience and are a real wine lover…and like a lot of whites.
- Check your bill because they add a 3% Service Charge without disclosing the fee though it is listed on the bill. You can have this “Service Charge” removed and that would be my suggestion since you should be able to tip the amount that you are comfortable with and that is comparable to the service you’ve received.
- The 4-course menu is actually a 3-course menu with the last course being dessert so I wouldn’t recommend a tasting/pairing menu if you are starving.
- Our menu offers were slightly different than what was listed on their website, so please note that it is subject to change since they utilize local ingredients.