Costa Mesa Restaurant Week 2011 - Le Chateau Garden Bistro

When I learned about the Costa Mesa Restaurant Week, I was super excited. After all, Costa Mesa boats many fine restaurants. What better way to try them but during restaurant week in which the best sampling of foods were presented as Prix Fixe menu? After checking out the menus on the official website at http://www.costamesarestaurantweek.org/, I made 5 reservations at 5 different restaurants, Le Chateau Garden Bistro being the first.

The restaurant is located inside Ayres Hotel and Suites Costa Mesa. We walked by a fountain courtyard with outdoor seating's which was quite beautiful. Inside, the restaurant is small with a little bar. Although we had a reservation, it was not really needed as there were not too many diners. We were seated quickly and got our menus. We had already checked out the Prix Fixe menu before coming so we knew exactly what we wanted to order.

Neither Allen or I drink often, so our drink of choice is often iced tea. We also got a basket of bread with minced olives and butter.

I started my meal with the Bountiful Summer Garden Salad - Delicate Butterleaf with Sundried Cherries, Cranberries, Candied Walnuts, Sonoma Goat Cheese and a Poppyberry Vinaigrette. I loved it! I could eat 2 plates of this and make it a full meal!

Allen chose Napa California Salad Summer Char Grilled Iceberg with Smoked Shitake Mushrooms, Vine Ripe Baby Roma Tomatoes, Shaved Maytag Blue Cheese and a Light House Italian Vinaigrette. This was very good, also. The iceberg lettuce was very fresh and crisp, but I thought the Shitake Mushrooms were a little too chared and some tasted bitter. The blue cheese was also very strong so we left quite a few uneaten.

After the salad, we each got a small serving of sorbet to cleanse our palates. It was very refreshing. I wish I could have had more for dessert!

Second course for my meal was Choose Three Selections to Build your Trio Entrée Plate Accompanied by The Chef’s Pick of Farmer’s Market Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes or Rice Pilaf. I picked Filet Beef with Roasted Shallot Demi Glace, Natural Atlantic Salmon with Shallot Balsamic Reduction and Sautéed Spinach, and Jumbo Thai Shrimp Sweet Peanut Chile Dressing. The beef was excellent. It was tender and flavorful. We asked for medium and it was cooked perfectly. The salmon was just OK. I thought the sauce was a little too strong. The shrimp was the weakest. I thought it was made with Shrimp Cocktail and thrown together with the sauce. Absolutely no thought into it. It tasted cold and blend despite the sauce. The mash potato was overly seasoned. It was too salty and with a funny taste.

Allen's Trio were Filet Beef, Local (Dorado) Halibut with Cilantro Coconut Milk Sauce, and Caramelized Garlic Chicken. Again, the beef was done right, but the halibut was just OK like my salmon. The chicken was dry and disappointing. Both Allen and I thought the food were not prepared fresh. Maybe in preparation of Restaurant Week, they precooked them and just heat them up when people ordered them.

For the dessert, I chose Creme Brulee. It was a big one. But big doesn't mean great. I prefer it a little warm but this was cold.

Allen's Chocolate Molten Cake with Ice Cream was worse. We love the ones at Roy's but this one tasted like it was frozen and reheated in the microwave before served. The texture was just all wrong.

Service was good but not excellent. The bus boys refilled our drinks promptly but our server were not as attentive. Other than serving the food, he only came by to check on us once. Overall it was a very unimpressive experience.

Service: 4  stars

Food: 3 stars

Ambiance: 4 stars

Overall: 3 1/2 stars

Le Chateau Garden Bistro

Ayres Hotel and Suite Costa Mesa

325 Bristol St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

(714)549-0300