Papillon Restaurant — Restaurant in Fremont

It was a rainy at Fremont and it was our anniversary. We decided to go to this closest restaurant to celebrate it. It's a 40 years established restaurant by a couple though when we were seated with the menu card it had the 45th anniversary so probably they need to update online. The moment you get inside there's a smell of oldness, feels like the carpets have not changed since they started. Not a great feeling at the entrance itself. They have a huge bar but it was empty except the bar tender who was welcoming us. We were sitting at the patio area inside and a few customers were already there. We started with drinks , Pomme Peartini - Grey Goose Pear, Pomegranate liqueur, fresh lemon and Triple Sec, Candy Red Appletini - Made with Vodka, butterscotch, Sour Apple Pucker, cranberry juice, and Godiva Chocolate Martini- Made with Godiva Liqueur, Absolut Vanilla and a chocolate powder rim. There drink menu is really interesting because they have a great wine list, beer and special cocktails as well. We ordered the appetizer Escargot - served in a buttery herb sauce and eaten with special tools (a clamp and a long pointed fork), this dish is unique and is a must get if it's your first time here. The sea snails are served in a shell and retain a bit of heat when you dig into them. It comes with 6 pieces. Also we ordered SPINACH SALAD Cherry Wood Bacon, Candied Walnuts, Strawberries, Orange & Rice Wine, it was delicious we enjoyed it. Then we ordered French onion soup puff pastry - most entrees will have the option to upgrade to the French onion soup over the house salad. Do it. You will not regret it. The French onion soup is delicious - hearty onion pieces with cheese and puff pastry with every bite. I have to say that I have tried this at many restaurants but nothing can beat this one. My main course was Seafood Wellington - delicious take on a seafood variation of the classic Wellington. A mix of crab, prawns and lobster encased in a puff pastry was delicious. If you love seafood then you must try it. AMERICAN KOBE`BEEF SHORT RIB SLOW OVEN BRAISED Horseradish Mashed Potatoes, White Truffle Salt, taste delicious, well cooked as it just melts in the mouth. ANGEL HAIR PASTA with Artichoke Hearts, Squash, Mushrooms, in Tomato Broth or Crème Sauce, it's a lot and we had to get a takeout box. ANGUS FILET MIGNON* with Cabernet Sauce topped with Gorgonzola, Roasted Sweet Garlic Herb Butter, it's delicious, everything has it's unique taste and flavor. We ended with Peach bread pudding with cream anglaise and vanilla ice cream with happy anniversary written on it.It was a delicious experience. They're only open for dinner service so be prepared to plan ahead and make reservations if possible. The parking lot is a small entrance to the restaurant so be careful not to miss on Mission Boulevard. It gets dark in the evening so you may have to find the parking spot carefully. When we arrived it was not that crowded so we got lucky with parking. Overall, Papillon is the perfect place to go if you have any special occasion to celebrate where you can sit down to experience their finest delicacies . There's a bit of Fremont history this being close to Charlie Chaplin's town Niles and the railway museum. During Christmas time you will see the decorated Niles train with lights running across Sunol. There's...

We went with my husband on May 7, 2022 to celebrate his birthday since he likes French cuisine. The place has nice parking and beautiful flowers outside the restaurant, we really liked it. The interior seems like a French house interior from the last century. Nice details and decorations, a bit not in my taste since I prefer more modern designs, but definitely underlining French personality of the place. We were seated at a very nice spot with red chairs, by the door to the outside part of the restaurant. Our table also had a fresh orchid flower and a candle, which is super nice and creates romantic atmosphere. Now onto the food. I decided to order 4 appetizers, while my husband had 1 appetizer and a main dish with French Onion soup on the side. We both ordered baked brie with jam - it was really amazing, tender, flavorful, served at just the right temperature. I highly recommend it. French Onion soup had extremely rich and dense flavour, was nicely served and I am ready to order it again and again. I ordered salmon carpaccio, and I was a bit disappointed since it was just a plate with smoked salmon, an egg, capers, and onions. I was expecting to have raw salmon meat which carpaccio typically is. However, I may have not paid attention to the dish description - maybe it said that salmon is smoked, so that is on me. After appetizers were served we unfortunately had to wait for about an hour to get the main dish and the remaining two appetizers. That's why I gave 4 stars. It seemed like there were some issues with making the main dish which was short ribs and timing everything to come together. We made that conclusion because when the dishes finally came, short rib was juicy and hot, while my appetizers were pretty cold and no longer as enjoyable. So the short rib was on the Special's menu and was tender, juicy, a bit crispy on the outside and had nice flavor to it. We shared the short rib since my appetizers - mushroom ravioli and mussels - were cold and pretty much inedible. We ordered desserts, and again it was a bit of a mixed experience - my husband got Affogado, and I got the Papillon Cheesecake with strawberry sauce. Affogado was amazing - caramel, chocolate, ice cream, and espresso flavors are combined into a wonderful mix. Our server said that people order it often. My cheesecake was a bit weird since the eggy flavor of the cheesecake did not seem to work well with the sourish strawberry jam. I acknowledge it may be only my perception of flavors though. I would go with Affogado next time. I also want to mention that because of the waiting times - we spent about 2.5 hours, and because of our seating location by the door we both got extremely cold. We had a really nice server who brought us hot water and different tea options so that we wouldn't be just sitting and freezing. It was really nice of him. He also apologized when we explained that my appetizers were cold - overall it left a nice impression of the service. Well, we went in the beginning of May. I bet if you come in June, you won't have any...

Celebrating our special day between my wife and I, we felt like something of French origin so Papillon was the spot she reserved.

We arrived a few minutes earlier where we let the host up front knew of our arrival. He had us wait outside where we were fine but never came out to call us. He seemed confused as we kindly reminded him (he seemed a bit on the older side) a few moments after we waited without response and he took us to our seats.

Our waitress was a little slow so when she showed up we ordered fairly quickly between both the appetizer and the main course simultaneously. As we waited anxiously let me give you first my rating of the restaurant aesthetically.

Exterior/Interior Décor - 3 / 5 The look of this restaurant is a bit on the older side. The building itself is a bit dated, the same can be said inside the restaurant. The seats were comfortable but you can clearly see signs of wear. The bathroom, especially the door is really runned down. I have almost mistaken the men's room for a storage room.

Once the food arrived, we quickly start grubbing. So here are the reviews of our food for the night combined with the service.

Food - 4 / 5 (Appetizer) I won't go in depth on them. They were "aiight" and that's where I'll say about them. I wouldn't order them again though. (Beef Wellington) This was made very nicely with an outer crust. The meat inside tasted more align with a steak that is tender. My wife was hoping more flavoring but this just lacked a little bit of a punch. (American Kobe Beef Short Rib Slow Oven Braised) This dish was very tasty. It tasted similar to a beef stew on high quality Kobe beef. The sauce on it wasn't too strong and compliments the vegetables that was on the side. (Affogato) A very nice mix between coffee and vanilla ice cream. Not too sweet and with the thickness of the coffee on the thicker side. I especially appreciate that they place the coffee separate for us to mix ourselves. This gives each patrons the option to decide their individual mix to their liking. My wife and I enjoyed this desert after dinner very much.

Service - 4 / 5 Our experiences with our waiter/waitress has been on the slower side. Although they have been friendly, to two hungry person ready to eat is torturing. They have though earned back our disappointment with a nice anniversary bread pudding with happy anniversary written on the plate.

Pro tip about the restaurant: They're fully open for indoor dining The restaurant itself is seemingly family operated The patrons are generally a bit on the older side

If you are looking for a nice meal on a special occasion locally, this would be a good option to go. I am Henry and I approve this review on...