Petit Trois le Valley — Restaurant in Los Angeles

It was my first time dining at Petit Trois. As we approached, we noticed a crowd waiting outside—always a promising sign and a testament to the restaurant’s reputation. My wife had made a reservation well in advance to celebrate a friend’s birthday, an occasion we had all been eagerly anticipating.

From the moment we stepped inside, the service was impeccable. The hostess, manager, and runners were all attentive and professional—exactly what one would expect at an establishment of this caliber. Given that this is not an inexpensive restaurant, and it holds a spot on Jonathan Gold’s must-visit list, the level of service should naturally reflect that. Our server was warm and charismatic, which set a great tone for the meal.

Early in the evening, after receiving our first courses—a salad and a soup—we made it a point to inform our server that we were on a time constraint due to a scheduled appointment as part of our planned festivities. We did this well in advance, at least 45 minutes before we needed to leave, to ensure there was ample time for accommodations. He acknowledged our request and assured us that it would not be an issue.

The food was nothing short of superb—elevated, well-executed, and reminiscent of the finest bistros in Paris, one of my favorite places to visit every other year. Everything was seamless until the end of our main course when an interaction with our server left us unsettled.

As he was clearing our plates and boxing some of our leftovers, I politely asked if I could order another cappuccino. Rather than responding with a simple “Of course, let me just finish this up for you,” or something along those lines, his tone noticeably shifted. His response was curt, something like, “I’m going to pack this up first, and then I’ll come back to take your order.” It wasn’t just the words—it was the delivery. He seemed annoyed and overwhelmed, which in itself is understandable in a busy restaurant, but the way he directed that frustration at us felt dismissive. I couldn’t help but notice a stark contrast in the way he interacted with the table next to us, which consisted of a man and a woman. There was no way he would have spoken to that gentleman in the same manner.

Normally, I would brush off a minor lapse in service. However, given the price point, the prestige of the restaurant, and the fact that we were there for a special occasion, I expected more. Dining at a restaurant of this level is about the full experience, not just the food. Supporting local restaurants is something I take seriously, especially considering the hardships the industry has faced, but it’s difficult to justify a return visit when the service leaves you feeling disregarded.

That being said, the manager was an absolute professional. She delivered the level of service that a restaurant of this reputation should uphold—attentive, polished, and genuinely hospitable. When it came time to settle our bill, she assisted us, ensured we received our cappuccino to go, and left us with the impression that she truly valued our business. Unfortunately, when our server brought the cappuccino, his demeanor remained unchanged—still visibly annoyed. It was not the ideal way to send off first-time guests.

Even if he was overwhelmed, there’s a way to communicate that without making guests feel like an inconvenience. I can’t imagine that management nor the owners would want that to be the lasting impression of...

It just didn’t do it for me. And I definitely don’t recommend going here by yourself. I’ve been travelling solo on the west coast for a few months and, as I’m due to end my trip in LA this week, I’d been eyeing this place up as a nice place to go to wrap up my travels. After being seated, I was sitting down for about 15-20mins before any of the waiting staff even acknowledged me. It was so long that I had started looking up other nearby restaurants, thinking I might have to change my plans if I was going to continue to be ignored. Eventually somebody came over, and the service picked up a little from there. The food was fine. I ordered steak tartare and to be fair, I’ve had worse. But, I was taking my time enjoying myself when 1hr 20 after I’d been seated (but really only an hour into my visit, given the initial delay), somebody new came to my table to say that they’d only allocated 1hr for me and that the next people were here for my table. The guy was nice enough about it and didn’t charge me for my wine. I would just say that I felt the request for me to wrap up could have been a little more discrete. It was pretty embarrassing essentially being asked to leave in a way that brought attention from other diners… It wasn’t necessary to send someone over in a suit. If my waiter had pointed out to me there was a time limit, then I would have respected that a lot more and it certainly would have brought a lot less attention. I also pointed out to this person that it’s pretty standard to allocate 90mins to each table, to which I was told that they allocate 90mins to tables of 2+, but only 60mins to solo diners… And that they might listen to my feedback if other people raise it (basically he dismissed me when I pointed out that it’s unusual to only allow 60mins for individual diners). Folks, it’s also courtesy to let patrons know if there is a time limit as they are sitting down rather than when they are part way through their meal. Anyway, in summary, the food was okay (just okay), the wine was nice, the service was a bit slow (but my waiter was nice and friendly when he did come over). But don’t bother visiting here if you’re by yourself and just want a nice relaxing meal, as you won’t be treated the same as a bigger table, you might be hurried out, and you most likely will have a generally...

There are some things in life that are comforting love travel and food. There are fusion restaurants and Michelin star restaurants and your standards like when I was a child and every Sunday we got to go out to dinner and the question was " what do you guys want to do for dinner tonight, Mexican , Chinese, Seafood, German, French"?? Then the eighties changes everything and new exciting choices came along and it was now the name of the restaurant not the nationality of the food . Thankfully we have returned to understanding the purity and roots of cuisine. I myself and a classical French trained chef Graduate of le Cordon Bleu London, so my appreciation of French food is in my DNA now. Petite Trois is a celebration of the simple perfection executed flawlessly. Things like OMELETTE PETIT TROIS Is pure magic cooked expertly with that creamy fluffy center with Borsin cheese and even the boston lettuce served with it is just perfect. LEEKS ‘FONDANT’ with Sauce Vin Jaune, Hazelnuts and Leek Oil, is mind blowing and makes me want to go back to culinary school again just because I would have never made this in a 100 years yet I wish I could go back in time and serve it in one of my restaurants. Even their cheeseburger The BIG MEC* is what all other cheeseburgers dream of being two perfectly cooked Burger patties cheese a "special sauce"and a Bordelaise sauce flooding the plate is magic. The steaks the chicken the pastas and fish all perfect oh and the BAGUETTE With Bordier Butter Reminds me of waking up in Paris and following your nose to the closest boulangerie for that first fresh baked bread out of the oven and sitting down at the nearest step and tearing off piece of the bread and scraping it through some real cultured milk French butter. There's truly nothing better in the world then that warm bread and butter, and that's everything that Petit Trois is, its all the best of a Parisian bistro but so...