bouillon NEWPORT — Restaurant in Newport Beach

I'm from a family of enthusiasts, who've vacationed in France at times with my dad, a french teacher & I attended ecole primaire in Nice for a few months as a child. I especially enjoy traditional french cuisine & have eaten at Bouillon twice over a few years. Both times I was a bit disappointed, especially given the pricey menu. The first time, I saw Boeuf Bourguignon was on Special, so I ordered it (not realizing it came with pasta). I'm accustomed to beef stewed with carrots, potatoes & onions. I thought, is this place struggling & can't afford good veggies in their stew & instead uses cheap pasta? The next time I ordered something else as my main dish & it was adequate. But the bread we ordered (for $5 extra) was overcooked & barely edible (I ate what little inner part I could scoop out). And when I ordered a Tarte au Fruits for dessert, I was expecting the standard mixed berries over vanilla custard. Instead, I got a Tarte au Citron (lemon), which I didn't much like, but I ate it anyway. What, can't they afford berries, either? The waiter, noting my displeasure at not receiving what I expected, did not offer to exchange it for something I would like better (like Tarte Au Pommes, my second choice). Perhaps I should stick with places that offer standard french fare at better prices. ...

If you have prefer a hearty meal, Bouillon is NOT for you as the main entrees are all on the lighter side in terms of the taste as well as quantity. We ordered onion soup to start, boeuf bourguignon and mussels as entree, and apple tarte as dessert. The breads are not complimentary and cost an extra $5 but I feel almost all the dish we orders needs bread to dip in. Onion soup ($15) was the highlight of the meal as it has great flavor, chewy cheese, and bread soaked with delicious soup. The only gripe I had with the soup was the portion as I would think $15 could give us a bigger bowl. We also ordered ratatouille as a side, which turns out to be an $8 mistake as it was way too salty. Boeuf bourguignon was flavorful but not too heavy, which I enjoyed but I wish I had one more piece of beef (came with 2 pieces) to justify the $25 price tag. My wife ordered the mussels, which turns out to be a dud as the mussels are tiny. The flavor was also on the lighter side as I said before. The apple tarte turned out to be a good finish at the end as it is served warm with a small scoop of ice cream on top. Overall, I am satisfied with the food and the service though I expected to be more full for $50 per...

AN AUTHENTIC FRENCH EXPERIENCE 🇫🇷

Highly recommended. Absolutely delicious. Great service.

Fernanda greated us and got a table setup for our party of 5 within couple of minutes. She was very welcoming set the tone for the dinner. Grant took care of us and Enzo, a real Frenchman joined Grant to make the dinner experience excellent. Good service makes good food and experience.

We had the Lamb Steak, the special of the day, the Canard à L'Orange, their Duck Confit with an orange glaze. I don't usually like meats with sweet sauce, but this was absolutely delicious. The Hachis Permentier, an overnight braised beef, a traditional dish served in a bowl was very delicious too. Lastly, the Le Burger François, the French hamburger was too very flavourful. We had a side of creamed spinach for the table. One must eat vegetables.

Oh the Grand Marnier Soufflé and the Crème Brûlée are a delicious finale to a most beautiful dinner.

They were very sensitive about one of the group members and their severe allergies to nuts.

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