La Maison De La Reine — Restaurant in Novato

A nice addition to the local cuisine scene.

Let me start by saying this is more like a Vietnamese/Chinese Fusion spot. But it's still good!

The Food: Overall, I liked it! I ordered the Kung Pao Chicken (which I was surprised finding something like this at a Vietnamese place). I was a little suspect but it was lovely! The vegetables were fresh and not overcooked but also not undercooked, the sauce was not overpowering and complimented the flavors & textures of the dish. Of course the celery and peanuts added the crunch that you like to have to offset the beef and chicken (It was a combo plate). That with a side of rice and and an Elysian Space Dust made the dining experience really enjoyable.

My wife got the Beef Pho...because Pho. She liked it but she made a comment that it was a little heavy on the cinnamon in the broth. I found that a little interesting. My daughter had the same but kids size and she doesn't care as long as there's noodles involved lol. Again, because Pho.

Ambiance: The location used to be a druid hall and it's in one of the oldest buildings in downtown Novato. However the new owners really cleaned up thee place. It is narrow and deep layout so lots of booths on one side of the entry/mid section and more seating in the rear. If your in the front/mid area you will be right next to the kitchen. My family and I don't mind the noise and activity because we're all foodies. If you are sensitive to that kind of stuff maybe the back is more your jam.

Service: Very attentive. We had 3 servers and they were ON IT!!! I think we ordered and I only had 2 sips of my beer before my plate showed up. Of course the plates coming out were staggered but I didn't mind and the differential between plates coming out wasn't bad.

Location: It is downtown Novato so expect terrible parking at times. However as stated above, I think it's a great addition to the local community.

In closing, I'm glad La Maison De La Riene is here. Some of the local asian cuisine isn't great. In the downtown area you have great options next door for Thai, Sushi and Indian. Other than that, other offerings are lacking and I think this will fill a void nicely.

Give it a shot and let me know...

Next time, I'll have the pho. I had the daily special of eggplant beef and the fried spring rolls. The meat and vegetables were very well prepared and the egg rolls were perfectly crispy and tasted good. Like the diners at the next table who responded with, "It's just okay," when I asked how their meal of vegetarian green beans was, my plate was bland, meaning the sauce seemed like watery brown vinegar. I asked for a side of black bean sauce because I wanted something to jazz it up to make an enjoyable meal. I ended up with a watery brown vinegar wirh a few black beans just dumped into the same container. The "sauce" for the crispy spring rolls was only vinegar as well, no soy sauce, no nam pla, no nothing. The bus boy was a great server, the waitstaff, less so. The portion was fine, and again the food was fresh, good quality, and very well cooked, aside from the lack of flavor. I did not order a cup of tea nor any of the Asian drinks or even lemonade because I didn't feel like paying $5 or $6 for a simple beverage to accompany my lunch. The store of the same name in Corte Madera, where I was also a customer since it first opened decades ago, was of higher caliber. I hope this new version and location in Novato of La Maison de la Reine becomes as excellent as its previous location was up until its last...

First the good. The service is excellent. The location, in Novato’s old town, very convenient. The menu selection, La Maisson, being Asian fusion, is quite diverse. The portions are BIG. That’s all I got. The food that we ordered may not have been good choices. We got the calamari appetizer ($14) which are pieces of calamari steak (not the tentacles) and heavily breaded. Too heavy. Much better to remove the breading. The table has plentiful hoisin sauce and sriracha, which cures all ills. The garlic noodles with a pork chop ($18) was a giant serving of food. The pork chop was cut Asian style, so instead of half inch thick cut, it was thinner and a little gristly. We couldn't finish the noodles, as they tasted of oil that was a bit burned or rancid, not worth...