Le Chat Noir French Restaurant — Restaurant in Riverside

We had high hopes for this restaurant given the high ratings, but we were sorely disappointed. This was the worst "French" food I've ever tasted by a mile. The baguette had a hard crust that made it difficult to eat, the fromage plate was very run of the mill (Muenster - really?!), and the french onion soup lacked onion flavor. The magret de canard was not properly cooked (the fat under the skin of the duck breast had not been rendered, so it was unpleasantly rubbery) and the sauce it was served in, which was supposed to be a peppercorn sauce, tasted like it was made from Mccormick brown gravy mix or something you'd get with your meatloaf at a cheap diner - it didn't taste like peppercorn at all. The halibut was overcooked and dry, and the risotto served under it was so mushy we thought it was mashed potatoes at first, but the texture was all wrong. We hoped that at least they'd get the dessert right, but the chocolate mousse was inedible - dry, grainy and pasty like it had sat in the refrigerator for a month before they served it to us.

The restaurant's atmosphere was pleasant and our waiter was very attentive and helpful, but he was either lying about the quality of the food (we asked for his recommendations and he told us everything was fantastic) or he doesn't know what good food tastes like.

I feel especially sorry for my dad and brother, who split the very pricey bill for our substandard meal. I can confidently say that we will not be coming back, nor can we in good conscience recommend this experience to...

Le Chat Noir is an insult to fine dining.

You are initially met with a less-than-pleasant stench upon entering the restaurant. An aroma similar to a fish stand in a farmers market on a hot summer day. Aside from the pungent smell, the food quality was below that of an Applebee’s restaurant. The complementary bread that is served was better left unserved, as it was nothing more than a standard stater-bros brand French baguette. The French onion soup lacked proper flavor, as if it was made with cheap white wine and store-bought boxed beef broth.

To further extend our undesirable dining experience, they served us halibut when we clearly requested the Mahi-Mahi. The halibut was outdated and explained the reason for the disgusting stench upon walking in. I personally ordered a rack of lamb, medium well; however, was served 5 pieces of dry, flavorless, disappointments of a meal.

Aside from their horrid food quality, the service standards at this restaurant compliment the subpar food quality. Our server was less than attentive to our requests and only cared to acknowledge us when the bill came around. We have received better service at the local in-n-out join on a busy Friday night, than we did at this restaurant.

If you seek a fine dining experience, seek further, as Le Chat Noir is a joke of...

I don't know why it's taken us so long to try this place out but tonight I wish we'd gone sooner. The service staff was on point tonight - attentive, friendly and knowledgeable about what they were serving. So many places today, you ask a server about the food and they've never even eaten it or they don't know how it's prepared. No better way to start a meal than to talk to someone you can tell takes pride in their establishment. Started the meal with escargot and onion soup. The escargot was nice and garlicky and paired well with a good crusty baguette; the soup had a great broth, not so salty and strong flavored like you usually find. Oh and HOT! I hate when you order soup and it's just warm. Main courses we chose were the rack of venison and swordfish. The venison was presented perfectly medium rare with steamed vegetables and potato puree complimented by a bordelaise sauce with dead on nappé. The fish came on a bed of quinoa, steamed veg and an amandine sauce. Another home run. Other dishes we want to try when we go back such as paté, duck, pheasant, brie flambe, lamb and more I can't...