Beaujena's

Excellent food and a lovely experience! I definitely recommend it.

Just a lovely experience. The seven course meal was such a treat. Along with the perfectly paired wines, it was such a delight to dine here. All the dishes were playful, and the service was amazing. Guessing what ingredients were in each dish made our dining experience much more enjoyable. It really allowed one to carefully taste their food, and experience dining in a much different way. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. The owner's story of how this restaurant came to be is just fantastic, as it clearly shows that both have such great passion for their food.

Easily one of the best meals I've had in this city. I'd almost forgotten how great food can be when prepared by a chef, not a cook. 
Each plate was brought out at the right time due to on mark attention by the owner Beaujena. She also suggested perfect wines to accompany each plate. 
The wild mushroom risotto was worth the trip alone, but following up with the tequila lime shrimp and pork tenderloin was perfect. Each plate is designed for two, sharing works best for two (perfect date night).
And you'll score extra points mentioning to your date just how exclusive the hours are. They're only open two nights a week, reserve quickly!

FINALLY found the time to try out Beaujena's!. I have driven by this restaurant 1000s of times but have never seemed to find the time to sneak away to try their multi-course feast... until this past weekend.

What a surprise it was, not only was the food delicious and well made, but the portions and pricing were very good too.

I had the false impression that Beaujena's was an ultra fine dining experience that was pricey (not excessively but to match the fine dining price you would expect to pay from a quaint owner operated establishment.

Not only were the portions quite generous (brie ravioli with cranberry white wine sauce, pumpkin soup, wasabi pea and mixed sesame encrusted mahi mahi, blue cheese with walnut arugula salad, and chocolate ganache torte with raspberry coulis), but the price at the end was extremely affordable since our meals even included dessert. With the price under $40 and the wine fairly priced at $30 for the bottle, a decadent night out in a very unique setting was ~$100.

Keep in mind, they do offer a 7 course meal, and I wish I could have tried more of what they had to offer but I'm pescatarian so the 5 course was a better fit (so glad they accommodated us as we didn't have a reservation).

If this place has ever hit your radar and you were looking at trying a great, plate-after-plate dining experience that is reasonably priced, head over and give them a shot!

A lovely anniversary dinner at Beaujena's French Table.. This past weekend was a special one for Darlene and me. We celebrated our 4th anniversary as a couple. We exchanged kisses and gifts as I arose for work early Friday, but little did I know that Dar had more up her sleeve this year.

As I went out the door for work leaving her in bed she told me to be prepared to dress special for dinner. WHAT? No clue to where we were going?? Just dress nice. What a brat! My mind was spinning all day. What were we going to dine on? Should I dress casual or to the nines?

When I got home from work she finally relented and told me to get dressed for St. Boniface's french quarter. We were going to Beaujena's. Beaujena's even for the residents of St. B is a mystery. A husband and wife team run the 24 seat restaurant and the menu is known to change at a whim. Once seated you are at the mercy of the chef.

Not to worry though, for years the reviews of this establishment have been solid to say the least. Me, a seasoned eater and more that welcome to eat whatever is put in front of me, was cool. More to the point I was worried about Darlene, although not a picky eater, she really does have preferences and I thought that a "Strange" dish could have thrown our dinner off the rails.

The first dish of our seven course meal was a baked lemon with anchovies, cheese and olives. Served with bread, it was strange for sure but savory, sweet and tangy all at the same time. This dish shouldn't have worked but it did, it was light and really awoke my pallet.

The second dish a light garden tomato soup. The soup was silky smooth and rich, none of the extra acid one would normally expect from a tomato soup was present. Rich and velvety, all around excellent.

The third was a trio of quinoa Arancini stuffed with a light white cheese, fried to a golden texture. I am not a huge fan of quinoa, but I did like the treatment of the ingredients, everything worked well together. If you like the grain instead of rice you'll love these, served in an acidic red sauce they almost taste like pizza bites. Everything works in this dish except for my dislike of quinoa.

Fourth came an evolved seafood dish, calamari stuffed with shrimp served on a light mustard sauce. To my taste the shrimp stuffed calamari was perfect, a nice interplay between the two sea creatures. As I told Chef Randy after the meal however, Darlene and I both found the mustard a bit overpowering. Seafood by essence is delicate, mustard should be left for more hearty meats.

Bacon Squared turned the corner on flavor, throwing subtle out the window and giving us full two barrel flavor. Bacon and fatty pork belly really make you hit the wall. Salty, fatty but balanced with a supremely acidic gastrique. It all works, if you like fatty pork, if you like bacon, if you enjoy a good tangy pickle you will love this dish. It's over the top in richness but saved by the gastrique which cuts through it all and just delivers flavour.

Thankfully a cleansing salad was served before dessert, a joyfully light portion of Asian greens with beets and a blue cheese vinaigrette. Thankfully light and acidic. Fighting once again through the very heavy levels of the bacon and pork belly.

I bet you thought I forgot about desert, not by a long shot friends. The Chef himself brought out our decadently rich chocolate torte. He and I discussed how the dinner progressed, Darlene seemed content to just sit and listen. Waiting for the first perfect bite of a obviously obscenely wicked treat.

One cannot explain a meal like this in a few sentences. Was the meal perfect? How was the service? Did we have a great time?

For Beaujena's I can solidly say that the sum total of the experience was well above average, the food was an exploration of what food can be, the service was personal and friendly. Darlene and I got to reconnect in many ways that went above food and flavor.

If you and your special someone have more than a few hours to kill. Do check out Beaujena's French Table. For romance and good food you will not forget the experience.

Hidden Gem. One of the city's best!

Don't be scared by the no set menu approach. I've had nothing but pleasant surprises with this blind tasting concept...a refreshing, exciting and super fun approach to dining.

Since parting company with chef Blue Harlan in June 2009, Randy Reynolds donned the chef hat and hasn't looked back. This is a man of many talents, an investment advisor by day, I wish he would quit his day job and cook full time because the dishes are well composed, clever, and delicious!

With his partner Beaujena ably managing front of house, Randy turns out exquisite spins on French Mediterranean food, borrowing influences from Spain, Italy and further afield.

The unique thing about Beaujena's is that it's a constantly changing, 5 or 7 course prix fixe menu at $35 or $49 respectively. For $25 more, Beaujena will also pair a wine with each course.

I'm a big eater but even I found the 7 course option bordering on too much food.

In the French style, dinner is laid out over several hours encouraging dialogue and digestion.

Because the menu changes every month, it's hard to review but suffice to say Randy demonstrates intelligence and a clever hand in the kitchen.

On one of the most memorable visits I was served a wild boar terrine with blueberry compote. To this day it is one of the best dishes I have eaten anywhere!

Other standouts were a delightfully light chicken broth delivered surprisingly intense flavours of roast chicken. Keeping it simple, carrots and potato were the only other ingredients but for the surprise garnish of Cilantro which brought a refreshing perfume and perfect counterpoint to the savoury flavors of the roast chicken.

As an homage to the holidays, turkey meatballs burst with the sweet yet tart flavor of cranberries. Served nestled in hand made tagliatelli pasta in a cognac cream sauce, this is a dish I dream about to this day.

Salmon mousse garnished with lox was brough back to the prairies with a garnish of goldeye caviar and fronds of fresh chopped dill. Three medallions of baguette weren't however sufficient for the amount of mousse.

A ramekin of Cassoulet, the classic bean casserole, although tasty, wasn't that soul satisfying but I appreciated the inclusion of pork belly, and confit of duck. The beef sausages didn't really bring anything to the party and here and I was hoping for something with a little pizazz like merguez or tolouse sausage.

In the French manner, salad is often served as a prelude to dessert...a perfect palate cleanser.

For dessert I've been served lemon pie with a sweet yet tart filling and delightfly short crust. On another occasion it was a chipotle chocolate raspberry pots de creme topped with whipped cream and served with home made shortbread. Both were delicious.

While many get the willies when they don't know what they're being served, I argue that this is the essential experience, uniqueness and charm of Beaujenas and you owe it to yourself to give it a try.