Some of the best damn food I've ever had. High quality, delicious, executed to perfection.

Very accommodating staff, quiet and quaint ambience, a huge wine list, and small portion sizes- it's a French restaurant so no surprise there. However, the Prices are reasonable ... and Being French myself, I prefer quality over quantity I'm definitely going back read more

So, I appreciate amazing food, ambience, great service , which makes an AH MAZING dining experience.My husband and I celebrated my birthday weekend at the Mission Inn Festival of Lights this weekend. I did my research and found Le Chat Noir had very good reviews and food looked great. Well, let me tell you that Le Chat Noir is spectacular! We were so pleased with the whole birthday celebration. What a GEM! A real treasure of Riverside! I want to be selfish and keep Le Chat Noir to myself but it would be a disservice to not share this amazing place. Jean Pierre, was the sweetest man and a artist with food. Luis and Yohannes were so attentive and authentic. Just a wonderful meal and celebration. Next time... we will reserve the sweetbreads!!!!! We will be back soon. read more

Le Chat Noir - Scrumptious Pate.... - French Near Me - Riverside, California

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This is a gem to have in Riverside. If you have time to spare, it's a great place to take a small group or your spouse for a date. We were a group of five and although it was a bit tight, the chairs were comfortable and we still had room to put all our dishes on the table. It's a small restaurant so large groups probably need plenty of reservation time in order to accomodate. It's also very close to parking. As far as the food goes, well, the pictures speak for themselves. They took a long time to make, but they were crafted to perfection. We had two types of escargot, the french onion soup, a couple of fish dishes, and of course the filet mignon. The mushroom stuffed escargot was amazing and I highly recommend it, along with the steak. The recommended wine was great as well. All in all, a great place to have dinner and the waiters are very attentive too. read more

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Fabulous from beginning to the end. Began with the fabulous wine suggestion (Meiomi) and French Onion soup that was amazing. Next was the escargot in a butter and garlic sauce which was great. The filet mignon, pheasant and crème brûlée were all on point. I think this is the first time that I've been to a restaurant and everything was amazing from appetizers to desserts. I've been wanting to try this place and I'm glad I did. read more

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We have been coming to Le Chat Noir for years. This is our special place. We come here for special occasions as well as date nights. We LOVE the atmosphere, attentive service and amazing food. I highly recommend Le Chat Noir! read more

Great food and service in downtown Riverside walking distance to Mission Inn. Great time of the year! read more

Le Chat Noir - Crème Burlee - French Near Me - Riverside, California

If you love French cooking, you will love this restaurant from appetizer to the dessert. Absolutely delicious. And the service is like you don't experience in California anymore special thank you to Adrien our wonderful Garson! I think that's how waiter spelled in French! read more

The escargot was very rubbery. But the venison was delicious. The staff were very friendly.

From the very kind host, Anthony to the experienced waiter, Arturo we had an incredible experience! The chef goes over and beyond with everything we had the privilege to try! We shared the French onion soup, yum! We shared the Brie flambé which was phenomenal! My husband and I ate every last bite of it! He also enjoyed his extremely tender pepper steak while I enjoyed the most deliciously seasoned medium rare rack of lamb! Then the berry creme special dessert was to die for! Cannot wait to go back for more! We will try new things which will be difficult from enjoying tonight's meal again! I highly recommend this incredibly classy hidden gem! So glad we yelped it and saw the reviews! 5 from us! read more

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Don't bother making reservations...they'll just say "we're busy" when you arrive, regardless ....

I've been eyeing this place for a while and finally decided to make a reservation which was very easy the person I talked to was also very friendly. My date & I were not disappointed! It's small/intimate and the food was great. Server was very attentive 10/10 would recommend. I will be returning. read more

Le Chat Noir - French Near Me - Riverside, California

Fantastic experience. Food was excellent. Our server, Adrian, was on point and so was the Dom !!!

This was my first time visiting a french restaurant. We came here to celebrate my bffs birthday! Our waiter was extremely helpful and a delight! I wanted to order something abit out of element, so I went with the duck (First time trying duck). My waiter recommended I order my duck like I would my steak ( med rare ). I was very happy with my meal. My friends ordered the salmon, chicken, scallops, onion soup and lamb. Everyone seemed happy with what they ordered so you can't go wrong with what you choose. read more

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We spent New Years here. It was a multiple course meal and the meal got better and better with every plate. It was like being back in Paris. The food is absolutely delicious! The champagne was stellar. The staff was super attentive, we'll definitely rely be back. read more

We are never disappointed when we go to Le Chat Noir. We were there Saturday evening for dinner with our best friends. The food was delicious as always and the service was flawless. One of the specials was duck confit and our friends loved it. My loin of lamb with Gorgonzola and Lingonberry sauce was wonderful and my wife enjoyed her salmon. It is an intimate, charming, delicious restaurant here in Riverside. read more

Adrien was our wonderful server to match our amazing salmon dish! Highly recommend this place at Magnolia and 9th.

The meal we had very good, will be going back. The service was great and ambiance was quite and reminds me of being in France.

That was INCREDIBLE. Le Chat Noir gets my highest recommendation and we will absolutely be back. We got Le Filet Mignon au Poivre (Pepper steak flambéed with Cognac), and Poitrine de Faisan au Champagne (Breast of Pheasant with a mushroom, challot, tarragon champagne and cream sauce). And the French bread was piping hot from the oven! Great experience all around. Great service, great food. read more

Le Chat Noir - Le Filet Mignon au Poivre (Pepper steak flambéed with Cognac) - French Near Me - Riverside, California

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The whole experience was great. Our waiter took care of us and helped pick a dish since we wanted to try everything! The vibes were cozy. We got the escargot, halibut, and peach desert. Spoiler, the peaches are from the chefs home! Will definitely come back again. read more

We have been wanting to come to this restaurant for years now since we moved to Riverside, but the whole experience was disappointing. From calling to make our reservation to paying for the bill. Our waiter was weird and awkward, like it was his first night serving. He didn't make small talk and would make you feel uncomfortable when you asked for something. For example he charged us $4.50 for a side of bread, which was three little pieces of bread. There were 4 of us. When we asked why so much for a little bit of bread he said because flour is expensive. The food was all right, it took over an hour to come out. All I can say is that it tasted like decent wedding food, but definitely not worth the $40 a plate that we paid. We ordered 2 crème brûlée but the sugar wasn't really crunchy on top. I'm not sure if we came on a bad night or what but we don't think we'll be coming back anytime soon. The only thing that my family loved was the escargot. read more

You want fine dining at a great price? Come to La Chat. It's a tiny hole on the wall restaurant that comes out with amazing dishes but don't forget to make reservations because there is a limited capacity seating. I love to start with the pate to begin with my dining experience. All the dishes are made to order in a tiny kitchen, I don't know how their chef does it but all the food comes out mouth watering in a timely manner. This is my favorite fine dining restaurant in Riverside. read more

Le Chat Noir - This is the duck breast entree - French Near Me - Riverside, California

Le Chat Noir, The Black Cat, is a small, dark, intimate Art Deco bistro with a smattering of late 20th century industrial touches. Service here is friendly & cordial. They do a good job keeping an eye on the tables to make sure that all is well. 1) Pâté de Foie Gras: Two slices of herbed, fattened duck liver closer to a baked terrine. Unfortunately, the liver was overcooked so that some of the subtle liver flavours & bit of fat were cooked out. Cornichons/mini gherkin sweet-sour pickles and rough ground, spicy Dijon mustard were good counter flavours. Julienned wide strips of English cucumbers & halved grape tomato to refresh the palate. 2) Moules Marinières: The mussels possessed interior flesh that wasn't plump, soft, meaty. They looked a bit shriveled, dry, lacking in juicy, rich ocean minerality. Good slices of French style baguette were used to sop up the broth which may have been a touch salty possibly due to reduction of the broth. The broth was primarily white wine & cream which was basically fine, but lacked classic herbal accompaniments such as shallots, parsley, a twig of French thyme to add a more complex herbal freshness & earthiness to round out the oceanic mussels. 3) Côte de Chevreuil: Good cut of rib of venison anatomically comparable to bone in beef ribeye steak. Dusky dark rose colored, dense meat w/ a chaw was grilled closer to medium than the asked for medium rare, but still very acceptable, being soft, velvety, lush. Probably "domesticated" deer so there is a whisper of gamey wildness. Sauce Bordelaise was a good, thickened, smooth, faintly agrodolce, demi-glace reduction where the red wine looks nearly black. Purée of potato had hints of butter & soupçon of woody, aromatic nutmeg. Spear of asparagus, baby carrots that were al dente. Unusual vegetal side was a column of steamed zucchini hollowed out & stuffed w/ what may be mozzarella cheese, thyme herbed tomato based salsa marinara (mah ree nah rah ) capped w/ rounded slug of yellow squash. It was an Italianate touch which may not be so off base since Caterina di Medici of Florence, Italy married Henri II, King of France introducing her sophisticated kitchen to France at the time when France was still in a culinary dark age. 1-3a) Belleruche Côtes du Rhône, M. Chapoutier 2016 was a touch rough, but given time to breath, it mellowed out into a dark cherry-plum fruit juiciness. Probably a combination of Grenache, Syrah, & Mourvedre. Good acidity, light tanins balanced out the sweet fruitiness. 4) Napoléon: Four layers of very thin Millefeuille pastry where the top layer was especially leathery tough & extremely hard to cut through so that the effort caved in the Napoléon. Millefeuille should cleave or crunch down effortlessly. The Crème Pâtissière seemed mostly heavy Crème Chantilly which created a unidimensional flavour. Perhaps increasing egg yolk to add more of a lightly sulfurous richness & more vanilla bean would have created a more satisfying dessert. Food at Le Chat Noir is probably as urbane as it's going to get in Riverside, but I don't always sense a finely honed sensibility in every dish that I encountered here. Good service, pleasant ambiance, a nice special occasion or "date" night out for those in the Inland Empire. 3+ Yelp Stars. read more

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The best service and the food was amazing. Our waiter was funny, attentive and definitely knows his wine. From the first bite to the last everything was deliciously decadent. Perfect place for a date night read more

Le Chat Noir - Creme brulee - French Near Me - Riverside, California

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The service here is top notch! The gentleman that helped with my order is very courteous and polite. You can tell they care about taking care of the customers. Our fave dishes here that really stood out were the escargot and mushrooms with escargot. The green sauces that they came with are so bread dipping delicious! read more

It's not always easy to find French food in Los Angeles & neighboring counties. This gem is located walking distance from the Mission Inn Hotel in Riverside county. Cozy, romantic, welcoming with an intelligent staff who are knowledgeable about the expansive menu. Familiar items like French onion soup or escargot are beautifully executed. Escargot stuffed In mushrooms with Roquefort sauce? It's here! Warm baguette slices are served throughout the meal mains. The menu is thoughtful with steak, seafood chicken, duck, venison, pheasant, lamb & sweetbreads potential offerings. Desserts are the perfect finish & somehow we found room to polish off our creme brûlée & berry cream pastry. Cheers to our terrific server, Adrian. He navigated through the restaurant to provide attentive & thoughtful service! read more

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The orders occasionally take 20-30 minutes to arrive at the table, but one will have bread available, waters regularly refilled, wine served, and appetizers brought out in a timely manner. The server is attentative, in that respect, to make sure that we have something while we are waiting. The food is excellent. Every item on the menu is perfectly cooked, comes out hot and fresh, and clearly shows the care and devotion of the owner and the chef. read more

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Royally confused why this establishment has such high ratings. My husband and I had dinner here on a Thursday evening. First, I will mention that the decor is very stereotypically French (think Eiffel tower, red, and black) and mixed with industrial items that remind me of something out of the early 2000s. We decided to give it a shot anyway. We started with the smoked salmon, onion soup, and bread. The smoked salmon was high quality and very tender (but not something that is easy to mess up since all you have to do is take this out of a package and dump a vinaigrette on it). The onion soup was incredibly lackluster. No flavor whatsoever in the broth and tasted like a box of beef broth from the grocery store. The bread was standard baguette - not anything to write home about. At this point, I was hoping the mains would make up for the soup. Unfortunately, the mains were also completely flavorless. My husband had the venison and I had the lamb with lingonberry and gorgonzola sauce. Both mains tasted exactly the same and like they had been seared without any kind of seasoning. They were not exceptionally tender, but that is to be expected with a lamb loin or venison. Each main also came with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. In my opinion, serving steamed vegetables at a fine dining establishment is atrocious. Again, no seasoning here. The mashed potatoes also had lumps in them, which is not something I would expect at this price range. Neither of us finished our food. The only redeeming thing about this meal was that the service was great - we were well taken care of even if we did not enjoy the meal. read more

Best Branzino in Riverside. Not to mention the escargot n savory onion soup I had prior. Jean Pierre le meilleur chef du coin! read more

Le Chat Noir - Fresh Branzino avec garlic asparagus - French Near Me - Riverside, California

This place is hands down the best fine dining in Riverside. I've been dining here since it first opened up. This place is my go to for date night and anniversary meals. Everything is good. The staff is excellent. I've been to many steak houses in the Los Angeles and surrounding areas and this is restaurant is up there with them. Truly authentic French cuisine. read more

Really good and very nice. The service was excellent and the food was great. Thank goodness for the service and good food. Because we were in a good mood and we were hungry that helped me get through the night. Very good for the first time read more

anniversary dinner, great ambiance, memorable food (didnt have a bad dish) and service (Adrian was fantastic), priced just right (not too $$$$ but definitely dress nicely for the experience), and will definitely be back for date nights. Highly recommend! read more

This is my favorite restaurant in Riverside. (We were terrified it wouldn't reopen after Covid). So sweet, quaint, and "French". Reminds me of the little places to eat on Champs-Élysées. The staff makes you feel special from the minute you walk-in the door. Impeccable service, attentive staff without being a bother. The chef gets 5 stars from me. The food is always more than I could anticipate. As I said, it's my favorite restaurant and when I'm asked where I'd like to eat, this is my #1 answer read more

I had the most pleasant dining experience. Each entree dish was perfect to every single bite. Our server was friendly, and he had great recommendations. #mushroomstuffedwithescargot #frenchonionsoup #seabass #peppersteakfiletmignon #lambloin #rackoflamb #venison #cremebrulee read more

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I liked the restaurant, I did not like the sweetbread. Cheese platter was great, onion soup was fabulous read more

Le Chat Noir - Sweetbread - French Near Me - Riverside, California

Quaint little restaurant with excellent food. The staff were all wonderful and friendly. The waiter was attentive and made excellent recommendations, I came here because I wanted crème brûlée and I got what I wanted and then some. It was wonderful, and had that satisfying crack sound when you take a spoon to the caramelized sugar. Will definitely be returning. read more

The food was perfectly flavored, cooked and perfectly proportioned. The staff is amazing that's just an added plus. read more

Le Chat Noir - Desert - French Near Me - Riverside, California

Friday night 5 PM reservation for 4. One a birthday dinner. Halibut w vegetables, superb. 2 orders rack lamb, outstanding. one order Swordfish, divine. 2 glasses Juggernaut Russian River Pino, perfect. 2 deserts Vanilla ice cream w brandy; chestnuts, one 22 yr. old tawny port, One chocolate mousse, terrific final touch. Chef, there are not enough stars. read more

Lots of flavor, many authentic French dishes, great first date location. Service is slower than American restaurants(because French people like to take their time and have conversations during meals) Recommendations: Lamb chops and duck USA Rating: 8.8/10 World Rating: 8.3/10 read more

I have never in my life been to a French joint, and let me tell ya, this spot is great. I been missing out friends. The main waiter was incredible in how he explained and presented each dish. I was super impressed. My food was incredible and the experience was intimate and top-tier. I can not recommend this spot enough. Guys take your ladies to this spot if you are legit. read more