A Look At Côte Ouest Bistro: San Francisco’s Authentic French Bistro

Situated in the upscale neighborhood of Cow Hollow, alongside San Francisco’s historic Presidio district and nearby iconic sites like the Palace of Fine Arts, is Côte Ouest Bistro. Though relatively new on dining scene, having recently celebrated its three year anniversary in April, this charming French bistro has been in the works for well over 20 years.

Co-owner Laurent Monchicourt had just graduated from culinary school in his native Brittany, France and began his culinary career as both a server and manager of Baker Street Bistro, the long time incarnation of the restaurant. From here, Monchicourt gained invaluable experience sharpening his front of house skills in some of the city’s most esteemed restaurants including Michael Mina, La Folie and Petit Crenn, along with notable French establishments such as L'Ardoise, Clementine and Chapeau.

Fast forward to the height of the pandemic, Monchicourt and co-owner, fellow restauranteur and longtime friend, Martin Sarrailh were playing golf, still dreaming of opening up their own restaurant. They found out that the original Baker Street Bistro location was up for grabs and jumped at the opportunity.

Without hesitation, they quickly decided that this would be the perfect place to combine their backgrounds, ambition and talent to open up their own neighborhood bistro.

“We never quite had the opportunity to open up our own establishment, especially in this very expensive city,” explains Sarrailh. “When Covid happened there we’re a lot of restaurants that began closing. We said, ‘it's now or never!’”

“We never doubted that the city would recover at some point,” continues Sarrailh. “So we decided to start this journey — without a doubt — despite everyone who was telling us that it was crazy to open a restaurant while the city was shutting down businesses for the second time.”

The cozy bistro draws in regulars and visitors alike with its quaint exterior which features a royal blue color awning, lively outdoor seating with matching blue chairs and a heated patio area with garden lights. The restaurant offers a distinctly French ambiance and decor, featuring classic French posters, marble tables, lots of natural light, a bustling open kitchen and a wine-bar area.

“After three years of business, we are really proud to see how many regulars we have,” he says. “It means a lot to us — to see people coming back over and over again is the biggest reward. It pushes us to keep moving, to not take anything for granted and to get better every day.”

The menu pays homage to traditional French fare, offering a selection of seasonal dishes crafted from locally sourced ingredients. Côte Ouest offers brunch, lunch and dinner menus, along with an extensive wine list, and lunch and dinner prefix options, depending on the day.

Brunch highlights include French dishes like the moules marinières frites with a classic white wine broth; steak frites with a green peppercorn sauce; and a croque monsieur with a whole grain bechamel.

From a variety of buttery, fluffy omelettes to handhelds like the Dungeness crab roll and a namesake burger featuring Espelette aioli and raclette cheese, to sweets like the croissant French toast and crème brûlée a la vanilla, this brunch menu is packed with decadent offerings.

The dinner menu offers charcuterie to share with items like pate de campagne and rillettes de lapin and traditional items like the escargots de bourgogne; xipirons a la plancha, speciality from Basque country, where Sarrailh is from; duck leg confit with potatoes gratin; boeuf bourgignon and a variety of other flavorful dishes.

From octopus a la plancha with a gremolata sauce to day boat scallops with sun dried tomatoes and asparagus risotto, there’s something for everyone.

“We share the same culture, same values — we are both very stubborn — and most importantly, we share the same philosophy in terms of hospitality,” continues Sarrailh.

“We always wanted to have a cozy place, casual vibe, with good food and good service. We never wanted to make it fancy, because that's not us — we just wanted tasty food and welcoming service, as it was back in France in our neighborhood bistros. We wanted to be the place you want to go after a long day at work and you are looking for a comfortable place to forget about your troubles.”