The Review: Le Saint Amour in Culver City, how very French

The first time I went to Paris, a friend's old boyfriend, a poet who taught English to the employees of the French phone company, took me in hand and introduced me to his favorite restaurants. This American in Paris was mad about simple bistros and lively brasseries. He never spent more than the equivalent of $25 on a meal and I doubt very much he ever ate at a Michelin-starred restaurant, yet he loved everything about eating in France.

I've lost contact with him over the years, but if he ever came to Los Angeles, I have just the place for him: the new French brasserie Le Saint Amour. I'm confident he'd enjoy the authentic atmosphere created by Florence and Bruno Herve-Commereuc. He'd be impressed by Monsieur Herve-Commereuc's commitment to make his own charcuterie and stick to a classic French menu. The waiters are much nicer than in Paris, and from the way the women hold their forks and the men drape their cashmere sweaters over their shoulders, not to mention those rolling r's, half the crowd looks to be French.

The cooking here is the kind you'd find in any everyday brasserie in Paris, and like many of those average places, though more attention to detail and better ingredients would certainly improve the food, they would also probably result in higher prices.

To read the rest of S. Irene Virbila's review, click here.

Photo: Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times