Juliet

There are so many wonderful restaurants in Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades that I rarely eat outside of my home base. But when a friend took me to the new Juliet French restaurant in Culver City, I fell in love.

Never have I seen such a wonderful French wine list, which allows me to select the size of the pour, so I can taste several glasses over lunch—or more at dinner. And any restaurant that serves French food is a great addition to the restaurant scene and a rarity.

The restaurant is quite beautiful, but as so often the case in Los Angeles, they are going to need server training before it’s anything like in France. When I approached the greeter, she immediately said there were no seats available, inside or outside.

So, I looked in and saw two empty seats at what looked like a communal table. I asked if we could sit there and she excused herself to talk to someone else, and then returned to say it was OK for us to sit there.

After a long wait, a waiter served us water and silverware, and disappeared. That was OK with me because the four ladies at the table had ordered a lot of dishes, so I was able to see and get some opinions from them about the food.

Eventually our orders were taken. We had the half chicken, which was about as good as chicken can get, and I had the mushroom tartine. The mushrooms were delicious, but I would have preferred the slice of bread under them to have been toasted so that it was not so mushy. I had a couple glasses of Burgundy to wash it all down.

I looked at the dinner menu and when I saw they served some of my favorite foods that are hard to find elsewhere, I decided to return. And a few days later, I had that chance. This time I ordered the veal sweetbreads (ris de veau).

Have you ever seen the TV show “Monk”? It’s about a detective with certain behaviors, such as never eating a plate of food with more than one item on the plate. Maybe I’m getting a bit like that, I don’t like my foods mushed together.

The sweetbreads were well prepared, but I wish they were not served on a bed of mashed potato. The side of mushrooms was a nice idea, and a nice thin mushroom sauce over the delicious sweetbreads would have been an improvement over the potatoes and thick sauce that was served.

I don’t like two soft textured dishes together. I noticed that the chef did the same with several dishes—put the main entrée on top of the delicious mashed potatoes, thereby mooshing two flavors together.

That said, the dinner was so delicious, and the two glasses of Burgundy so enchanting, that I ordered a crepe Suzette for dessert. These were a bit thicker than I am used to but well prepared in the right sauce. Still, until they prepare them tableside, I won’t feel like I’m really in France. At the restaurant next door, Bianca (more on that later), they serve an apple tart flamed at the table.

Juliet is a hot spot full of young people having a really good time, and it’s infectious. With this selection of French-based foods and this wonderful wine selection, you’ll be lucky to find an available table. Unless you look yourself.

Merv Hecht, like many Harvard Law School graduates, went into the wine business after law. In 1988, he began writing restaurant reviews and books. His latest book, “The Instant Wine Connoisseur, 3d edition,” is available on Amazon. He currently works for several companies that source and distribute food and wine products internationally. Send comments to mervynhecht@yahoo.com.