Left Bank at Santana Row

Chef Roland Passot has two restaurants along the main street of Santana Row – Left Bank and LB Steak.

Left Bank, Santana Row
I’ve gone to Left Bank several times.  I’ve been going since it opened in Menlo Park years ago.  My main critique about Left Bank is that it has the oily smell and feel inside.  The attraction with Left Bank in Santana Row is that there’s outside bistro seating.  Perfect for those beautiful California days.

Moules Frites
A solid order of classic mussels and fries.  The fries are done well: not overly greasy, and not overly starchy.  The mussels are nice and plump, and the broth is delicious.

Salmon Hash
Generous bits of salmon with cubes of potatoes, topped with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce.  This was a tasty brunch plate.  The egg and the hollandaise nicely brought the dish together.

LB Steak, Santana Row
LB Steak basically took over the structure and design of Tanglewood, so the interior is nice.  Overall, I wasn’t too impressed.  The burger was dry and too compressed.  The steak was delicious, but my dad still cooks far more superb steaks.

Syrah/Grenache, St. Martin, 2006
A nice glass to pair with a burger or a steak.

Burger Americain
The burger was a fail.  The bun was too crumbly, and the meat was overcooked and too compressed.  The taste was good, but because of the texture of the meat, it failed the whole burger.  Nice presentation, though.

Side of Onion Rings
Decent.  The crispiness didn’t last long, as the batter and the oiliness took over.
 Porterhouse
A delicious order of steak!  We had to ask to kitchen to cook the steak a bit more, as it came in rare when we asked for medium.  After that, it had a nice caramelized coating.  The New York Strip side was far tastier than the Filet side.