The staff at Papillon were outstanding!!! I have had quite a few steaks in my time and I have to admit they had some of the best steak I have ever had! The appetizers and dessert were also amazing! I will definitely be back! read more

We eat at this restaurant many times a year. The food is out standing and the wine is delightful. The servers are very friendly. I highly recommend this restaurant. They should be Michelin rated. read more

A great leisurely lunch with Charlie and Ellen attentively serving us nothing but the best food and delightful dessert. The Seafood Wellington is perfectly balanced and just the right portion. The Beef Wellington also a treat, with great sauce of sorts. And FRESH salads. All of this in a very stylish presentation, and clean setting! Parking also very easy! read more

I was introduced to Papillon Restaurant by a good friend. I found the establishment to be everything he said. The food was delicious, the artistry techniques in plating was visual perfection, the service and attention given by owners and staff, is a clear sign, to bring you back again, to enjoy a very special evening of exquisite food, fun and relaxation. The trip from Brentwood to Fremont is worth every minute spent in traffic. My friend was so right. This is an incredible French Restaurant with a menu selection that would entice anyone. Try Papillon. read more

Very much enjoyed dinner here. Wine list was reasonable and there was a wide variety of food, particularly seafood which was good. The Dutch Crunch bread and butter was awesome - had to push it away to save room for the other food. Chicken cordon bleu stuffed with crab was very tender. Also particularly enjoyed the Lobster Ravioli. Definitely plan on coming back - service was great. Very good place I think in particular for special events (birthday, Valentines). Didn't try the desert but will next time. The table next to us had the Baked Alaska (the ice cream flambeau) so definitely will try that. read more

What I love best about Papillon is that everyone is family. Whether you are behind a counter or at a table, Papillon is home. I have met many other frequent diners who, like myself, keep returning. My favorite appetizer is the french onion soup, which is divine with the gruyere cheese and perfect puff pastry atop, and my favorite dessert for the past 30 years has been their signature chocolate mousse. As for the main courses, I have never met one at Papillon that I didn't think decadent. read more

Papillon's is a great place to take someone you want to impress. The decor is old school but fits the restaurant. Good food but a bit pricey. Everything ala carte. I would go there again for special occasions. The service was friendly and informative. Only one complaint that I have with most higher end places is that they only pour 1/4 of a glass of wine and charge $12-15.00 a glass. read more

This restaurant is perfect for any and all ocasions. The food and the employees are outstanding, Atmoshpere is great. The Food is outstanding. read more

After living in San Francisco for ten years I believe I'm somewhat picky when it comes to quality food. I've been living in Fremont for several years and my wife and I finally decided to try this restaurant. Fremont is lacking when it comes to fine dining but it's like most suburban cities. The atmosphere was nice, food presentation was excellent but the food was just average and did nothing to excite my pallet. I even tried some of my wife's food just to see if maybe it was just my dish but it was also average. My wife had the same impression. As far as Fremont's concerned this is one of the better restaurants but it's a far cry from what you can get in cities like Palo Alto etc. read more

I am a fan but not "as good as it gets". However, the food is divine. I've had the lamb, escargot, and the eggplant plate (forgive me, it's been a minute) and I have no complaints. The servers are charming as they always make sure you are okay. I recommend the creme brulée at the very end of your meal, as they prepare it in front of you. Cheers! read more

I came here for lunch today and the food was great! This was my first time trying a French restaurant so I was a little uneasy but everything turned out fine. I had the Sole which came in a lemon caper sauce with mushrooms, rice, zucchini, green beans, and squash on the side. You also get your choice of the soup of the day (cream of spinach) or house salad (french onion or caesar sub for extra charge). I had their house salad which was field greens tossed in their homemade dressing with cherry tomatoes, candied walnuts, and thin slices of apple. This was so good I wish it were an option as a main entree! My fish was cooked perfectly and the sauce paired really well with the dish. My only complaint about this restaurant is how outdated it looks. They really need to renovate and make it more inviting. Also, our waiter's shirt and pants had stains all over them. I expect a better presentation from a fine dining restaurant. That aside, I would come back just because the food was good. read more

We went to Papillon for dinner on New Year's Eve. As one might expect on this occasion, traffic was brisk. Although we made reservations we were told there would be a 30 minute wait because several patrons had canceled their reservations yet showed up anyway. Clearly, preference should be extended to those of us who honor our reservation. We quietly complained to the manager and were seated at a table in an isolated corner. I thought this would be refreshingly private until it became apparent that even the waiter was unaware of our presence. It was 20 minutes before anyone took our drink order and then it was only because we flagged down a bus boy. There was a female bartender working that evening who was overtly rude and sarcastic towards us. Her attitude was unacceptable. Our waiter was pleasant enough but the service was painfully slow all night. He disappeared for 30 minute intervals. It took us over three hours to have dinner and, although we didn't order anything extraordinary or exotic, the check for two was $280 before tip. This restaurant is overpriced and overrated. Two stars for decent cuisine, artfully presented. read more

Really? 4 and 5 Stars everyone? OMG this place was bad. With so many great places to choose from in the East Bay why would anyone waste their time going to Papilllon. First, lets get it straight, this is NOT french cuisine, the menu is as dated as the decor, which some describe as quaint, I would describe it as totally run down. Have you ever been to a place where you know immediately that the ingredients used are frozen and not of high quality?...that's Papillon. I knew we were in trouble as soon as we walked in, but decided not to walk out...bad decision. When I asked what Pinot they had by the glass it was Mondovi, when I asked about the Cab, it was Mondovi and Yellowtail...OMG, Yellowtail? Really? We ended up with a bottle of Girgich Hills Chardonnay, playing it safe, but even that was not properly chilled. Our waitress had an attitude, seemed like she was pissed working a Friday night. My wife ordered the sauteed (LOL) prawns. Prawns? Yeah right, half dozen obviously previously frozen small shrimp buried in a nasty garlic sauce. I had the rack of lamb, very expensive, very poor quality of lamb, seasoned with a ton of garlic barely edible. Check please! And never, ever again. read more

My husband and I went to Papillon for our 41st wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful time and the food was really good. I have absolutely no complaints. No doubt we will go again. read more

We just returned from our dinner at Le Papillon which they held at Villa Montalvo for Valentines Day. We had been there last year and totally enjoyed it so this year our son and daughter in law came with us. It was absolutely a total disappointment . Lobster cold and raw, steak under cooked and lacking in service. Never asked if we wanted wine with the meal, we had to ask. $800.00 later felt totally like we had been taken and not nearly the sa Waited at least 20me experience as last year.We go to the restaurant at least 6-8 times a year with clients or just a nice evening out as a couple. We will never go there again. Told the owner upon our departure and he just provided lip service and really acted like he didn't really give a shit. Very disappoint and was very upsetting for our guests that we told them how great it was last year. Never Again. owner acted like he could have cared less about our comments. Service not good. Waited at least 20 minutes to get our credit card back. read more

Shocked that the average is 4 stars for this place. Had been here once before, 3 years ago. I swore I would never come back as our experience was dreadful the first time.First time: The older Asian woman order-taker (doesn't deserve 'server' as a title for sure. She's the owner's sister/sister-in-law btw.) is horrendous. Rude, not knowledgeable, just extremely unprofessional all the way around. So this time I made sure she WASN'T the one taking our order and serving us. Went tonight, Sunday night, and were the first to arrive. Sat at the bar and enjoyed a cocktail and conversation with the bartender, Ellen. Great gal. Received some recommendations for dinner, then were seated (requested that we not have older Asian woman). Sam was our server (great guy). I ordered the pork tenderloin. It was completely overcooked and dry. My friend ordered the rack of lamb. It was all right but came with lots of scary, brown sauce/gravy that tasted worse than a bad canned sauce. WTH??? No complaints on the service, however, the food was way below average for sure, especially for the price. Will never return for food, but may come back for a cocktail. P.S. They only hire family and friends. That has got to be one of their issues for sure. The chef is the owner's wife (co-owner?). She's in waaaaayyyy over her head. No concept of the nuance of cooking, let alone French cuisine, one of the most difficult. I want to call Kitchen Nightmares on her behalf. The bussers and food runners were awesome though. These young men were very courteous and attentive. Found out they were 'friends' rather than 'family'. Maybe get rid of the 'family' and hire more 'friends'??? read more

The restaurant smelled badly, the bread they brought us was uncooked, the waitress unfriendly. We left without even ordering and have no intention of ever going back. read more

What can I say!?! Start by not expecting a good Bloddy Mary?!? Surprising for sure. Flys at the bar making the garnish tray home. Ya.. I'll pass on the cherries and limes thanks. OK , well let's see how the appatizers are! Wow, those prawns in a mango SAUCE sound great! Nah, how about 4 prawns in a bed of mixed greens with cubed mango and tons of green onion and everything tastes of green onion. Even the individual mango cubes that were supposed to be in a sauce. The other appatizer ordered was the Tempura Calamari with Zucchini. UHHHH... Mostly shredded zucchini with a side of the soup of the evening which was a tomatoe soup as a dipping sauce. WTF?? At this point I'm kinda trippin!!! Ok, I can get over this. Let's try the entrée. We ordered filet mignon with lobster. I'm expecting a petite 4oz cut of a decent filet and a tail... We got a 6-8oz piece of ... I'm not sure what cut of meat, and we have bought and cooked a lot of meat at home. I actually expected so much more!!! Not anything over the top but... What a let down! Seriously!! No attention to detail either. I made reservations a couple days in advance. I requested a perticular private table. We were seated at a random table until I questioned my reservation. When we were seated at the requested table (41) the privacy curtains didn't even function properly. I specified with the person whom I made my reservation with that this was a special occasion. I belive her nane was Ellen. I was planning to propose in this old heap. Um... I didn't.. This place needs to pick it up! Not sure how they achieved 4 stars!?! Even the forks were bent!!! Good luck I'd take the US Restaurant in SF over this any day. It may not be French but uh.. Neither is this! L- read more

3.5 one of the few starched white table clothes special occasion places in fremont. where else can you get escargot, frog legs, etc. been around for decades and looks it too. little worn. menu is full of classic items, not just french. had the crab cakes which were pretty good. salad and soup were decent. scallop entree used good ingredients. ribeye and seabass were ok. little misses here and there like scales on the fish. dessert not worth getting. read more

Food is excellent and the staff are very friendly and attentive. Some people complain about the interior, but this place has been here for a long time. Why does every place need to be modern? I've never been disappointed from an entrée or wine I've selected or that's been recommended. Sometimes it takes a while for the food to arrive, but this isn't a meal that is rushed. This place is always busy every day of the week- that should say something. It's nice to find a quality restaurant like Papillon in Fremont. read more

I was disappointed by this experience. First, I had high hopes, when I read the menu I was thinking, I will be coming back here time and time again. The good, the waiter gave us special seating in a booth, great booth but noticed the curtains weren't ironed (no big deal but my friend pointed it out so now I remember). I had the french onion soup to start (puff pastry). It looked a lot better then it tasted. Next, we ordered the lobster bisque, seafood wellington rack of lamb and split champagne. Staff came back and told us they're out of lobster bisque but they have butternut squash instead. REALLY??? How can you come back and say that?? Finally opted for caesar salad which was additional $$. Salad came and was extremely disappointed. We realized that our champagne wasn't here yet. We told one waiter, then another. Finally it came out..without the bottle.We had 3 different severs but they couldn't figure this out til after appetizers. We ordered another split just in case they took just as long to bring the next one. They brought out a little bottle 10 mins later, already opened. Escargot was okay (personally not a big fan). Seafood Wellington came out, it looked great! But tasted funny, luke warm and sour (was this intentional? If so it was too sour). Rack of lamb was undercooked and lacks flavor. Ended with flourless chocolate torte which was good, came with cherry ice cream. oh the bread was good too. The severs were nice but didn't give me the proper "French" experience, not to mention that all 4 of them were Asians. Nothing wrong with that, just lacked diversity... or maybe even a token French guy? Total cost $160 for 2 read more

I called spoke to staff advised that reservation is required to dine in. Therefore, she booked a reservation for us at 8:00 P.M. Evening came we arrived 15 mins early was greeted by a hostess. Right of the back, she didn't even asked if we have made reservation, instead she asked "how people in your party? " I replied" party of 3" I tested to see if they will ask about the reservation. Surprisingly, she staff didn't confirm if reservation is book and all she said" no problem let me get your table ready for you in just a min." I was about to inform the staff about our reservation but her phone rang. She didn't even to say "please excuse me" she went ahead answered the phone. After she hang up the phone, she started to laugh and said "It was just my grandma who called me." I smiled and waiting for her to seated us. Then, she said " Okay let me set up a table for you and will be ready in 5 mins." While we're waiting, there was a older man (staff) and owner, both were just stared at us not even one smile or greeted us. From the look on their face staring right at us (again w/out a smile) it made us felt very uncomfortable and uninvited. Then, we got up and left the restaurant...surprisingly they didn't even go or call us to see if we are still interest to dine in. **My comment for an older man (staff) and owner: please don't just stared at your customer like that was rude. At least, come and ask have they been help or a smile would be nice. Please train your staff in regards to reservation policy and be consistent. Appreciated! **My comment for the hostess: If you are at work please be more professional. read more

Let me start out by saying we have dined at Papillon for a number of years and what used to be a good place to celebrate an anniversary or birthday has turned out to be a very bad place to eat unless you except what they are today........ not so good. Our waiter although friendly was not as professional as the ones that used to work there. We had the soup which was good but barely warm. The bread was good with plenty of butter and was refilled immediately by some busboy that stood around like some vulture the entire time we ate (very annoying). We ordered the Veal Scallopini which was, hands down the worst I ever seen or tasted. There might have been one button mushroom sliced up with dozens of those little gnoch balls all covered with some watered down vegetable soup or something. This was not at all like any Veal Scallopini I've ever seen. Oh, we each had a glass of wine or should I say a fourth of a glass of wine for the price of at least half a glass. Cheap Cheap, Cheap. Desert........well let me say it was graciuosly not charged for but still we will never go back. One thing we had to laugh at was when we first arrived we were asked if we were there for any special occasion. Well yes it was our 37th wedding anniversary. So written on our soup was "Happy Anniversary" with some sort of food liquid. Then when we got our desert "Happy Birthday" was written on it. Go Figure. This was not the first time we have been disappointed there lately as we have gradually seen the quality of this place go down. read more

This restaurant opened originally in 1978, and while they may have cornered the market on being the only French restaurant in Fremont back then, they wouldn't have remained in business today if they didn't have something amazing to offer, given the imense choices we now have. And they are amazing; just take a look at the website to see their menu selections. We went with a party of 4 and their flambee was cooked at the table. I had the mushroom ravioli and would order it again, but I really want to sample the other selections next time. The interior is pristine and great for business or a date/couples' night out. I don't make it to Fremont much, but next time i'm there, this will be my restaurant of choice. And to the idiot commenter who took up 8 paragraphs to say how horrible this place was; a) you are not interesting enough for us to care what you think after paragraph 2 (and that's being generous) and b) if you couldn't recognize the quality cuts, ingredients and originality in the dishes here, then that speaks more to your own personal ignorance and pretentiousness. As we say in italian, "nel caso tuo, in culo s'entra, in testa no". read more

This place may have been good back in the day. We went for a celebration dinner on a Saturday night. Staff seemed plentiful but the attendance to customers just was not on par. Lots of time was spent waiting for service for each course or request and just getting the bill was the longest, most difficult effort. The food was good but nothing special. If you read the menu your mouth is watering in anticipation of awesome to come. The actual food is good but nothing close to expectations. It's a good meal, but just not the total package. read more

First visit and was not at all disappointed. Food were well prepared. Had the sea bass and experienced both the crispy skin and the delightful and flavorful portion of the fish on the opposite side. read more

My son loves escargot. We have searched French restaurant in Fremont. Pavilion stands out in yelp with quite amount of good reviews. We went there the day before yesterday on our anniversary. Unfortunately, we didn't have good impression on food quality and service. Appetizers oysters and escargots are fresh and taste as expected. Main dishes are just so both presentation and taste. the waiter and waitress look like new and less experience. We didn't get warm welcome by the head of sevice. read more

This is the best high class cuisine I have ever been to. I made dinner reservations for my 25th anniversary and made special requests: a quiet, romantic table with candlelight, and that they put champaiign in my own wine glasses I had engraved just for the occasion. They followed all of my instructions to a tee. The waiter was impeccable, very cordial. Not only that but my wife's soup had "Happy 25th" written with a cheese sauce in her bowl of soup. The food was to die for, even though the coices were few for me, a vegetarian. Finally at the end they surprised us both with a huge plate of ice creams and sliced strawberries with "Happy Anniversary" written in strawberry sauce. The waiter deserved every penny of the highest tip i've ever given to anyone. read more

One star simply because my pistachio crusted scallop had hair in it. I would expect something like this from some fast food restaurant. Definitely not coming back. read more

Recently we had out Christmas Party at this restaurant and was very pleased with the food and the service. The steak was incredible and the soup was delicious! Will definitely return for another great meal! read more

I'm so disappointed I cant even tell you! Papillion is one of my favorite restaurants. We come here for Valentines Dinner nearly every year, and other special occasions. Last night we brought my brother and his girlfriend for his 50th birthday. I felt confident that he'd love the food and enjoy the evening. We each ordered a fillet mignon selection. Three of us ordered it medium, my brother ordered his medium well without any sauce. It took a full hour to even get our meals...and when they arrived they were VERY rare (blue) inside. All of them. My brother said his had no seasoning at all. We sent them back and they were returned without any of the sauces....undercooked vegetables and still blue inside. They were sent back too....the third time my brothers came back VERY well done (it appeared to have been microwaved. Ours were still WAY undercooked. This $200+ dinner was so disappointing...especially since it was for a very special occasion. They "made it up to us" by bringing my brother a birthday dessert and extra plates in case we'd like to share it with him. I think I'm going to have to find a new favorite. read more

This is the best French Restaurant I have ever been in; cozy, romantic, great service and excellent food. I'll recommend it to all my friends and family and I'll be back to try other exquisite dinners. The covered patio reminded me of a restaurant in Paris and this place transport you there. read more

We had one of the nicest dining experiences that we have had in a long time at Papillion last Monday night. It was pretty empty, which we expected being a Monday, but the service was fantastic. Our waiter Paul was efficient and professional. We brought in 2 bottles of wine and he waived the corkage on one of them. We ordered an appetizer of crab cakes, which is 2 nice size cakes on a bed of lettuce with some grilled onions topped with a nice dressing. Paul asked the chef to add another to our plate since there were 3 of us. Again above our expectations. I ordered the Sea Bass and our friend ordered the Scallops. My husband ordered the salmon, but Paul came to the table and said that the salmon wasn't looking really great, and he would recommend something else. My husband was more than happy to order the rack of lamb. All our meals were excellent! The preparation of the Sea bass was very different, but very delicious. My husband ended bringing some of his lamb home, as the rack was so large. With your meal is included soup or salad and then a starch and vegetable with your entrée. Definitely a good deal for all the food that you get. The soups here are incredible. It was cream corn last night... YUMMO. It's been a while since we've eaten at Papillion, but we will definitely put it on our list to frequent more often. Great professional, but friendly service and wonderful food. Not bad for Fremont! read more

The lobster ravioli is to die for. I had the lunch portion and thought it was pricey, but it was well worth it.

We've been coming here for special occasions the last 20 yrs. Food is consistently good. Service could be a little faster. We spent almost 2 1/2 hours for dinner on a Wednesday. Can't rush French dining much though. I wanted to have a soufflé dessert but needs an extra 20 minutes, next time will try to remember ordering it as soon as main entre is served. A little remodeling inside will be great. read more

Real restaurant how it should be. Service , food are awesome. We spent there couple hours to celebrate my wife BirthDay. At the end she got free desert nicely decorated and tasty. Food is amazing. read more

My husband and I went for dinner last night. It was recommended to us about two years ago as being a really good "French" restaurant. I should have looked at the menu, as this is NOT a French restaurant. If Applebee's and Black Angus are on your dining circuit, this would be one step up. It's a very dated restaurant with fair service, at best. If you're looking for farm to table food and something current, you will be disappointed. The crowd is much older. I'm 50 and I'm pretty sure I was the youngest person there by 10-20 years. I'm not trying to be mean. It's been in business for a long time and the restaurant seemed to be full, so people do enjoy it. It was not for me. read more

A great French restaurant, food is consistently good, this place is one of the most romantic restaurant in Fremont and save room for desserts....very yummy.. read more

This place is a flashback to the 1970-80s. Dated (read tired) interior, an extensive but very old fashioned French menu. Heavy on the sauces. The pommes frites (an almost infallible barometer of quality because it is so simple) were a bit greasy, not salted and soft. The wine list is good. The pace of the service was down right glacial. I suspect it is still around because of the lack of options of upper end restaurants in and around Fremont. Overall the experience was mediocre. read more

As a native of Fremont, I always wanted to dine at this restaurant but could never afford it when I was younger. Growing up, it was always known as the fanciest restaurant in Town. I finally had the opportunity to bring my wife to this place and we were both sorely disappointed. The first thing to notice was the prices. We have lived in New York For over a decade now. If you are going to charge Manhattan prices, you need to justify it: 1. Ambiance- the decor is tired and dated. I think it still has carpet from the 80's. 2. The food is barely edible. We ordered strictly off the specials menu. Tonight we had the lobster ravioli as an appetizer which we had to send back. The "raviolis" were actually frozen lobster dumplings. The dumplings were smothered in a tomato cream sauce. They also tasted sour. I wasn't sure if it was the sauce or the dumpling so I sampled both separately. The sauce was a bit fatty and bland with a hint of chalkiness but not sour. I opened up the "ravioli" only to discover that it was a spongy blob of processed lobster meal. It was sour and smelled bad. My wife got the onion soup. It was decent. Not great but decent. Entrees: I made the mistake of ordering the macadamia-encrusted sea bass. The sea bass was bland and overcooked. It must have been partially cooked ahead of time and then recooked depending on which version of the sea bass was ordered (there also a miso glazed sea bass on the menu). The crust was soggy and there was canned crab meat piled high on top of the fish. To top it off, the same tomato cream sauce was used to drown my mountain of canned crab meat on twice cooked sea bass. I didn't want to spoil the mood any further by sending the dish back (and waiting another 30 min for a different entree) so I ate the vegetables that were purchased from the week before. I couldn't understand why there was an ice cream scoop of Rice a Roni on my plate but it was the only item that tasted good. Once I cleared the veggies and the rice a Roni from my plate, I spread the fish/canned crab all around the periphery hoping that it looked like I ate most of my food (it was an act of deception that I mastered as a young child). My wife got the colossal prawns which were overcooked but decent. We got the baked Alaska for dessert which was nothing more than cheap vanilla ice cream encased in slices of Sara Lee pound cake which was then coated in merengue. The cool part was that the waiter splashed liquor on the dessert and set it on fire. It was the only course of the meal that I didn't want to vomit. Was it a $23 dessert? No. 2 stars seem generous but the staff was very nice. I'm glad I came here because it is no longer a mystery to me. I am just sad that my wife thinks that this restaurant is the best Fremont has to offer. read more