Jeune et Jolie is a French restaurant that has been open for a little over a year. It made Esquire magazine’s list for one of the best new restaurants in America for 2019 and won San Diego Eater’s 2019 Restaurant of the Year. We recently dined here for both brunch and dinner.
The restaurant is named after the owners’ daughters. The interior is intimate and charming, with its plush pink booths and open kitchen space where you can watch the care and detail put into each plate.
Our first trip to the restaurant was for dinner. While we were tempted to try the nightly tasting menu, we ended up working our way through the regular menu instead because I wanted to focus on staples the restaurant has to offer.
PAIN ET BEURRE
baguette, milk bread, normandy butter
The bread plate we ordered included a classic French baguette and a Japanese inspired milk bread roll. Both breads were very enjoyable.
CREVETTE
blue prawn, kataifi, green curry, thai basil
This small bite consisted of a prawn wrapped in crispy pastry, served with green curry and thai basil.
GRENOUILLE
frog legs, fermented chili, tamari
The frogs legs were one of our favorite dishes of the night. The tiny lollipop frog legs were lightly battered and fried.
ESCARGOT
snail, puff pastry, mushroom, brussels sprout, evoo
Small pieces of snail and mushroom were stuffed inside this delicate puff pastry.
AGNEAU
lamb sausage, squid, beluga lentil, truffle, lebneh, turnip
Another favorite of the night. We especially enjoyed the lentil puree.
POISSON CRU
market fish, coconut, coriander, kiwi, daikon, chili
This dish was so beautifully plated. I really enjoyed the colors and the textures.
LARDON
bacon, persimmon, burrata, pistachio, balsamic
COQUILLE
scallop, sunchoke, abalone mushroom, vin jaune
Probably our favorite dish of the night. We opted for the additional white truffle shavings on top, but I think the dish would have been a favorite regardless. The caramelized scallops were perfectly cooked.
COTE DE BOEUF
wagyu beef, sweetbreads, mirepoix, yogurt, streusel
My favorite part of this dish was actually the rich sweetbreads and medley of miniature vegetables.
PORC
iberico pork, eggplant, artichoke, buttermilk, chermoula
The pork was prepped and ate like a steak, which was quite interesting.
CITRON VACHERIN
almond, meringue, citrus, anise
MIEL DE PANNA COTTA
honey, pear, blackberry
I really enjoyed this dessert. It had so many different contrasting textures and flavors.
If you enjoy absinthe, Jeune et Jolie serves it complete with their own absinthe fountain.
A few days later, I returned to try out their brunch with my friend CC.
BEIGNETS
jam, cream
The beignets were incredibly tender and light, served with banana cream and almond jam. It was a great way to start our meal.
OMELETTE
boursin, fine herbs
We did find the omelette to be a little too salty.
TARTINE
toast, soft scrambled egg, mornay
BRIOCHE BOSTOCK
french toast, almond cream, fruit
My favorite dish from brunch. I loved the use of almond and almond paste in the French toast. Having now sampled a few of their sweets, I really wish Jeune et Jolie also had a bakery. I would definitely visit often for their pastries and desserts.
Overall, we quite enjoyed the food we had during our meals at Jeune et Jolie. The only thing we didn’t quite love was the service on both occasions. During our dinner visit, our waters were rarely refilled and our empty dishes sat for long periods of time before they were taken away. During my brunch visit, after taking our drink order, we waited nearly 30 minutes before someone finally came to take our food order. The maître d’ was very apologetic and even gave us complimentary beignets to start our meal, which we really appreciated. Hopefully, they will be able to work out the service issues as the food we had was quite enjoyable. I do recommend dinner over brunch only because the brunch menu is fairly limited.
Menu: https://www.jeune-jolie.com/m-e-n-u
Jeune et Jolie
2659 State St, Carlsbad, CA 92008
Despite the initial lack of service (which was later rectified), I had a nice time at brunch with you. Their desserts were quite good. Judging from your dinner photos, I definitely need to return. The dishes you had were presented so beautifully and looked so interesting. I shall have to make reservations for a future dinner with my husband.
I hope you get to check them out again for dinner. I had a great time with you too, as always!
I didn’t know about this restaurant until your post. What a feast you had on the visits! How were the prices? I want to splurge on truffles this year so that one scallop dish looked amazing –
Hi Faye. You can see all the prices listed on their menus.
Was the restaurant completely packed during your two visits? Or not enough staff? Truffles and scallops sound amazing together. I’m also liking the look of that French toast item. =)
No the restaurant was not packed on either occasion. Hope you get to try the french toast!