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Beaujena's
- Hours:
Fri-Sat 5 pm - 12 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
2 reviews for Beaujena's
2 reviews in English
-
Review from A.P. B.
MB
11/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
One of the city's best!
Since parting company with chef Blue Harlan in June 2009, Randy Reynolds donned the chef hat and hasn't looked back. This is a man of many talents, an investment advisor by day, I wish he would quit his day job and cook full time because the dishes are well composed, clever, and delicious!
With his partner Beaujena ably managing front of house, Randy turns out exquisite spins on French Mediterranean food, borrowing influences from Spain, Italy and further afield.
The unique thing about Beaujena's is that it's a constantly changing, 5 or 7 course prix fixe menu at $35 or $49 respectively. For $25 more, Beaujena will also pair a wine with each course.
I'm a big eater but even I found the 7 course option bordering on too much food.
In the French style, dinner is laid out over several hours encouraging dialogue and digestion.
Because the menu changes every month, it's hard to review but suffice to say Randy demonstrates intelligence and a clever hand in the kitchen.
On one of the most memorable visits I was served a wild boar terrine with blueberry compote. To this day it is one of the best dishes I have eaten anywhere!
Other standouts were a delightfully light chicken broth delivered surprisingly intense flavours of roast chicken. Keeping it simple, carrots and potato were the only other ingredients but for the surprise garnish of Cilantro which brought a refreshing perfume and perfect counterpoint to the savoury flavors of the roast chicken.
As an homage to the holidays, turkey meatballs burst with the sweet yet tart flavor of cranberries. Served nestled in hand made tagliatelli pasta in a cognac cream sauce, this is a dish I dream about to this day.
Salmon mousse garnished with lox was brough back to the prairies with a garnish of goldeye caviar and fronds of fresh chopped dill. Three medallions of baguette weren't however sufficient for the amount of mousse.
A ramekin of Cassoulet, the classic bean casserole, although tasty, wasn't that soul satisfying but I appreciated the inclusion of pork belly, and confit of duck. The beef sausages didn't really bring anything to the party and here and I was hoping for something with a little pizazz like merguez or tolouse sausage.
In the French manner, salad is often served as a prelude to dessert...a perfect palate cleanser.
For dessert I've been served lemon pie with a sweet yet tart filling and delightfly short crust. On another occasion it was a chipotle chocolate raspberry pots de creme topped with whipped cream and served with home made shortbread. Both were delicious.
While many get the willies when they don't know what they're being served, I argue that this is the essential experience, uniqueness and charm of Beaujenas and you owe it to yourself to give it a try.
More reviews and news at http://www.SavourWinni... -
Review from DineoutGal A.
Winnipeg, MB
4/30/2009
This place sounded interesting because it advertised itself as place for French/Mediterranean food with a unique concept - surprise dinners (a different one every month). 5 courses for $35 or 7 courses for $49. Well, it sounded promising enough and it received a very good review (4/5) from the Winnipeg Sun's Discreet Diner on March 26, 2009.
I haven't returned to this location since it changed from "the Red Lantern" a few years ago - the decor has changed a lot. You walk into a room that's very brightly decorated with a mish mash of themes. The room is painted orange, the drapes are orange, sunflowers on all the tables and the chairs had this tropical theme to it. It didn't come across as a romantic French/Mediterranean restaurant - more like a tacky beach side resort. We went on a Saturday evening and there was only another couple dining in there. Makes you wonder about a place that only has 4 people in total dining in the restaurant on a weekend. Maybe that was a sign that we should have left? Although the restaurant did fill out with a few more tables as the night progressed.
The music was sort of depressing - a mix of new and old sad pop songs played from a speaker in the corner.
Now to the food, we opted for the 5 course surprise dinner. The owner is really nice and hospitable (FYI - she's also the only server) came out and explained the concept of the restaurant. She gives you a menu but really, there's nothing to look at other than the wine list.
First Course: Salted Cod and Creme Fraiche with Fried Pumpernickel Bread.
- It tastes just like it sounds. I'm an adventurous diner but, salted cod and creme fraiche mixed together? It was a warm dish so I'm not sure if that made it better or worse. The cod was rather fishy so I didn't spread too much of it onto the fried pumpernickel bread (which was somewhat oily). It was not a good starter.
Second Course: Organic Angel Hair Pasta with Pesto (with no pine nuts)
- I'm not sure what they used instead of pine nuts in the pesto sauce but that was the least of their problems. The pesto was overly garlicky and was severely under seasoned. It definitely needed a good hit of some good Parmigiano-Reggiano and/or salt. The part that really got us was not the pesto....it was the pasta itself - they OVERCOOKED it!!! How can any chef call themselves a chef if they can't even cook pasta correctly?!?!? There's nothing worse than eating mushy pasta - even my niece who's a toddler wouldn't eat that.
Third Course: Duck Confit with a fruit compote and mashed potatoes
- The plating at this place was amateur at best - it looks like something from a cafeteria. The duck leg was overcooked and dry. The fruit compote was plum I believe - that was decent. But the best item of the night was probably the mashed potatoes. I can't remember what type of cheese they mixed into it but it was really creamy and good. At this point, we've lost all hope for this place and we were not looking forward to the next two courses.
Fourth Course: Salad Nicoise with Anchovies
- It wasn't really the Nicoise salad I expected as there were no tuna, potatoes or egg. There were tomatoes, red/green/yellow peppers, olives, green beans and a very vinegary dressing. It could have been better.
Fifth Course: Essentially a creme brulee although the chef called it something else because there were differences between the two but I don't recall at the moment.
- The chef actually came out to present the dessert and used a blow torch to caramelize the sugar tableside. It's a cute thing to do but the sound of a blow torch in a quiet restaurant is actually quite distracting and odd. While the chef was talking to us, he didn't really pay attention to my dish....well when he placed it back onto my plate, I realized that he had burnt a part of the topping! It was actually quite humorous at this point. Normally, I love creme brulee but since this isn't a creme brulee....it tasted less than satisfying. Not sure what he put in the custard but it wasn't great. We tried to push the custard to the side so it looked like we ate half the dessert even though we didn't. We could not wait to get our bill.
Ambiance: 1/5 - to me this place seemed more like a brunch place. In addition, it didn't convey the cozy, romantic feel that I thought it would have. Also, it's a little too quiet...makes you feel like you have to whisper since the room is fairly empty.
Cleanliness: 4/5 - no issues here
Service: 4/5 - the owner/server was really friendly
Food: 1/5 - April's surprise menu wasn't executed very well - there were so many issues re: basic cooking techniques (i.e. improperly seasoned food and overcooked food).
Return Factor: No thank you! This surprise concept is original but they need to improve on the food - see comment above. This is too bad as I wanted to like this place.
Note: this place is only open on Fridays and Saturday.Comment from Beaujena R. of Beaujena's 12/25/2009
It is unfortunatate that "Dine out Gal" has not come back to… More »
Specialties
A cozy and unique restaurant offering five and seven course surprise dinners only (no regular menu). Classic French and Mediterranean cusine with optional wine pairing--fligh of five premium wines to compliment the dishes. Very romantic and unpretentious place where customers are treated like guests in the owners home.
History
Established in 2006
When Beaujena and Randy Reynolds started Beaujena's French Table in 2006, all they knew about restaurant's is what they liked. So they opened for lunch and dinner six days a week with a very eclectic menu and learned on the fly. Realizing that their location (tucked away in a residential part of St. Boniface) was not the best, they decided that they would have to set themselves apart from the mainstream eateries in Winnipeg. In January of 2009, they changed the business hours to Friday and Saturday, evenings only, did away with the regular menu in favor of fixed price surprise dinners, and took over operation of the restaurant on their own. Now, Randy runs the kitchen and Beaujena serves the customers and the restaurant is typically booked at least a week in advance. People tell us they love the food, the intimate atmosphere and Beaujena's personal and engaging service.
Meet the Business Owner: Randy and Beaujen a.
Beaujena brings years of experience to managing the front end of the restaurant and her charm is one of the defining characteristics that draws customers to come back again and again.Randy, a full-time financial advisor in Winnipeg, brings a passion for fine food engrained in him since childhood. Together, they have created an atmosphere at Beaujena's that people tell them is warm, inviting, intimate and relaxing.
