Mille Fleurs in Rancho Santa Fe Village

This is a beet semifreddo on top of sweet creme ribbons with a caramel sauce from Mille Fleurs.  There is a crunch element underneath, concealed by the creme.  I love cold/warm in desserts and the warm caramel was a great contrast to the cold semifreddo.  The beet gave it an amazing color without a vegetable taste.  This was the last course of an fine meal we had over the weekend.

I started with a burnt-orange old-fashioned, which was complex and very strong.  There was a beautiful sphere of ice in the drink and I was buzzed enough to enjoy watching it slowly melt over the course of the evening.  We ordered a mushroom soup to share, but my friend had one spoonful and wanted it all for himself.  It was excellent - I did get one spoonful - with a deep mushroom flavor.

For the main, my friend had halibut and I had steak.  To make up for not getting any soup, I ordered a side of potatoes cooked in duck confit.  I was so full, I ended up taking them all home for breakfast.  Our food was perfectly cooked and presented.  I especially appreciated that the food was not over loaded with salt, which is often a problem at some restaurants.

They gave us an amuse bouche of lentils with apple

Delicious and a wonderful color

Steak isn't very photogenic, but it was excellent

Potatoes that went home for my breakfast

Fish makes for a better photo!

It was strong, but very smooth

Mille Fleurs is in the heart of the village of Rancho Santa Fe.  It offers an old Southern California experience.  The building was designed by Lilian Rice, the original architect of many of the civic and commercial buildings in the community.  There is a charming courtyard with a fountain and small garden.  It was a perfect evening, with the sun just coming down and the doors open to the courtyard to allow a cool breeze.  They have live music some evenings, so a return trip is certainly required.

The service was very good.  The staff was very friendly, which was a pleasant surprise given that this is a fine dining restaurant.  This is a fairly expensive restaurant with entrees between $28 - $50.  I thought it was well worth the money, given the quality of the meal and the special ambiance.