Garçons de Café
Wine bar · Downtown Los Angeles ·
French wine bar & lounge with charcuterie, cheese, and jazz
French wine bar & lounge with charcuterie, cheese, and jazz
"There are a lot of things French people do better than us. One of them is wine. So Garçons de Café, a little wine shop and bar in the Spring Arcade run by three Frenchman, is always an excellent choice. The wine list is mostly French with some bottles from Italy, the US, Lebanon, and Mexico, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed, try one of the wine flights. Accessorize your glasses with a cheese and charcuterie platter, a Parisian sandwich, or some crème brûlée—berets are optional (but suggested)." - brant cox, arden shore, sylvio martins
"Garcons De Cafe is a tiny French wine bar in Downtown LA’s Spring Street Arcade. And when we say French, we mean French. They have hundreds of different bottles from regions you’re used to seeing - Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Provence - but also a bunch you probably haven’t heard of, like Bandol, Saint-Joseph, and Saumur. Order through their website for pick-up or delivery (free over $150)." - brett keating
"This little wine shop and bar is in an arcade on Spring Street, and feels like a fancy Parisian thrift shop inside. The Happy Hour rotates through different glasses from the all-French wine list, but we’d recommend the “sommelier’s choice” - a $15 flight of three pours that the bartender picks for you. The Deal: Rotating wine deals, $15 wine flights When: Sunday - Friday 5 - 7pm" - brett keating
"Chef Alex Bolar’s pop-up showcased a summer squash dish built on thick slow-cooked garlic cream topped with roasted hasselback-cut summer squash, savory onion granola, ribbons of thinly peeled squash and squash blossoms; we added braised pork belly, and the onion granola (toasted sunflower and hemp seeds, oats, fried shallots, sugar, salt, garlic powder) may have been the all-star for its unexpected crunch." - Eater Staff
"Walking by the Spring Arcade building, I felt like I was stepping into a busy Parisian street scene: an after-work crowd swirling wine glasses and nibbling charcuterie while a jazz singer prepares to perform, all framed by a mishmash of art, hanging lights, weathered brick walls and sturdy wood shelves stocked with mostly French wines. The five-year-old wine bar, now owned by Mathieu Giraud, retains its identity as a little oasis of French culture in Downtown LA while expanding its list to include Italian, Argentine and Valle de Guadalupe Mexican wines; the list runs about sixty selections with bottles from roughly $35 up to a $255 2011 Château Figeac, most under $60, and glasses priced between $12 and $18. Food is limited by a tiny kitchen but creative and wine-friendly—tapas such as smoked salmon, hummus, foie gras terrine, pâté de campagne and buffalo mozzarella arrive with toasted Clark Street Bakery baguettes used for tearing or in sandwiches like jamon beurre and caprese, plus quiches by a local French woman and sweets like dark chocolate–dipped organic fruits and crème brûlée. Mathieu’s hands-on ownership and Wednesday jazz nights (often including bossa nova) have helped business pick up—especially with vaccine mandates for patrons—and after a rough pandemic period the bar feels set up for a fruitful future as a small but vital part of Downtown’s wine and nightlife scene." - Matthew Kang
