Chez TJ, Mountain View CA

Amazing Valentine's Day dinner. The attention to details and the welcoming of the staff was outstanding. Highly recommend this place for celebrate important events or for enjoying this brilliant culinary experience

Great staff and nice location/ambiance. The food on the day we went (NYE) was very well prepared and plated, it just didn't quite suit our palettes. The A5 waygu was great and the dessert (toffee cake) was lovely. The rest was just ok.

Our experience at Chez TJ was tainted by a very poor wine pairing:

I had Chez TJ on my radar for a while and I was very excited to finally get a chance to try it! We visited the restaurant on a Friday evening.
Once seated, the server came to share more details about the restaurant, the fact that the menu is not known until the food is in your plate, and present the couple extra options you could add on top of your regular tasting menu.

The food was good, but a little bit repetitive for a roughly 8-course menu. We had game twice, and both sauce were quite similar. The desserts were overly sweet and lacked complexity. The amuse bouche were likely the most delicate part of the tasting. If you want to go to Chez TJ for the experience and surroundings, you will be very pleased. The food is good enough to make it an enjoyable moment.

What really did not work for us was the wine tasting. We went with the Grand Wine Pairing (second tier out of 3 tiers total). What was wrong with the wines picked?
- None of the wine, except maybe the desert wine, was a good match with the food. Eating/drinking them together made them taste worth that what they were tasting, revealing unpleasing acidity or alcool.
- The wine poured were easy to source, not really special wines you could find at local wines stores.
When the sommelier asked if we were happy with the pairing towards the end of the tasting, I explained that I was not. He very politely explained that they "should" pair well. I am sorry but that night they did not, and it spoiled our tasting.

Overall, I would probably not recommend Chez TJ, unless you are just looking for a fancy location. You can have better food at other restaurant in the South Bay.
If you are looking for a good wine pairing, I would definitely not recommend Chez TJ.

Amazing experience with a touch of grandeur and excellent staff to provide a memorable experience. Worth the spend for a special occasion.
Our dinner was a 2.5 hour 7-course meal experience with every course cooked with such uniqueness, creativity and enjoyable taste. Staff explained every course in detail. They made a birthday celebration special with a nice dessert, custom menu card, greeting card and a cute gift bag.
Definitely Worth the Michelin

The atmosphere and journey you have here is extremely intimate. A Victorian style home with just a few dining rooms make for a quiet evening. The house being removed from the bustle of Castro Street makes it feel like a little sanctuary in a way. Parties 2-4 are ideal. Touring a variety of Michelin restaurants, they feel more business focused and that this Michelin restaurant is on the opposite end: being cute and historic; that alone is worth celebrating.

Being a patron for the long run, you develop a trust that the chef and waitstaff will guide you through your given meal. Trust in their ability to source a wonderful meal for you.

The food is amazing here and the service is one of a kind. They have a great menu selection and their atmosphere is wonderful as well.

Food is pretty good, the only miss for me was the palette cleanser between the mains. They had baked Alaska for one of the dessert course! Hard to find dish nowadays. The duck was delicious. The only gripe I have is the timing of each course; for what felt like the first 3/4th of the experience, each course was spaced maybe a bit too far apart (20-30 minutes). Then as we approached the dessert courses, they started coming in almost too fast (5-8 minutes within serving the previous one).

Being a vegan, I have been here a few years ago and the food was mind blowing, however this time around it was very underwhelming as most courses were charred vegetables with sauce. The presentation was good but the food did not come close to what it was back in 2019

Pretty bad food. Way too expensive for a distinctly mediocre meal. Go somewhere else. Go anywhere else. Service was fine. Dessert was the best thing, and because it was prepared by a different chef.

Spectacular! From the amazing food to the top-notch service, especially Alexis, this restaurant is truly deserving of every accolade.

Delicious meal. The truffle supplement was heavenly. They deserve three stars. I’ve been to many 2 and 3 star Michelin stars and this was one of the best meals I’ve had.if there’s a few places in the Bay area you need to try-this. The ambiance is casual yet can be formal. Wonderful place to have a date, celebrate milestones. The staff are super friendly and attentive without being suffocating. I can keep giving it five stars but this institution is the place to celebrate birthdays and other important celebrations.

I've been meaning to try this place out for years, and finally got around to it with several friends. What a wonderful experience. Really nice ambiance, excellent service and the food was amazing. It is everything you would expect from a restaurant with a Michelin star. I do have an issue with the fact that they only have a single bathroom. I understand it's a historical building, but are you telling me you can't put a nice porta potty in the garden? It really detracts from what is otherwise a quite pleasant and elegant experience. I highly highly highly recommend getting a wine pairing. You can even split a wine pairing which is what I do because it's just too much wine for one person.

Had an enchanting evening Chez TJ. The food was sublime, especially the quail. The chefs created imaginative and delicately-balanced combinations of flavours. The service was excellent - warm, welcoming and entertaining. You could feel how much they wanted you to know all about the food and really enjoy it. We went with two bottles of excellent saké for four pax. I think Chez TJ deserves a second star!

The best Michelin starred restaurant we've ever experienced. Worth traveling to. Creative dishes that burst with flavor and showcase California ingredients in season.

Simply perfect. I am sure they will be earning another Michelin star soon with this level of excellent food execution and service.

Wonderful service, nice music and environment though a little crowded due to it’s a restaurant made in a normal house. Some bread are Good, otherwise the meat, desert and starter have strong wired flavor not really into my taste ~ Food not meet expectation of 500 per person.

The worst Michelin experience we ever had. Got our first drink 50 minutes after being seated and food even later. The interior is very dated, you feel like you came to a very cheap place. Only one restroom to service the whole restaurant and you need to notify the waiter prior to using it. Very cold inside, you need to wear Uggs and a sweater to comfortably dine there which on average requires 3 hours, forget your fancy dresses if you go there. The food was less than mediocre, ravioli tasted like they were bought at Costco. The only nice thing was the desserts. After speaking with my friend about our experience, she told she had the same experience as well. I regret not asking her opion about this place before going there.