We got a great table next to the fountain at the terrace, we didn’t have a great expectations since we just picked the place for the setting but we were pleasantly surprised by some of the best informal French food we’ve had in the United States.The attention to detail in the ingredients used on their dishes is evident. The food seems to have been hand picked for ripeness and beauty. Everything was served to perfection. Attention to detail makes this one of the best restaurants we’ve been in a long, long time. It feels like having lunch in the Mediterranean.Service was great by the owner, we could have stayed there all afternoon enjoying the place. So far, the best reason to return to San Juan Capistrano.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Larry M
Excellent food, cozy but elegant, French restaurant.The hosts make you feel like family.Located in old town San Juan Capistrano, across from the mission, L’Hirondelle is a family owned restaurant.Our family has been coming here for years and it’s a local favorite.Recommend the filet with Béarnaise sauce. If you want an appetizer start with the Mushroom Farci (shrimp, crab & cheese) in a cream sauce ?.If you happen to come by on the weekend and it’s Sunday morning have Champagne Brunch on the patio.Excellent food, great staff, highly recommended!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Stuffed Mushrooms, Tarragon Chicken, Escargots De Bourgogne, French Onion Soup Gratinee, Salad, Mushroom Farci
Andreola Werner-Velleryd
This restaurant is absolutely charming and delicious! Everything we ordered was superb, it is hard to choose a favorite dish of the night.The escargot were perfectly garlicky, the French onion soup was so decadent with the gruyere cheese, the volcano lamb shank just peeled off the bone and the sauce was spectacular, the rack of lamb was cooked to perfection with a perfect crust and the desserts were amazing not too sweet, just perfect.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Escargots De Bourgogne, French Onion Soup Gratinee, Volcano Lamb Shank, Tiramisu, Rack of Lamb
Dave Burns
Always wonderful with great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: French Onion Soup Gratinee
Jim Hermann
My wife and I shared the fruit, cheese and pate plate which was lovely. I had the dinner plate of beef bourguignon which was excellent, but I should have ordered the small plate, as I could not finish it all after the appetizer and French Onion Soup. The soup was outstanding. I would recommend this place for a special, intimate dinner. It is quite expensive, but in my opinion worth it for the food, service and friendly and welcoming staff.Parking: The lot immediately in front of the restaurant is free, next row costs $5 cash or Venmo.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: French Onion Soup Gratinee, Beef Bourguignon
John Friedl
Family owned and operated French food in San Juan Capistrano. Great food. Try the steak au poivre or one of their half plated with an appetizer and of course some wine. The house Cabernet is a good price and pour by the glass. Bon Noel!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kate R
We had a wonderful birthday dinner! Great service fabulous meal... always our "Go To" place for celebrations and couples
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kieran Franich
Great food, great employees, and amazing environment. Truly an astounding and enjoyable experience. Would recommend.
Small plates filet are great for taking it easy. Love the right bank BDX on the ready. Husband and wife team as well. Killer charming small place. Great date night.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: French Onion Soup Gratinee
Bebe44
We have been to San Juan Capistrano many times, but had never gone to L’Hirondelles. Just returning from France, we were naturally craving good French cuisine. This restaurant has it! They say their cuisine is French-Belgium…not sure what that means, but whatever, it is delicious. We began with a half order of their pate’. I would say this was the only disappointment. The pate’ drizzled with balsamic glaze is great, but it’s served with crackers not a nice crusty baguette plus cucumbers & tomatoes?? Never had pate’ served this way. Warm rolls were nice, but again no crusty French bread. On to the dinner which was fabulous! They offer full entrees & petite dishes. We ordered the petite dishes which are more than enough. My husband got the delicious, perfectly done filet mignon in the green peppercorn brandy sauce & mashed potatoes. Fantastic! I ordered the petite rack of lamb (beautiful) with the incredible roasted potatoes. Very good. Our delightful waitress, Brittany, brought us a surprise anniversary dessert….delicious tiramisu with strawberries. Lovely! We sat in a booth in the back dining room as their outdoor patio was wet from the earlier rain. The patio is beautiful. The indoors is old world charm & there were two fresh roses on our table. Wonderful diversified wine list, although we took our own favorite French burgundy. Corkage fee is $25.00. Free 3 hour parking for the restaurant is right there. Reservations recommended. All in all a beautiful experience.
Joanne O Martinez
Celebrated my father's 90th birthday here. Everything was excellent. Great service! They handled our large crowd pretty smoothly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Bourguignon
Bryan H. Wildenthal
It is so great to see this lovely restaurant going strong after all these years. We live in San Diego but drove all the way up for dinner. It means a lot to us because my husband Ashish and I first met here over dinner in 2005! Menu leans heavily to meat dishes but they prepare some very nice vegetarian plates (including a delicate pasta) upon request.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Uranusfish XC
Delicious food!!! We were driving through the town and hungry. I chose this restaurant by coincidence. We were satisfied. 08.12.2023
Service was not so good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
We got a great table next to the fountain at the terrace, we didn’t have a great expectations since we just picked the place for the setting but we were pleasantly surprised by some of the best informal French food we’ve had in the United States.The attention to detail in the ingredients used on their dishes is evident. The food seems to have been hand picked for ripeness and beauty. Everything was served to perfection. Attention to detail makes this one of the best restaurants we’ve been in a long, long time. It feels like having lunch in the Mediterranean.Service was great by the owner, we could have stayed there all afternoon enjoying the place. So far, the best reason to return to San Juan Capistrano.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent food, cozy but elegant, French restaurant.The hosts make you feel like family.Located in old town San Juan Capistrano, across from the mission, L’Hirondelle is a family owned restaurant.Our family has been coming here for years and it’s a local favorite.Recommend the filet with Béarnaise sauce. If you want an appetizer start with the Mushroom Farci (shrimp, crab & cheese) in a cream sauce ?.If you happen to come by on the weekend and it’s Sunday morning have Champagne Brunch on the patio.Excellent food, great staff, highly recommended!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Stuffed Mushrooms, Tarragon Chicken, Escargots De Bourgogne, French Onion Soup Gratinee, Salad, Mushroom Farci
This restaurant is absolutely charming and delicious! Everything we ordered was superb, it is hard to choose a favorite dish of the night.The escargot were perfectly garlicky, the French onion soup was so decadent with the gruyere cheese, the volcano lamb shank just peeled off the bone and the sauce was spectacular, the rack of lamb was cooked to perfection with a perfect crust and the desserts were amazing not too sweet, just perfect.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Escargots De Bourgogne, French Onion Soup Gratinee, Volcano Lamb Shank, Tiramisu, Rack of Lamb
Always wonderful with great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: French Onion Soup Gratinee
My wife and I shared the fruit, cheese and pate plate which was lovely. I had the dinner plate of beef bourguignon which was excellent, but I should have ordered the small plate, as I could not finish it all after the appetizer and French Onion Soup. The soup was outstanding. I would recommend this place for a special, intimate dinner. It is quite expensive, but in my opinion worth it for the food, service and friendly and welcoming staff.Parking: The lot immediately in front of the restaurant is free, next row costs $5 cash or Venmo.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: French Onion Soup Gratinee, Beef Bourguignon
Family owned and operated French food in San Juan Capistrano. Great food. Try the steak au poivre or one of their half plated with an appetizer and of course some wine. The house Cabernet is a good price and pour by the glass. Bon Noel!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had a wonderful birthday dinner! Great service fabulous meal... always our "Go To" place for celebrations and couples
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food, great employees, and amazing environment. Truly an astounding and enjoyable experience. Would recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Atlantic Salmon, Duck Breast, Pate Maison, Beef Bourguignon, Frog Legs, Tiramisu
Beautiful patio dining and excellent food! My favorite is the Beef Bourguignon, but everything else it fantastic! Family owed and made with love!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Small plates filet are great for taking it easy. Love the right bank BDX on the ready. Husband and wife team as well. Killer charming small place. Great date night.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: French Onion Soup Gratinee
We have been to San Juan Capistrano many times, but had never gone to L’Hirondelles. Just returning from France, we were naturally craving good French cuisine. This restaurant has it! They say their cuisine is French-Belgium…not sure what that means, but whatever, it is delicious. We began with a half order of their pate’. I would say this was the only disappointment. The pate’ drizzled with balsamic glaze is great, but it’s served with crackers not a nice crusty baguette plus cucumbers & tomatoes?? Never had pate’ served this way. Warm rolls were nice, but again no crusty French bread. On to the dinner which was fabulous! They offer full entrees & petite dishes. We ordered the petite dishes which are more than enough. My husband got the delicious, perfectly done filet mignon in the green peppercorn brandy sauce & mashed potatoes. Fantastic! I ordered the petite rack of lamb (beautiful) with the incredible roasted potatoes. Very good. Our delightful waitress, Brittany, brought us a surprise anniversary dessert….delicious tiramisu with strawberries. Lovely! We sat in a booth in the back dining room as their outdoor patio was wet from the earlier rain. The patio is beautiful. The indoors is old world charm & there were two fresh roses on our table. Wonderful diversified wine list, although we took our own favorite French burgundy. Corkage fee is $25.00. Free 3 hour parking for the restaurant is right there. Reservations recommended. All in all a beautiful experience.
Celebrated my father's 90th birthday here. Everything was excellent. Great service! They handled our large crowd pretty smoothly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Bourguignon
It is so great to see this lovely restaurant going strong after all these years. We live in San Diego but drove all the way up for dinner. It means a lot to us because my husband Ashish and I first met here over dinner in 2005! Menu leans heavily to meat dishes but they prepare some very nice vegetarian plates (including a delicate pasta) upon request.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food!!! We were driving through the town and hungry. I chose this restaurant by coincidence. We were satisfied. 08.12.2023
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Trout Almandine