Bar Chelou

Walking into Bar Chelou, my husband and I didn't know what to expect, but we left absolutely impressed. From the moment we stepped in, the staff greeted us with warmth and professionalism, guiding us through the menu with helpful suggestions.
Now, let's talk about the food. Every dish we tried was nothing short of amazing! I opted for the duck with couscous, and it was a flavor explosion! Cooked to perfection, each bite was a delight. Meanwhile, my husband thoroughly enjoyed his short rib plate - tender, succulent, and bursting with flavor. The crispy potatoes were so good that we couldn't resist ordering another round.
To accompany our meal, I indulged in the homemade lemon drop martini, and it was simply delicious. The attention to detail and quality of ingredients truly shone through in every sip.
Not only was the food exceptional, but the restaurant itself was clean and tastefully decorated, adding to the overall dining experience.
In conclusion, Bar Chelou exceeded all our expectations. With outstanding food, impeccable service, and a welcoming atmosphere, this place has easily become one of our favorites. We'll definitely be returning to explore more of their delectable menu offerings.

This place is excellent. Every dish we tried was good, but the standouts for me were the clam toast and crispy potatoes. The bread for the toast was perfect and the potatoes were just the right amount of fluffiness on the inside and crispy outside. My mouth is watering just writing this. The trout was worth getting as well. I will definitely be back to try more dishes.

Exceeds expectation.

The restaurant sits in the same courtyard as the Pasadena Playhouse. We thought it’s another trendy over-the-top gimmicks. Turned out not so.

The review is for our dining experience at the bar/ communal table area. Ordered an old fashion, and Chelou 75. Pleasantly impressed by how decent they are, we decided to try some food and got salad, crispy potatoes and duck to share. All very tasty. The greens are fresh, nicely dressed. Potatoes are crispy but still buttery soft inside; the duck is very nicely salted and roasted with tender strips of meat falling off the bones. We followed chef’s notes on how best to eat it - you gotta mix it so on - and it is absolutely delightful. On top of all this, service is attentive. Over all, a very pleasant and delicious experience. I would recommend anyone to check it out at least once if you are in the neighborhood.

Amazing food, atmosphere and service! So cool to have such a cool spot in Pasadena. Sean and Gretal provided outstanding service. We loved everything including the rainbow trout was outstanding. For dessert the Matcha was so good. Loved the crispy potato appetizer was outstanding, burrata and squid… so good.

Got the crispy potatoes, scallop tartare, sprouting cauliflower, cheese plate, and rainbow trout. For drinks, got the spritz florale and chelou. For dessert, got the caramelized banana bar and raspberry sorbet. Highly recommend the banana bar!! Everything was absolutely delicious and unique.

Ok, well full disclosure my dinner here was expensed and not by me so. Everything was great. It's a tapas/"small plates" situation so if you really want to chow down order a bunch of dishes. Stand out dishes were the potatoes, the carrot salad and the Trout but it was all pretty great. Service was almost Michelin star level i.e. high staff to diner ratio, you could tell they know what they are doing and weren't under staffed. Cocktails were great, wine list was good. Def would go back.

Really good food and a great wine list. You can enjoy the service. The menu provides the possibility to have a taps like dinner. Dinner was a pleasure.

Soooooo incredible! Loved our meal. I got a yummy mocktail and enjoyed that. You have to get the potatoes, carrots, snap peas, and the duck leg. That is the perfect meal, and then I got this cute dessert.

This is not to be missed. You can not go wrong, everything Chef Doug Rankin puts on the menu is beautifully executed and delicious. The wine selection is always fun and surprising, the service is friendly and delightful, the room is cozy yet fresh and the decor is on point.
But the food is why you’re here.
Warm Olives, yes please.
Clam Toast, I’ll have my own order thanks, not sharing.
Crispy Potatoes remind me of the frisée salad IYKYK
Blue Fin Tuna, such a great balance of textures and flavors.
Snap Peas, do not miss these - the cured egg yolk makes the whole dish sing.
Garlic Broth had us tipping the bowl for the last drop.
Sichuan Cauliflower is bomb.
RAINBOW TROUT. I want to slather that sauce on everything. The fish is cooked to perfection, the surprising corn rice mixture underneath is such an amazing compliment.
Pork Chop is delish, that slaw on top and the crust!
The Lemon Camomile Semifreddo and Chocolate Tart are both bonkers good.
In short, get yourself a reservation. Parking is easy in the lot behind the alley.

Having seen a tiktok raving about Bar Chelou, I saved it on Yelp and knew I had to try it out. I took advice from other reviewers alike and fell in love with the potatoes, ordering a second plate at the end of the meal. Because I enjoyed them so much I wasn’t able to let the phone eat first, bc I did. The cigars, although our waitress recommended it to us, we’re mediocre and essentially European egg rolls, but the curiosity factor was there. With each dish having a strangely bland title I was more than confused on what to order and how much to order. I took a dive and ordered the fish and it was stunning. Tastiness 5/5 Would come back and order other items on the menu, but the potatoes still reign!

Easily one of my favorite restaurants in Pasadena. I am a huge fan and avid eater of French cuisine so I’ve been looking forward to trying this place for quite some time. Parking in this area is quite easy just drive down the alley next to the restaurant and there is a large parking lot at the top left for $6. Otherwise there is lots of street parking as well depending on the time and day. It’s really bright and open on the inside with a whole row of half booths and a bunch of tables along the center, as well as a retro bar at the end. It’s a large space so the tables are not too close together which I really liked. Service was quick and they had a lot of great menu options to choose from.

They suggest ordering 4 to 6 items per person because all the items are share size except for the bottom section of the menu. We started off with the Clam Toast as well as the Burrata Toast. Both are very small in portion, but are really good but I especially liked the Clam Toast. Next came the Morcilla Cigars, similar to a veggie egg roll, and the Scallop Tartare. The Morcilla Cigars had a great dip, but they were pretty small in size and portion as well. Between these two dishes, I enjoyed the Scallop Tartare more. For the entrée, we chose the Rainbow Trout and it was fabulous! It’s not to be missed. Honestly, it was the best dish of the night and I would come here just for that specifically. It was extremely rich in flavor and was a really good size portion, that is easy to split between two people. I can’t suggest it enough.

Overall a terrific meal in a really beautiful setting. I love coming to Pasadena for dinner, so this was a real highlight of my weekend. I would recommend to anyone for any occasion, it’s especially suited for a date or dinner with friends.

What a delightful place and experience.
We went before seeing a play at the Playhouse. They all asked if we were going to the play and helped us in pacing our meal so we were perfectly on time for our show.
The service was next level. Everyone we dealt with was helpful and knowledgeable. I opened the wine list and a sever/ sommelier came over and suggested exact wines that we needed.
We are vegetarian so we ended up doing share plates. I would be nice to see a vegetarian entrée but I have to tell you what we did order was delicious. The spinach was so flavorful you have to order it. At the end we asked about deserts and our server let us know that might cut it close for the show. So another glass of wine was perfect. I got the grenache blend.

Such a great addition in Pasadena! The plates are small meant to be shared. We tried the carrot, snap peas, bay scallops, clam toast, Ibérico Pork Chop , and Lemon -Chamomile Semifreddo.

Bar Chelou provides delicious food and dessert, a great wine list and a wonderful in-house Somm, beautifully crafted yet straight forward cocktails, a subtle but stylish design aesthetic and excellent service. One of my favorites in LA! I was a loyal patron to BAR (the previous project in Silverlake) and I’m just so happy that there’s a reincarnation of sorts. Sometimes my husband and I like to pop in for dessert and a drink in the little cocktail lounge…it’s a delightful date night experience whether you have a full meal or just indulge in a libation and something sweet!

Excellent. Probably my favorite restaurant in Pasadena. I adored everything I tried with the exception of the over cooked pork. In particular their pan con tomato is exceptional. They actually import in the bread from Spain and it is pitch perfect.

Good place to eat after visiting Pasadena Playhouse theater

I've tried just about all the restaurants in Pasadena and this is the only one I'd return to. The food is excellent and unique. The staff is warm and friendly. Everything is sharable and you will leave full. Try the carmelized bananas for dessert. Delicious!

Beats the hype, even better than expected after reading rave reviews. Trust the waiter’s suggestions - we were going to skip some random baked beans that turned out to be one of the best of the meal.

Delicious food! We love everything on the menu - my favorites are cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, and trout. Best restaurant in Pasadena. My ONLY note would be that the wine glass pours are so very very small! If you have two or three people, get a bottle.

Had an amazing experience with friends. Both the waiter & sommelier were extremely friendly, and knowledgeable. The potatoes were phenomenal, along with the snap peas, and the rainbow trout.

Music + atmosphere 10/10