The creation of Marcel and Monique Keraval, Café de France came into being at 410 Olive. Previously Marcel had worked with Monique’s brother-in-law Jean-Claude Guillossou to create L’Auberge Bretonne in Chesterfield, but they decided that downtown needed a fine French restaurant. In 1979, the Keravals opened Café de France, replete with chandeliers, high ceilings, and original art.
And so began our introduction to the wonders of terrines and pâtés of considerable variety, chateaubriand and lobster Thermidor, plus all the glories that a French chef could work on duck. Then there were the desserts. The Keravals could have named the restaurant Château des Soufflés: The eggy clouds were exquisite. Pastries and parfaits galore—Marcel’s meticulous creations—appeared as well.
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It was, of course, a formal white-tablecloth house, with careful service and a slightly hushed room, though as the evening wore on and second bottles of wine were poured, the decibel level did rise a bit. Surely there was a dress code. Back then, a man wouldn’t have appeared in such a place without a tie and suit jacket. The only glitch, besides a one-off persnickety server, was that the ladies room was poorly lit. Was that smeared mascara, or merely a shadow?
The restaurant moved to Clayton in 2002, but things were never quite the same. Café de France closed in 2006.
