ABOUT US

 

For over forty years, Le Papillon has carried out a tradition of serving the finest cuisine, beautifully presented in an elegant, quiet setting.  

 

Le Papillon was established in the spring of 1977 on a bustling street corner in what was to become the heart of Silicon Valley.  Owner Mike Mashayekh was driven by a single goal—to create one of the finest restaurants in the Bay Area.

 

The restaurant quickly flourished, building a loyal clientele with a taste for fine dining. With the technology boom of the late seventies, Le Papillon became the favorite restaurant for a new breed of executives from companies like Apple, Intel and Tandem, and as the high-tech industry evolved, so too did the restaurant. Frequent upgrades to the menu and wine list, as well as several remodels, helped Le Papillon set the standard for food, service and atmosphere in the South Bay.

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Born into a restaurant family, Scott Cooper seemed destined to be a chef from the beginning. Starting as a dishwasher, he moved up to bus boy, prep cook, pantry, line cook and nearly all positions in between on his way to becoming the executive chef of Le Papillon. Along the way, he worked with and learned from the many chefs who worked the kitchens of Le Papillon and its sister restaurant La Foret, where he also worked for eight years.

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Chef Cooper credits reading, experimenting and, above all, travel for the development of his style of cooking. His numerous trips to Europe, the Pacific, and Asia have influenced and broadened his understanding of the world of food as a whole, but his visits to France have proven to be the most inspirational of all in the development of his cuisine—a cuisine best described as globally-inspired contemporary French.

 

Under his tenure at Le Papillon, the menu has evolved to include both a tasting and a prix fixe menu which change to reflect the finest seasonal, sustainable and often organic, ingredients at their peak. Scott’s passion and culinary talents result in world-class dishes that continue to impress both local and international patrons and have earned Le Papillon rave reviews and accolades across the board.

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