{"id":185533,"date":"2026-02-20T03:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T03:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/185533\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T03:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T03:06:11","slug":"riviera-romance-on-7th-street-celebrate-valentines-day-at-compagnon-wine-bistro-and-the-whale-ale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/185533\/","title":{"rendered":"Riviera Romance on 7th Street Celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day at Compagnon Wine Bistro and the Whale & Ale –"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Thomas Compagnon and business partner Mardo Murillo bring European flair to the LA Harbor at Compagnon Bistro and the Whale and Ale. Photos by Arturo Garcia-Ayala <\/p>\n

By Gretchen Williams, Cuisine Columnist<\/p>\n

Valentine\u2019s Day is the celebration of love in our lives. Feel the joie d\u2019 vivre of the South of France and celebrate love and romance at Compagnon Wine Bistro on 7th Street. Thomas and Loni Compagnon have brought the spirit and ambiance of the Riviera to downtown, along with superb cuisine and a well-curated wine list.<\/p>\n

Compagnon\u2019s menu offers the best of the French kitchen, with regular changes as well as favorite standards. Fresh products, prepared to feature and accentuate the beauty of the produce, lend a California flavor.<\/p>\n

Appetizers are responsive to the season and market, and the current menu is well-suited to the cooler weather. Raclette with tiny potatoes is a cheesy delight, especially good for sharing, and reminiscent of mountain air and apr\u00e8s-skii. Escargots baked with the classic garlic and parsley butter are just perfect for dunking the excellent bread, and imagining the blue sky above the Mediterranean. \u201cMaman Compagnon\u201d stays present with her recipe for tomato tart, a family favorite. French onion soup with sherry and Gruy\u00e8re cheese is iconic and wonderful, comforting and warm.<\/p>\n

Splendid beef bourguignon is fragrant and rich with velvety sauce. Too lovely to be just mashed potatoes, the \u201cpomme puree\u201d is meant for the sauce and the baby carrots. Another French classic, steak frite pairs flat iron steak with peppercorn sauce and french fries. This dish should stay on the menu forever. Duck leg confit and roasted chicken both prove the talent in the kitchen here. Bouillabaisse combines the blessings of the sea with lobster saffron broth, with Chilean sea bass, mussels, clams and shrimp. Mussels marini\u00e8re in a white wine cream sauce with french fries feels like dining on the beach at St.Tropez.<\/p>\n

Share warm tarte tatin, apples shiny with glaze, or rich and creamy chocolate mousse with your special someone.<\/p>\n

Compagnon Wine Bistro, 335 W. 7th St., San Pedro (424) 342-9840<\/p>\n

Just a few doors down, take a quick trip across the Channel to the U.K. at the Whale & Ale Pub. A classic in San Pedro, the Whale & Ale has been pumping the Guinness and frying the best fish and chips since 1989. Now refreshed and ably run by restaurateurs Thomas and Loni Compagnon, the Whale & Ale is back, turning out great burgers, shepherd\u2019s pie and bangers and mash. Again, a deft hand with the spuds here too. Don\u2019t miss the chips!<\/p>\n

The Whale & Ale has always had a romantic feel, especially if you ask for the table near the fireplace. Former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter dined every evening at the Whale & Ale during their Habitat for Humanity visit to San Pedro. The Carters celebrated 77 years of marriage, and endorsed the cozy Whale & Ale as their favorite spot in San Pedro. Cheers!<\/p>\n

Like this:<\/p>\n

Like Loading…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thomas Compagnon and business partner Mardo Murillo bring European flair to the LA Harbor at Compagnon Bistro and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[87470,87471,87472,131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-185533","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-rivieraromance","9":"tag-sanpedrodatenight","10":"tag-valentineson7th","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-long-beach-headlines","13":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}