Okay, so we all know that Bastille Day is July 14th, well, maybe some of us know that.  For those of you who don’t, here is a quick wiki primer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastille_Day

Basically the French people grew tired of the royals, some prisoners in the Bastille (hence the holiday’s name) overthrew the guards, setting in motion a nationwide revolution. Eventually Marie Antoinette lost her head. Literally.   Okay, that is a really basic nutshell version, and doesn’t even begin to cover all that actually caused a revolt, but that’s what history class and wikipedia are for.  Valentien is just a restaurant.  A restaurant that knows a good excuse to throw a celebration when it sees one.

Every July we celebrate La Fête Nationale with costumed waiters, French themed decor, French music, plenty of surprises, special menus, and wines (of course).  Each year we pick a theme to build our week-long celebration, and this year the theme was taken from a wonderful film; Midnight in Paris.  A free outdoor screening of the film kicked off the week on July 7th. The film explored different periods of French history, and we felt it was perfect for building our theme from.  Costumed waiters will be representing all periods of French history, and you can join in the costume fun too!  We recommend Fantasy Frocks in downtown Bakersfield for Bastille Week costume needs. 

Our Weekly Wine Pairing will feature three courses of French Food and Wine! Join our email list to always be in the know about our weekly pairings.

Each night of the week, special French food will be prepared for your enjoyment, French music will waft through the dining room, and on certain nights French films will be screened on our patio.  One of our guest’s favorite elements of Bastille Week has always been Richard Noel playing on the accordion.  Richard will make appearances three nights this week! 

We do hope you can join us for one of Bakersfield’s Best Celebrations! Call 661.864.0397 or use our online reservation system to ensure a spot during this special week!

Bastille Day at Valentien