Probably one of the biggest whiplash-type experiences we've ever had in fine dining. From what we thought it would be, to what it actually was, the whole experience felt like it was set up to be a scam.
We were sat inside, in the way back corner, farthest from the door and, in a 90-minute span, we killed at least 10 fruit flies/gnats between us. It's a nice place too that looks very clean, but they had the front door open the entire time. At first, I was trying to be subtle about it, but about halfway through, I was clapping my hands in the air and wiping bug guts on the white tablecloth. They may have been coming from the window next to me, but it was a little off-putting to say the least. The server did pick up on this, but didn't offer a different table or to at least close the front door. We didn't make a big deal about it, but by the time the wine bottle was open, we were shooing critters off our glasses regularly.
Our server, who was clearly not French, kept calling us monsieur and madame and the accent was so forced, it became real cringe real fast. Please stop making the servers pretend they're French. And to be fair, our server was great, none of this was on them, but the fake French posturing HAS to be derided by the staff, so this complaint is for THEM. Unless they are a.) FROM France or b.) fluent IN French, native English is fine and preferred. This is not a place for improv and you wouldn't make an Olive Garden server speak like Mario and Luigi. Maybe our server was into it, but it became extremely painful as the dinner continued to go downhill.
For entrees, I ordered the rib-eye (which includes comp refills) and SO ordered the filet. When the filet came out, it smelled loudly like a barnyard. After a few bites from each corner, it was sent back. The smell could only be compared to cow poop, and I honestly can't believe the kitchen sent it out. $64 filet and I wouldn't have given it to a stray dog. No aging on the filet also--just a bad piece of meat they tried to pawn off on a guest. My rib-eye was small (understanding with the whole "free refills" thing) and not steaming hot, but the filet's odor was a bigger problem when the plates hit the table, so I just went with it. SO couldn't/wouldn't order anything else and I don't blame them. The meat was clearly bad, and it resulted in some minor gastro issues the following day, even after just a few bites. The manager did come to the table to apologize and offered a replacement, but SO was uninterested.
Going back to my entree, the "frites" that came with my ribeye were a frozen product: those battered/orange fries you get from the drive-thru at Checkers. Gross and disappointing and this is where I felt like I was being scammed. I think they claim somewhere "twice fried in beef tallow" but I know a fast-food-style fry when I taste it/see it. Also, the plate presentation was just the ribeye and fries. No garlic aioli, no ketchup, no parsley, no lemon, no garnish. Chef clearly doesn't know the 3-color rule and considering the size of the cut, it looked like something you'd get at a diner with fried eggs (and the entree has a $59 price tag also). The refill was hotter and closer to medium, and I enjoyed it more than the first one, but I wasn't risking a third helping and didn't want to have to wait anyway with my SO sitting there with nothing in front of them.
Ultimately, we grinned through all of it and stayed for dessert. How hard can that be? Well, the creme brûlée was either over-whipped or too eggy. More like a flan. Not awful, but it's didn't help the dinner at that point and it was the only item the SO was interested in after the filet debacle and it was just ok. You'd think the brûlée at a French bistro would knock your socks off, right? It was meh.
I followed up with a call to the restaurant and left a message to speak with the manager who touched our table regarding the filet. Not looking for a refund and you couldn't pay me to revisit, but he should know that there were multiple failings that night, not just their attempt to sell spoiled meat. read more