This place was fairly highly recommended on oubruncher.com, so my friend and I decided to go here. The decor is cute and original, with a retro-kitsch aesthetic. In fact, the decor is why I'm giving it two stars, not one. If you want nice ambiance, come here. If you want good food, alas, or even decent service, I cannot recommend La Prune Folle.
The brunch formula is copious, I will give it that: but almost nothing is home-made. I could have made the same exact meal with one trip to Monoprix, stopping off at any random bakery on the way. We got coffee (American-style, i.e. in a pot that was sitting for god knows how long, which btw we served ourselves from), a croissant or pain au chocolat decidedly *not* fait maison, and muesli. Meh. Then came the hot food. My friend and I sat at the bar, which let us see how the food was prepared. "I don't really see a lot of cooking," my friend said. "I just see a lot of microwaving." So true: I had the Queen Elizabeth brunch formula, and they basically stuck a hot dog on my plate and microwaved it. Same with the beans and tomato sauce, and the same could have been true for the sad-looking scrambled eggs. My friend had the Edvard Munch, for which she got a bagel (again, very store-bought-tasting), on top of which was smoked salmon, way too salty.
Given the situation I just described, and given that there are a million excellent brunching locations in Paris, I'm surprised that La Prune Folle has only been open since April 2012, and still it's extremely popular. The servers run around like chicken with their heads cut off, and this also describes the level at which they talk to you. I spoke with one of the servers (cooks? it wasn't really clear what his role was), and he said they need more waitstaff and cooks, so I'm willing to forgive the service aspect of things. But I'm afraid that because it's so popular, they will have no impetus to change the food.
If, in spite of all this, you do decide to go here, make sure you get a reservation. And for the upstairs, not for the sad couple of tables in the basement by the toilets. read more