One way in which Nice (unfortunately) exceeds Paris is the stunning rudeness of the waitstaff. While in Nice recently, we went here (it is a Breton creperie) for galettes for dinner. I ordered a Pellegrino (which, oddly, is more common here than Perrier), and the waitress looked utterly baffled. Eventually she brought a carafe of tap water, which was, surprisingly, chilled. She brought my spouse the cider he ordered, and we ordered food. She (honest to god!!) spent some time considering whether she was going to allow me to order a salad as well as a galette, but finally said "OK."
She brought the galettes out with the salad, but when my spouse pointed out that he had ordered the Provençal galette, and not the egg & cheese one she brought, she said "I don't think so." Eventually she removed the one she had brought. About 10 minutes later she came back and apologized, telling him she had looked at his order and he was right, so she had put the Provençal order in! While she was there I asked again for my beverage, this time asking for sparkling water. She picked up the carafe of tap water and said "this is water. It is sparkling. What is the problem?" Max said "with gas" and now she understood. Oh! Did I want a half liter? Was Pellegrino alright? I said yes to both, biting my tongue from saying I had asked for Pellegrino in the first place.
She eventually returned with my spouse's corrected order, but she never did bring me my drink.
When we were done she whisked our plates away and grudgingly asked if we wanted dessert. Seeming surprised when we said we did, she left with the dirty plates - and didn't return for at least 20 minutes. When she came back she said "so, are you going to order dessert?" I asked if we could have menus. She looked surprised, then asked accusingly "you don't have menus?" "Uh, no." After checking our table to make sure we were telling her the truth, she disappeared again, returning with dessert menus before leaving us for at least 20 more minutes.
By now, we were determined to order because she so clearly wanted us out of there, so when she finally returned we ordered. Another server brought our order, quickly and as ordered. The moment we finished our original waitress returned, accusatorially asking if we wanted coffee. We didn't, and the check appeared with lightning speed. And now, here was the amazing thing: this is perhaps the only restaurant in France for which service non compris! As in, she would actually have had to earn her tip. Which she emphatically had not. My spouse wondered what he should leave her, but I convinced him that, if anything, she owed us money for putting up with her. read more