Quick Story: We only came here for dessert. Service was terrible and slow. The dessert was nothing special, have had much better French desserts at less fancy places.
Long story: DO NOT come here for dessert only. My girlfriend and I thought we'd check this place out for a fancy dessert to end our night. We thought it would be nice and quick visit...Here's the timeline of events:
7:00pm - We came in a little after 7 and asked for a table for two. The host asked if we had any reservations. We did not. The host then goes to a little side room near the entrance to talk to the manager about it. They whisper some things for a little while, the host comes out, and looks like they can accommodate us! Surprising and so generous of them as the restaurant was at about 20% capacity. Seeing as it may be a burden on the staff, we let the host know that we were only there for dessert. He then runs back into the manager's room, more whispers, and alas he gives us the okay and we are ushered to a booth right next to the kitchen...approximately 5' next to another couple...while the place is at 20% capacity...strike one.
7:05 - The decor, atmosphere, and ambiance of the place is very nice. There's some nice aged wood paneling bordering our table, there's french themed pictures all over the walls, and the menu looks delicious. Our waiter arrives and takes our drink orders. We let him know that we'll only be having dessert, and he proceeds with clearing our table of dinnerware and utensils. He returns promptly with our drinks and silverware for dessert. This is where the good service ends.
7:30 - We are wrapped up in a conversation, but slowly begin to realize that they have not taken our order yet. In fact, we begin to notice that the waiters keep taking the long way around our table even though we are right next to the kitchen. A few futile attempts at making eye contact, and no one sees us...strike two.
7:35 - The table next to us is getting some service from their waiter (a different waiter than our own). At this point, I don't even remember what ours looks like. They ask the waiter if he can recommend a nice wine to pair with their lamb dinner. The waiter calls on for help from another waiter, then another, and then eventually the manager! They take about 5-10 mins looking through the wine list, looking at the wine case, back and forth, and finally they've chosen two wines to present to the patron to our right. During this entire process, we hear every word due to us being 5' away. This whole time we are there waiting for one of the waiters, or maybe our own, to give US some attention. I know we're just ordering dessert and we're just small fries compared to the couple next to us ordering a full meal and wine...but all customers should be treated the same regardless of what they're ordering. We are talking back and forth on whether we should just walk out. All these waiters and no service, whats the deal? We are on the verge of walking out but then...
7:40-7:45 - Our waiter appears! ...but only after I make eye contact with and tell one of the many waiters from the other table that we are ready to order. No apologies from him or from our waiter...strike three. I know, we should just walk out now, maybe even 20 mins prior to this. But by this time, we've invested all this time and really want dessert. We are hoping that the quality of dessert will make us forget about the crappy service. We order La Crème Brûlée D'Emmanuel (this is her favorite dessert and we specifically came here to order one) and I order Le Café ou Thé Gourmand.
8:05 - Our desserts arrive. Standard presentation and typical serving size for the Crème Brûlée. The taste is good, but not great. Nothing special about its flavor, nothing memorable. We come to a place like this to get a unique experience. This was not unique or even done very well. We've had a similar Crème Brûlée at a dive bar in Colorado that was served by an Irishman with a torch. My dessert, Le Café ou Thé Gourmand, was a sample of three desserts from the menu served with a coffee. The coffee was great! This plate's presentation was done well with kiwi and berries bordering the plate. The chocolate souffle was a bit too rich for my tastes, but I'm sure others that love dark chocolate will like it. The mini Crème Brûlée was more of the same as the big version, meh. The last part of the dish was some kind of pastry drizzled in some brandy syrup. This pastry was very good.
8:30 - We're done with dessert, we get the check, we still tip (which I don't know why we did), and we're on our way. What was supposed to be a quick 20-30 minute dessert trip turned into an hour and a half ordeal that left a sour taste in our mouth...
In conclusion, the desserts were OK but not great. A place like this should be wowing us with their amazing french desserts, and they failed to do so. The service was TERRIBLE and we probably won't be coming back for dinner due to the service alone. read more