My visit was in September of 2010. I came here on the high recommendation of our hotel concierge…read moreand on the fact that they were located on the same block (which meant NO TAXI) plus their prices were better than other places I had checked out. They barely speak a lick of English here but kindly request for "Le Menu Anglais" and they'll get what you mean. The establishment is small, cozy, and cute. The host was nice--he was the youngest person on staff & understood the most English (he knew what we meant when we wanted butter, at least, plus he said, "Thank you," which is more English than anyone else said). Although we couldn't understand when our waiter asked (in French) if we wanted any water (we didn't know that when he said "Oh? Oh?" he had meant the French "eau"--I took 4 years of Spanish, not French in high school, ok?? The poor guy had to translate by saying, "Agua?" which we all replied with an eager, "OUI!!!") He also brought us "vin" (wine) in celebration of my parents' "anniversaire" which was a white Zinfandel my father never even heard of (he is a wine enthusiast who lives on the border of Napa Valley, so you better believe he was excited to taste some authentic French wine for free)! Our waiter was very attentive and friendly and tried his darnedest to communicate to us with sounds and hand gestures. Our favorite person was the extremely friendly and funny chef, who came out in his traditional French chef's hat and apron and encouraged us to take pictures of his restaurant and with his staff. On top of the extremely personal service we received, the food ranged from "just OK" to "Excellent." We were first served our "aperitif"--appetizer--called "gambas" which are a cross between prawns and crawfish but with a harder shell--we had no idea that it came with our entrees and even had lesser of a clue on how to eat them, although my family and I love lobster, crab, shrimp, & prawns, we're not really crawfish fans. Since we didn't know how to ask for a crab cracker, we kind of just twisted its legs until we broke them...but barely any meat was inside of the main body. It was the most hilarious part of the actual eating part of our dining experience. Because of the price, my dad ate all of his "just OK" steak (WHY my dad ordered steak at a FRENCH restaurant, I have no clue), while I enjoyed my yummy broiled "poisson" (fish) dish I ordered, and even got to try the DELICIOUS panko fish my mom got. For dessert, we were given a "frommage" plate of a variety of sliced gourmet cheese to even out our palates, which nicely paired with the bottle of red wine we brought (I don't remember if they charged us a corking fee; I want to say that they didn't). Like I said earlier, we rounded off the night with pictures and laughter with the friendly 3-man staff. It was the perfect way to end our Paris trip, as well as our European voyage. The food is a bit pricey but the experience was well worth it, which is why I rated this place EXCELLENT. If you are in the Montmartre area, you MUST stop by here!
