France-Soir — Restaurant in Melbourne

I don't often feel the need to write a negative review but this was one of the worst dining experiences I've encountered in a very long time.

I made a booking for my birthday and my friends and I had been looking forward to coming for weeks. When we arrived we were told that our table was not ready yet and that the customers before us were "just finishing off their desserts" - we kept being told "just a little longer" again and again. After 30 minutes of waiting - the staff brought us some "complimentary" champagne but we wouldn't be invited to sit at our table for another half an hour, meaning we were waiting 1 HOUR in total. It was extremely cold that night and their was no outdoor heating or even enough seats for us while we waited.

When we finally had been seated our food came out slowly. It had been about an hour and a half until a single plate of food was brought to us! The wait staff were inattentive and quite patronising towards my guests, particularly when we asked for a bottle of wine that was between 50-70 dollars, saying that "our cheapest bottles are 70 dollars" - even getting basics such as water brought to our table seemed impossible.

When we finished our meal we were brought the bill. Just as we had almost finished dividing it between us one of the staff members comes to our table and presents us with a second bill which was more than $200 dollars higher, saying "sorry guys I didn't realise you ordered drinks outside". We were all completely shocked by this and informed the staff that we were under the impression the drinks were complimentary due to the fact we had waited an hour in the cold. They argued back by saying "you said you were happy to wait outside" - I pushed back. None of us chose that $200 dollar bottle of champagne, we were never shown a menu or given a choice, we were just brought a bottle under the pretence that this was complimentary.

We had to very uncomfortably negotiate with them and agreed to meet in the middle. I went to pay the new price that was agreed on (as I did in isolation the staff began to pressure me to leave a tip on top of everything) and about a week later I checked my bank statement and saw that I've been charged almost 800 dollars which is the same amount as the second bill. I don't know how this is even possible and the whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Ultimately it's not worth the price - The food is average, the staff are money-hungry, pushy and patronising - I'm cancelling my future bookings and look forward to dining at the better French restaurants...

Attended this restaurant last night for a special dinner with an old friend who I had not seen in 5 years as they live overseas. To say we were excited for a “quintessential French dining experience” in a “cozy and authentic Parisian Style restaurant” is an understatement. While the food met expectations and the atmosphere really did live up to what I was told amongst peers, the service was just weird - an inelegant word, albeit accurate. Within 3 minutes of entering the venue I was asked for my drink order, which in normal circumstances would be great service, however when I responded with “something bubbly please!” (Clearly indicating a glass of champagne) the waiter tutted at me stating that “this is a French restaurant, you want champagne”. Once my champagne arrived, we were asked for our food orders - enthralled in conversation after such a long separation, we barely took a breath let alone checked the menu. We requested 2 more minutes for us to decide on our meals as my friend and I were so talkative - to this request we were told “I need this table at 8 o’clock” and the waiter rolled his eyes at us. We apologised then rushed to order as we did not want to hold up a later reservation or step on anyones toes. Things only got weirder when our food arrived and my friend was questioned as to why he had his glass on the “wrong side” of his table setting (a clear attempt at a misguided and petty lesson in etiquette) when he had simply moved his glass to make it easier for our server to place down our meals. We both ensured that we ate as promptly as we could to ensure the table would be ready by 8:00pm and despite our best efforts, we were slightly over the next reservation at 8:00pm. We rushed to get the bill (even though we could not see anybody waiting for a table) and once our bill was paid our waiter commented that he “hoped he didn’t rush us through our meal as he had many cancellations”. This would have been great to hear at any earlier stage of the meal - not after we had hurried through our dinner and catchup in order to appease the venue.

While I was taken aback by the awkwardness of the encounters with the servers, I can’t help but think and understand that perhaps the snide remarks reflect a pride in a Melbourne Institution and an attempt to preserve it’s historic influence on the French cuisine in our multicultural city. Maybe this was a “quintessential French dining...

Unfortunately echoing the other bad reviews here around the neglectful and arrogant service, and average food that's offensively overpriced.

We had a birthday booking for a big group at 9pm. We were asked to wait "a little bit" until the table was ready. Sure thing! 30mins later, we were offered champagne which at the time was appreciated, but not given a menu or explicitly told it would be a charge rather than a complimentary drink to make up for us waiting for our booking. We were repeatedly told "ten minutes" etc, so we thought waiting would be fine. An hour later after waiting in the cold, we sit down for our reservation but our order isn't taken until 10.30pm.

I asked for water for the table and was refused, but after we INSISTED, we got one bottle and no glasses. I asked for glasses, they never came. We had to use our dirty wine glasses. I'm always happy to remind staff but it was so crowded, noisy, and the waiters rushed past us without checking.

On food – The entres were enjoyable and a highlight, but we were all underwhelmed with our mains. For that price, you expect something pretty special given there are such great restaurants in Melbourne in the $20-30 bracket. My steak was pretty lack lustre, no mouth watering moment. Would be bummed out if I paid $15 for it let alone $42. Came without the fries and salad too. A really sloppy affair.

At the end of the night we got our bill and then about 20mins later were presented with an updated one, this time $200 more as it now included the bottle of champagne we understood to be offered to us to make up for their delay on our reservation. This is misleading and deceptive conduct. After a discussion with the staff, they agreed to remove a portion of the cost of the bottle we didn't know we bought. We were happy enough with that and left thanking the staff for the experience otherwise. Imagine the birthday girl's shock when she checked her bank transactions and France Soir had charged the higher amount anyway. They smiled and nodded to her face, ignored the reasonable point being made, and then charged the $200 higher amount anyway.

Avoid this place, there are so many great places in Melbourne that are priced well with excellent service. This is not...