Des Beaux Prés - Microbrasserie — Restaurant in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré

One star is too many for the staff of this beautifully placed establishment. I can write this review in French but this review should resonate with the English speaking crowd who visit the area.

My wife and kids stood inside the restaurant at the entrance by the door for 5 minutes, hungry and at awe because they were told by the waitress Justine that they were not allowed to sit at a table as all customers do, as two other groups of customers did while we were waiting, because they were told that they have to order first, pay and only then she would seat you in the restaurant. When I arrived behind them I asked what the issue was and Justine explained in a very contortionist fashion that the area that you want to sit works differently. Her explanation puzzled me and I asked again to slowly explain in clear French as I was speaking why others are walking in and are immediately given a table but we are at the door with a pay first before consumption requirement.. She tried different angles and modified her story but she got deeper and deeper into the nonsense that she was trying to sell.

I finally had to ask for a manager and Joanne Geinden (the owner) came out and asked as to what the problem was. By now my wife and kids are angry and had left back for the car in the parking lot.

I explained the situation to Joanne, At first she seemed surprised, then she went in and immediately asked me to come in for the table of 5. I said it's too late and that with this attitude, my wife would never come back to this place again and added that "I have to thank you for that". But as I was walking to the door Justine turned around and loudly said "HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY"..... I turned back in and asked for Joanne's full name who by now was in total damage control mode begging us to come in. So after insisting on getting her name I left.

Now that I read other negative remarks, I see that the problem of the staff selecting customers and denying service is an issue here. By the way we attend plenty of 5 star establishments, so our look was not an issue.

The next day and before posting my review here I called Joanne to see if she has done any due diligence and if she has talked to the waitress. She said she has no idea as to what went on and had not spoken to Justine from the moment I left, which is a sign of a systemic problem that most likely they are all aware of.

I would...

Very disappointed in the service and overall experience we had a couple weeks ago. When we were seated at our table the waitress said it was a 30 minute wait for food. After 45 minutes of waiting and no one coming to check in on us (as any good waitress/waiter should) we had to go find her and ask for more drinks. Then after an hour and a half, we went to find her again and was told 5 tables were still ahead of us! So we ended up paying for our drinks and leaving. We had a baby with us and the wait was unacceptable. The restaurant still had plenty of open tables and a full patio and still a 1 1/2 hour wait. The staff made no apology and still expected a tip! We will not be coming to this restaurant again and will advise our friends and family to stay...

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