Au Petit Fourneau — Restaurant in Épernay

We had high hopes for Au Petit Fourneau after booking over a week in advance and reading the (surprisingly glowing) reviews, but our experience was frankly one of the worst we’ve had dining out—anywhere, let alone in France.

We arrived promptly at 7:30pm for our reservation and were greeted not by a warm welcome, but by a clunky, glitchy tablet system to place our order. While we’re always open to new formats, this felt needlessly awkward and impersonal for a restaurant that seems to pride itself on traditional French fare.

What followed was an inexplicable two-hour wait during which every other table around us—at least five or six of them—received their food, some even finishing their meals and leaving. We tried to remain patient, but it became increasingly clear we had been either forgotten or deprioritised. Eventually, someone brought out a cold pâté starter and what can only be described as a bowl of warm milk. We genuinely don’t say this lightly: it was bizarre, completely unappetising, and borderline inedible. We tried to stay polite, but it was, quite honestly, awful.

When the mains finally arrived, things somehow got worse. We were served two undercooked potatoes sitting in another pool of what seemed suspiciously like warm milk again—this time we weren’t sure whether it was a sauce gone wrong or simply a repeat of the earlier disaster. The “filet steaks” were laughably bad. They were definitely not filet. The cuts were tough, gristly, and poorly trimmed, more reminiscent of chuck steak (and even that feels too kind). They were also badly cooked—no sear, no seasoning, just sad grey meat.

Even the frozen chips managed to be a failure. How you ruin frozen chips is beyond us, but somehow they pulled it off. Limp, pale, and barely warm.

Service throughout the evening was equally poor. Staff were inattentive and seemed overwhelmed, despite the restaurant not being particularly busy. There was no apology for the wait, no explanation, and no effort made to rectify the situation. The whole experience felt apathetic at best, and at worst, completely indifferent to the quality of the food or the experience of the guests.

This is not the standard you’d expect in France, especially in a region known for its culinary excellence. We’re genuinely shocked that this restaurant has any positive reviews at all—it calls into question how authentic or trustworthy they are.

A deeply disappointing evening. We left hungry, frustrated, and very much out of...

Nice atmosphere and kind service, food was okay

We came here for dinner, inspired by the high rating and glowing reviews. It’s a pleasant place with a welcoming atmosphere. The staff were attentive — we had our dog with us, and they kindly seated us in the small garden so we wouldn’t disturb other guests. That was a thoughtful touch.

The food was okay, though nothing particularly memorable. Given the pricing and portion sizes, it felt acceptable overall.

Our waiter seemed a bit inexperienced, but he really tried his best and made us feel well taken care of — we left with a genuinely pleasant impression.

As for the dishes:

The veal with sauce was on the dry side, but the sauce did save the dish and added a nice depth of flavor. The salmon tartare was disappointing — it tasted like the fish had been previously frozen, and the texture wasn’t great. The beef tartare seemed to be machine-minced rather than hand-cut, lacked seasoning, and came without any condiments — no mustard, Worcestershire, or even a hint of spice. Still, the overall experience was nice, thanks to the kind staff and the...

Lovely spot. I understand now why people love it especially after a long day of champagne tasting. They are known for their potato dishes. Their modern take on of the menu is done really good as it is a tablet you can see pictures save your dish and order in one go. For sure take on their choice menu price qualiity and amount is really good. The enviroment give me a bit cold village snackbar vibe. If they just adjust a bit of the lighting it will be lovely. There is limited seats so for sure reserve to guarantee a table. Their service is lovely really helping and even though not many speak english they really try their best to be hospitality. It is for sure village local young servers. The food is good comfort the combination is good but nothing really special the potatoes are lovely for sure. Dessert you can skip it as it is like made from...