Le Bistrot Des Anges - Bastide Bruno Oger — Restaurant in Grasse

If you're considering dining at Le Bistrot Des Anges, let me save you the trouble: don't. Adjacent to a 3-star Michelin restaurant of the same name, we expected a dining experience that would reflect at least a fraction of that quality. Unfortunately, we were sorely disappointed, misled by the plethora of positive reviews.

The bistro is situated quite literally above a parking lot, surrounded by bushes that are teeming with mosquitoes. Our entire evening was spent swatting away these pests, and we left covered in bites—a detail the glowing reviews conveniently omitted.

We ordered a variety of dishes, hoping to experience the best of what the menu had to offer: Mezzi Rigatoni, stuffed zucchini, tartare de boeuf, filet de boeuf, and another rigatoni dish for our son, who requested a meat sauce instead of the lobster one. Every single dish was barely edible. The filet was so tough our child couldn’t even chew it. The rigatoni tasted like it had come straight from a nearby grocery store, doused in a sauce that seemed freshly defrosted. The stuffed zucchini was an abomination, reminiscent of a poorly executed, overly spicy Indian dish. As for the tartare, it reeked and felt like it had been cut the day before.

The wine list was laughable, featuring $10 bottles you’d find on the lower shelves of a discount supermarket. When we inquired about the “wine of the month,” the waitress vaguely described it as “something bold from southeast France”—never mind that the bistro is in southeast France. When we asked to taste it, she just poured an entire glass, no sample or discussion. The wine was mediocre at best, and at €16 per glass, it was an utter rip-off.

No one bothered to ask if we were enjoying our meal. When we asked for the check, a different waitress, who was busy clearing another table, casually inquired if she could take away the barely touched zucchini and the completely untouched tartare. We mentioned that we couldn’t eat it, but she ignored our comment entirely.

As we were paying, the host made a weak attempt at politeness by asking if we liked the food. When we shared that we hadn’t enjoyed several dishes, he feigned surprise but took no action whatsoever. We left with a hefty bill and an incredibly poor experience. I have no idea who recommends this place, but I strongly advise you to spend your money elsewhere. Le Bistrot Des Anges is an absolute disaster, and we will...

“How was your meal?” We were asked. “A disappointment” would be the frank truth.

Some of that stemmed from choices apparently made by the chef-patron.

There’s no one to welcome you when you arrive- no maitre d to be seen. Instead waiting staff take a hurried moment to show you to a table, before dashing back to service- didn’t feel like a great start.

The tables are fairly close together outside (which I don’t grudge at all).

The bread rolls, though brown, were very unexceptional.

And as we were about to start eating, our neighbour began smoking. Something doesn’t square here: the chef’s serious about his food, so serious he names his restaurants after himself, but he’ll let clients ruin others’ taste with a fag blown over the meal. Maybe that was appropriate once- but I’d say those days have passed. If people must smoke, it should be away from other diners.

So we went inside, and were blasted by a curated play list- not quiet jazz to add ambience, or chanson, or nothing- but AI covers with thumping disco beats. Again, didn’t fit with the self importance of the setting. Frankly we were impatient to leave.

But we were more impatient to see the celebrated sweet trolley- bit of a surprise too. Not dessert as expected, but passable patisserie, served alone. A piece of tart, for example, or a chocolate cake. But not at a constructed dish with, say, cake, fruit, ice.

The main course=entree was good. The starters were so refined they were not as tasty as we like. But the rest of the experience was off- not because the waiters seemed tired (though they did), not because the wrong dish was brought once ( that didn’t matter), but because the chef’s decisions feel ready...

Unfortunately everything was wrong about the restaurant. The size of the portion is so tiny that we were still hungry after having a starter and a main course. It just feels wrong and like a joke for such a high price at the bistrot.

But the real joke was that when they served main courses- the dish that we ordered was not available and they brought fish (instead of the duck!) without asking us. We refused to have a fish and had to wait for another dish to be cooked.

They offered a glass of champagne as an apology also without asking us, while some of us don’t...