QUINTO CIELO — Restaurant in Grasse

The view is spectacular. The food is not. And the staff, though pleasant enough, is ill informed and untrained. Given the prices, they should deliver on a higher level. Cocktails were great. Ordering presented a slight challenge as our waitress simply smiled and said yes to requests that would never be followed through on. Starters were fine but did not meet expectations. I imaged An onion tart in France would be made with the flakiest pastry. Here onions were piled on a hard cookie, that most likely was taken from a box from the market. The mackerel on top was good. The combination was novel. Not sure it worked. We also had the tapas. They were out of chorizo so substituted little chicken balls. Not sure they’ve ever heard we eat with our eyes because the presentation was lacking - balls in a bowl. Odd to say the least. The arancini sat in a pool of tomato sauce and the rice inside the balls contained tomatoes. No where on the menu did they say tomato was an ingredient! And the tomato bread was covered with prosciutto. Also never mentioned. Given the caliber this restaurant purports to be, attention to detail or simply accurate descriptions count. I had the pork which was tasty. We also ordered tuna tataki. It was served in thick chunks coated in seeds with tomato and a vinaigrette poured over it. An unusual preparation that was not to our liking. We returned the dish and thought we’d replace it with another order of the pork. We were told we’d be charged for both dishes and the kitchen was closing so their preference was to recook the tuna without the vinaigrette. I always thought the diner’s preference was the only preference that mattered. Not here! They recooked the tuna. It was tasteless and we left it uneaten. Any other restaurant would have taken the dish off the bill with apologies. Not here! We paid for the fish and when we spoke to the manager she told us 40 other tuna dishes were ordered and not returned. That number could have been 4000. The point is if one diner is not happy then make them happy. A little client service training might go a long way here....

I called to make a reservation for the bar and was told it’s not possible but I can just come. When I arrived, I was again told at the reception that this is fine. At the bar, I was turned away. I talked to the reception again, they called the bar and told me they will have a table. I went back to the bar, a waiter told me he’ll just clean a table for me, and two minutes later the waitress told me the only available seat is a shitty waiting area chair with a tiny tiny table, and they don’t know when an actual table will be free. At that point I left. Everyone seemed to be confused by my request for a table for one. God forbid a girl takes a solo...

My wife and I dined at Quinto Cielo last night and had the most wonderful experience! The food (we shared the pasta made in a large Parmesan wheel!), view, and atmosphere were spectacular, but what really made our experience special and memorable were the people. Everyone was was so welcoming, especially the maitre-de, Hugo. This meal was the highlight of our incredible 2 week visit throughout France. Thank you Hugo and everyone else for an experience we will...