1860 Le Palais — Restaurant in Marseille

Remember all the caricatures of French restaurants with rude, judgemental and disrespectful servers? Well this was a perfect example of that 🤣 I decided to check out this place for the next day's dinner, and try their desserts (was going for couple, bt changed my mind and took only macarons, I m mot wating my money where I am disrespected) and it was so great that I did and was annoyed for just a dessert not a full meal experience. I came to the dessert counter to get take,-away. I was in line with several others (they were seated at the restaurant and came to choose from the counter with their server). The server girl was explaining to her customers pretty well, to the point when I was really tempted, while the silent guy behind the counter was putting the desserts they chose on the plates. Then she turns to me, I say it's take out, she is still nice and just tells me that the guy behind the dessert counter will serve me. Which was fine. Until the other customers left and the guy treated me like I was invisible, no hello, not even looking at me, and just left. Mind you the dessert counter is in another section (left from the reception ),while the main hall with clients seated is in the right one. So there I am standing alone in the whole section 😄I was curious and instead of leaving right away, I just stood there watching while he went outside (no one seated there) and brought back a folding chair from outside terrace ( as slow as a snail btw) and put it in the bar area, no one reacted as no one needed it obviously,, then he went to the main hall and just stood for couple of minutes, then walked to the kitchen, came back (nothing in hand when going in or out), stood like an idiot in the hall again, then went to a table and took an empty cup from it,.mind you their waitress was near them, just standing. At that point my face was telling a story and the greeter that was coming from the main hall with another server saw me and got the message and ran to me to ask how she can help ))) I said your server ignored me and left so I was wondering when anyone would come to service me. She was fast, nice and apologetic and right away started to explain that he was serving a client, to which I cut her off and said he wasn't, I saw him leave to bring a folding chair from outside, and I have been watching him for 10-15 minutes do nothing. She kinda didn't know what to say, so proceeded to help me with the order. Soooo the attitude was there for sure, oh yeah, forgot to add, that the dude was just standing in the main hall doing nothing when a happy birthday was sung at a table, so he went to join, maybe he is their extra weird server and I was lucky? The rest of the servers btw were in fact serving customers, so nothing against them 😄 but who in his right mind just leaves a client to bring a chair from empty terrace to fold and put it behind the bar? Is this a sexist thing? He doesn't serve women? Or what? I was both annoyed and intrigued. The guy did absolutely nothing useful, while never looking at me btw. As I was watching him, if he did I would see. So he purposefully ignored me the whole time. Guys are you prejudiced against take-away desserts? Or just non-french speaking people? Make it clear so you get your perfect french clients, and we as tourists don't waste time and money in your establishment. The macarons were nothing special or maybe tainted by the experience, and the 1 star is for the greeter who jumped in to save the day. Otherwise it...

0/10 Disgusting experience today at the restaurant during lunch. We had vinegar and oil with the bread and midway through our meal, we noticed there was some small organisms floating around in the bottle. We looked at it closely and it was clearly fruit flies so we immediately told the blonde waitress, and when she inspected it she looked very shocked and said she didn’t know what it was. She walks to the kitchen and pours it out and washes the bottle, then comes back and tells us it wasn’t bugs, and even if it were, it is our fault because we used the vinegar.

As a restaurant rated very well on Google, this was extremely disappointing and unethical behaviour for a catering venue. We understand everyone makes mistakes, but not only was there no apology but the audacity to shift the blame onto us for not seeing the bugs earlier was just ridiculous. When your establishment is one where customers should not assume the vinegar will be insect free and clean, should you even be open and continue serving patrons? Or is it normal to carefully inspect all condiments for safety when i eat out?

It is also ironic she blamed us because she also claimed they were not insects, but then she pours the whole bottle down the drain before anyone else can say anything. We asked to see another vinegar bottle to see if it was also like that since apparently the floating bugs was normal, and she told us there is only one vinegar bottle in the whole restaurant. Yeah that sounds believable to me. If there was nothing wrong with the vinegar, why pour it, especially if there is only one bottle? If I said their table was broken when it clearly wasn’t, would they also throw the table away?

To us this was a clear sign the restaurant knew it was at fault, but did not have the integrity and ingenuity and basic courtesy to apologise for its mistake, which was the most disappointing part as again, we know everyone makes mistakes. They lied to our faces which was downright disrespectful. With this attitude and lack of hygiene, I worry for all its future patrons - maybe just stick to their drinks and avoid the food (or inspect their dishwasher first before you get fed some fruit flies yourself). Have not had any other issues at any other restaurants in Marseille/France, so would recommend just going there. If I could rate in negatives I would.

EDIT: Responding to the restaurants comment below: I don’t know if this is because of google mistranslation, but I did not mention pickled bread? Unless there is another restaurant called 1860 Le Palais in Marseille, then I think i have the right restaurant. The fact you did not even investigate or speak to your waitress regarding whether an incident regarding the flies in your vinegar did happen today (less than one hour ago), and that you instead try to deflect this problem as “wrong restaurant”, only proves that this attitude of avoiding and denying responsibility for your mistakes (which can endanger your customers) and blaming the customer is shared by the whole restaurant, and not just this particular waitress. That is even more disappointing as it reflects what your business is all about - it is not one individual being ignorant, but your entire business habitually being disingenuous and unethical. If you need, I can go and take a picture of your restaurant too if you still think I have...

1860 Le Palais, Marseille: Where Excellence Comes with an Appropriate Price Tag

1860 Le Palais occupies a stunning belle époque building that wears its heritage with the confidence of an establishment that knows exactly what it is – a palatial setting that actually lives up to its name. The interior combines original architectural grandeur with contemporary elegance, all soaring ceilings and period details that remind you Marseille was once the gateway to empire and isn't about to let you forget it.

The service was genuinely wonderful – attentive without hovering, knowledgeable without condescension, the sort of professional hospitality that makes you feel looked after rather than merely served. Staff moved with the choreographed precision of people who actually care about what they're doing, a refreshing change from the disaffected shrugs one often encounters in French dining.

The food matched the surroundings and service perfectly – beautifully executed dishes that justified their presence on expensive china. Each course arrived as a small work of art that actually tasted as good as it looked, proving that sometimes presentation and substance can coexist peacefully.

The wine list was excellent, offering selections that complemented the food rather than just padding out the bill. Whatever I chose (and I'm sure it wasn't cheap) delivered exactly what it promised without the sneaking suspicion I was paying mostly for the label.

This is an expensive experience, make no mistake. But unlike so many places that charge premium prices for location or reputation alone, 1860 Le Palais actually earns its cost through consistent excellence across every aspect of the dining experience.

Five stars. Sometimes you get what you pay for, and when what you pay for is this good, it's money well spent.

Perfect for special occasions or when you simply want to be reminded that fine dining, done properly, remains one of life's...