Atelier Renata — Restaurant in Marseille

My husband and I love Italian cuisine and specially the family and 'poor' ones. So we were very excited to try Atelier Renata concept. And sorry to say we very disappointed. Not at all because of the meal. The cheffe is charismatic, talented and she nailed the menu and the preparation. Nore the ambiance which is cosy and very good music actually. So why at the end are we disappointed? Because for a 80 € per person meal we had the feeling it's overpriced. The service was 'amateur' and not supporting this price level. We arrived 6 minutes in advance and we have been told to stay out in the street or to have a drink in the neighborhood because they were not ready. Then we have been offered to have a glass of wine and we haven't been proposed to get a bottle and informed on prices. So at the end, we have been charged at the glass for a wine we haven't chosen and which was average. When you are ready to charge 80€/person which is not a cheap meal, you need to be consistent so the client feels it's worth it. It's rare I am taking time to write a long post. My intention is not to hurt the business, actually it is the contrary. I really wish Atelier Renata stays on Marseille cuisine scene because the concept is very interesting, accurate for our town and new. It just needs to be executed with more...

So this is a very hard review. The hardest part is deciding if the chef is actually a cinical business genius or does she really believe that all the dishes of Cocina povera are delicious and worth serving? 2 star is because i always believe in people and i hope she is cinical business women so at least that ;) we've been to Renata atelier 3 days ago and we were served tuna, then the WORST DISH OF ALL TIMES meaning old bread soaked in cold supersalty water with half of tomato and then pasta in soupy warm salty water with estragon. We really aprecciated looking how NOONE was actually able to eat those delicious dishes, but after hearing that its and old and traditional they made it through almost whole bowl ;)))) dont get me wrong cocina povera (even costing 60 euro per person hahaha - but fine, you paying for service and experience) can be good, but its literally 20 dishes worth serving and spreading, the other 80 should just be forgotten till another war comes. Also in Poland we were very poor after the war (maybe poorer then in italy ;) so ill share with you (for free) another concept with soaked bread in water - it can be soaked but instead of Salt you add sugar - then its a desert - et voila - you can...

Booked this restaurant for our trip to Marseille for Aug 2, the day after we arrive and the only day they were available and guaranteed with a credit card. Two weeks after booking they cancelled the reservation and said they couldn't accomodate us. What?? No explanation given and no way of contacting them other than to call. Very disappointing. Noting the response below - Your reservation system confirmed our reservation for Aug 2 and also put a $100 hold on my credit card. To now say that you are closed, like we should have known, seems odd. Yes I rated without visiting the restaurant and you will note that I rated the service only. I have been in the hotel business for 30 years and the service starts from the point of contact - the reservation - not only when you enter the restaurant. It is a shame, we were looking forward to what seems like a...