Bistro La Canourgue — Restaurant in Montpellier

2 stars for terrible service. I took two of my friends visiting from overseas to La Canourgue a few nights ago. I wanted to give them a real taste of what an upscale dining experience in Montpellier would be. First of all, let me say that the design in this place is quite fabulous. Upon our arrival, our excitement turned really sour. We wanted to go up to their beautiful bar called L'Elytre for a drink a literally got told off in the rudest way by their manager saying that had no availability. It seemed really strange to us given the fact 2/3 of the bar was empty. No problem, we then ushered to our dining table. We sat down and started ordering drinks. The vibe was very strange in the room, barely any music and all you could see was their staff staring at us with so much attitude it made us feel uncomfortable. It took them 25 minute to bring our drinks order after not one drop of water had been poured in any of our glasses. Their was an obvious mix up with the order of my friend who doesn't speak french and the waiter ended up making a scene saying it was her problem if she didn't speak French. A few dishes such as the scallops or the gnocchis were very nice, most everything else was average to say the least. The manager who noticed I was really embarrassed and irritated did not even try to make up for this series of disappointments and instead came up with a snarky way to interact with all of us. Our evening went from one rude attitude from their staff to another. I have been working in the luxury hospitality industry for decades and all I can say is service (and food) like this is definitely not 5 star. Shame on you for ruining our evening and ripping us off the team at...

We had a family dinner at Bistro la Canourgue late August, and we have experienced all the Pourcel’s restaurants over the past years. First of all, the patio setting is fantastic, you really feel at home. We all enjoyed our starters, but I can’t say the same for our mains, the risotto and fish were ok, but the beef was over cooked and the pork was very dry. Being able to cook meat properly should be a given, but it was not the case. We ended up the dinner at the bar upstairs, I don’t mind spending 20 euros for a cocktail if it is a proper one, that evening it wasn’t. The person who made our cocktails is clearly not a bar tender, which lead to a sour note at the end of our dinner. Overall the service was average, it’s maybe the only restaurant of the region which is not understaffed, and where waiters have time to chitchat during service instead of taking care of their tables. I was about to give 4 stars, but after our dinner, 4 persons out of 6 got stomach ache and diarrhoea, so something was clearly not fresh… The potential of the restaurant is clearly there, but some changes must be made in order to provide a good experience...

I’ve visited the bistrot twice now — my first experience was excellent and left a great impression. Unfortunately, my most recent visit didn’t quite live up to that standard, particularly in terms of service and my main course.

I ordered the duck, which arrived quite dry and tough — not what I was expecting. That said, both the starter and dessert were delicious and clearly well-executed, which I appreciated.

Service, however, felt inconsistent. I had asked for a white wine to pair with my starter and a red for my main, but the red was poured into my glass before I had finished the white — a small but noticeable slip. Additionally, it was the hottest day of the year, and while other tables were offered water on arrival, we were not, which added to the sense of inattentiveness.

I still believe the bistrot has great potential, as my first visit proved — but unfortunately, this...