La Mère Germaine — Restaurant in Nice

We had great expectations about La Mere Germaine restaurant based on reviews from other people, but I must say we ended up with a very disappointing experience. At first, the restaurant's location looks ideal, by the marina, and on the water. That would be the case, of course, if you discount the cars driving by to get to the parking lot or (believe it or not) the waste collection trucks that may stop by in the middle of your dinner. You may sit well into the restaurant but that ruins the atmosphere as well since in that case you would be in a very non descript place. Once you go over the disappointment about the location and look forward to a nice meal, you will be welcomed (or not) by the waiters. Now, I want to discount any cultural differences, but I traveled the world enough to know that (at least some of) the La Mere Germaine's waiters are just plain rude. Service is also pretty slow and you need to bring things to their attention, instead them anticipating their customers needs. Also, I find very surprising to be asked whether I want my Martini with Red or White vermouth, but I think bringing it in a non Martini glass and with ice inside is borderline disrespectful. Last, and not least, the food. With a party of 8 we had a chance to get a good sampling of the restaurant's cuisine. In retrospect, I wish we all had ordered the Sole Meuniere, which was good. In fact, the vegetable risotto was overcooked and void of any significant flavour; the Linguine alle Vongole had overcooked shrimp (together with a third of the Mediterranean's sand) in it; the beef filet was the chewiest and toughest you can find. So, as you can tell by now, it was a horrible experience and dinner, and I would not recommend this place, which - by the way - is not...

My family was so excited to eat at La Mere Germaine based on reviews and word-of-mouth in various Facebook groups. Unfortunately, our experience was not good. While we did like the location by the sea in Villefranche, the food and the service were severely lacking. The waiter completely forgot to bring my husband’s drink; we never received it. One of my children ordered a burger from the kids’ menu, and we requested the meat to be cooked “à point” for medium (medium rare would also have been ok), and the burger was cooked beyond well done and was awful. The first appetizer arrived, and then my daughter’s meal arrived. She was the only one with food, and we waited quite a while for the second appetizer. By the time our main courses arrived, my daughter was done with her dinner. The timing was so poor. The ceviche appetizer was ok, but the lobster ravioli appetizer was a (bad) joke for the quantity and price. Not to mention that the ravioli itself didn’t taste very good. The main courses were disappointing as well. We’re foodies and have dined at excellent restaurants throughout Paris and the French Riviera. We didn’t have one bad meal—until we dined at this restaurant. Nice and Villefranche have so many restaurants that are better, and some are also less expensive. I happily pay a lot for good food and service, and I received neither. I surmise that La Mere Germaine is surviving based on its history and reputation, but the actual experience is a let down for sure. I would recommend...

The experience we had from this restaurant was truly shocking my wife and I specifically went to Villefranche and made the booking in person two days before. Two days later we returned to the restaurant for our reservation. We were met by the Manager who was very rude and very unhelpful. He said that we had booked for the wrong evening and when we pointed out it was his staff mistake, he just told us there was no reservation for us and that we should go. We ended up eating at the restaurant next door called Spalato who made us feel very welcome. When we had finished our meal we noticed La Mere Germaine still had lots of empty places so the manager could’ve easily fitted us in but was just being very difficult and rude. I would thoroughly recommend to everyone to doublecheck your reservation as they are the most unhelpful and rude people we have ever come across. Hi Thierry Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately you have me confused with somebody else. I have eaten at your restaurant years ago so I know who you are. Unfortunately yesterday we did not see you. We saw your manager and he absolutely denied us anywhere that we could sit to have a meal so please be honest in your reviews , it is your manager that I am complaining about and not yourself. He was rude...