Le Chantecler — Restaurant in Nice

Don't waste your money or your time dining at Le Chantecler restaurant at the famed Negresco. We booked dinner in Le Chantecler restaurant before leaving Australia. We had dined there many years ago and that meal was, and still is, the most memorable meal of our lives. We made a special trip to Nice from Barcelona just to re-live our previous memorable experience at Le Chanteler restaurant on 04 June 2023 (7.30pm). We chose the "signature" 8 course degustation menu. We noticed that the restaurant had vacant tables, and in the 2nd restaurant section in which we were seated it was occupied only by couples (only 7 tables in total) and all diners were English-speaking. We were extremely disappointed with both our meals and especially the very poor service. The meals were served lukewarm (at best, and nowhere near hot ), and they did not have a WOW factor that we experienced last visit. The service was very very poor, and by Negresco standard - totally unacceptable.The waiter poured red wine in to my wife's glass even though she was drinkling white wine, and poured white wine into my empty red wine glass. And no, he did not apologise or change either glass after the errors! The service of the food was similarly terrible, and nothing like the service we had when we dined previously which had a pomp and ceremony and a WOW factor. All waiters in our dining section were "commis waiters" and at no stage did any Maitre D' or supervisor check to see if we were enjoying the meal. We had to get a waiters attention to refill our water. With our wines, we walked to the side table and got our wine, refilled our glasses and returned it to the side table. How could this ever happen in Le Chantecler or The Negresco ? We did complain to the hostess when we paid the bill but she did nothing - no apology, or attempt to get the restaurant manager to speak to us. Her attitude left us with the impression that they get many complaints about the service and food and value. Even though the meal was 8 course, we were charged an additional 16 Euro for one expresso coffee. Unfortunately over time, and for a variety of reasons, many great restaurants become mediocre and rely on their past history and tradition to remain in business - it is clear that Le Chantecler is but a ghost of its former self and is relying on past history for business - the meals are not setting new standards, the service is disgraceful, and the absence of a Maitre D' highlights the restaurant's "don't care" attitude. Le Chantecler once gave us the best meal of our lives - it has now given us the worst dining experience of our lives when the cost of the meal is considered. We had taken a Celebrity Cruise before going to Nice, and the food and service on the ship was far superior than Le Chantecler, and especially in its premier restaurant. Le Chantecler would not rate a 1 Michelin star. At the cost of 620 Euro for my wife and I (and with basic wines) it left a very bad taste in our mouths. There are many other fine restaurants in Nice where you will enjoy excellent award-winning food, 5-star service and have a memorable experience at a fraction of the cost of Euro 310 per person.The Le Chantecler restaurant manager, whoever he/she is, should be ashamed of the service we received, but not having a Maitre D' (at least in the English-speaking dining room) is bizarre and inexplicable. The best Guest Reviews of Le Chantecler appear to be 12 months old or more, which shows how its standards have fallen. If your definition of a great meal and service is based on "how much you pay" then Negresco is definitely for you - if you want a memorable 5-star meal with amazing service - Stay Away ! . Which is apparently what the European residents and...

Our experience at the here was both truly extraordinary and true disappointment.

Lets start with the great. Food. Genuinely extraordinary and worthy of another Michelin star. The food surprised from start to finish and delighted all the senses, including taste (innovated ingredients; unusual combinations; freshest ingredients; and beautifully balanced); presentation (art on the plate, a visual feast; colorful; inspiring); entertaining (the crunch of fresh baked bread cut at your table; the delivery of appetizers in sculptural form; the joyous ceremony of the cheese cart brought to your table). And if we left it at this, the meal would be worthy of another star and is well worth everyone and anyones time.

However, there were also some highly visible disappointments delivered by front of house whose approach to us ran from wonderful and warm to aloof and dismissive. One had a sense that the service was polished but mechanical and not genuine and fine tuned as is expected in an aspiring Michelin 3 star. Three examples.

First, the staff did not acknowledge in any way the celebratory reason that we chose to have a dining adventure. It was my son’s 11th birthday and we all excited to dine and Le Chantecler, which was to be a capstone to a wonderful family trip. Any type of simple acknowledgment from any one of the staff would have been appreciated and would have added the personal touch that would make the night memorable forever, particularly for him. I informed the staff in the written comments when I made the reservation, by email separately, by a phone call, and reminded the Maitre Dame when we arrived. Nothing. Silence. A miscommunication? A policy against celebrating events (which I would respect if informed)? Too inflexible or focused on food to make a true human connection? Yes, the staff is professional and polite but this experience made it feel as if they were just going through the motions, albeit polished.

The second service issue was the general attitude of the sommeliers. While the wine list is truly extensive and remarkable, the sommeliers seemed to approach their task with a clinical somberness that did not reflect and joy and pleasure that comes with a good wine. They pushed hard the fine wine — which is understandable (and they may have incentive to hit sales quotas). But when we asked to do a wine-by-the-glass pairing with the meal — to enhance the meal itself — we learned that they were not set up to do this (unlike some other exceptional restaurants where such pairings really elevate the chef’s menu) and then they became in tone and manner somewhat dismissive of our request. As a result, we wound up purchasing only a single glass of wine. This is a real opportunity for the sommeliers to be less rigid and more welcoming. Again, a real miss, and who wants the attitude?

Lastly, we asked if it was possible to meet the chef, who is a true inspiration and in my view a great role model — someone who has made it through hard work and dedication and blazed barriers. I fully understood that she may not have time to meet a guest and we are ok with that but the staff never followed through and told us whether it was possible or not … just silence. At the start of the even I asked the Maitre Dame and later in the meal one of our servers. Neither followed up — no reply; no answer. I did not ask again. This is a third example of asking form something out of the norm and feeling that the staff was just too rigid or insensitive to handle the situation with straightforwardness.

Net — truly amazing food and highly polished service without (with some exceptions like Ricardo) lacking the human touch. Not ready for a third star or perhaps...

We were a party of five adults. My wife and I and her sister have eaten at many Michelin 1-star restaurants in both France and the USA, as well as 2 and 3-star Michelin restaurants. In this instance, overall, the food was well thought out and creative in our 5-course tasting menu. However, the next morning, feeling a good deal of dry mouth, we recognized the chef used a lot of salt to enhance flavors - something we consider currently a bit passe'. The service was efficient, but hardly gracious, and at times, bordering on a tad gruff. Shortly after we sat down a piano player began to play tunes such as "Hotel California," "Yesterday," "Stairway to Heaven," and other Muzak-like tunes, which was quite annoying in a fine dining setting. We asked the maître d' if it was alright for the playing to be more muted, and that was accommodated. But goodness, it was such a relief when the piano stopped for a long break. The room setting was just "nice" but rather pedestrian, especially in comparison to the hotel itself, which may have one of the grandest interiors in all of Europe. One of our party preferred to have a cocktail and when saying he didn't want any wine to the staff at the table, was not offered a drink menu. When they returned, he asked for it, and they said they would bring it. Which they forgot. So, he had to ask yet again for the cocktail menu. That's a bit annoying in a 1-star restaurant. I had the wine pairing, but the rest of our party did not have wine or cocktails. I felt that at 150 Euro for four glasses of 6cl wine, and the three Italian wines presented, only one of which was vintage, this was significantly overpriced. The last of the four wines was a 10-year tawny port. I drink port regularly, and this was a label I wasn't familiar with, but a 10-year tawny is rather run-of-the-mill, and it was way, way overchilled, as port should be served at room temperature. Dessert, however, was scrumptious, as were the petit fours accompanying this last course. It is perhaps my bad habit that I don't check the bill in a Michelin starred restaurant as I respect they have calculated it properly. I photographed the bill as the other couple were going to pay us later for their share of their tasting menu. Upon returning home, in reviewing the bill, I discovered that the restaurant had charged us for two wine pairings at 150 Euro each. Mind you that I had a wine pairing, one of our party had a cocktail, and no one else had wine or liquor. Hence, I had to phone the hotel, who connected me three different times to voicemail for the restaurant, and upon making the fourth call to the hotel (the restaurant doesn't have a direct phone number), I was put in touch with the manager. He phoned me back to say he had "good news," in that they would credit back the overcharge. Hmmm. All-in-all, I cannot think of any other Michelin-starred restaurant that we wouldn't happily return to, except for...