À la Biche au Bois — Restaurant in Paris

Great food, but we felt snubbed by the service. We came here for dinner on a Saturday night. It was not terribly busy, but they were near capacity by the time dinner was in full swing. They offer a set menu, including entree, plat, fromages, dessert for ~33€, which is not a bad deal, so we decided to go for it. I'll start with what went well, and follow up with what didn't go so well.

We got a couple glasses of red wine, a Lorrain and Verre de vin to go along with a meal full of red meat.

Les Oeufs durs Mayonnaise (Eggs w/ Mayo): Ok! I was hoping for deviled eggs, but these are actually just hard-boiled eggs, sliced in half with some mayonnaise piped on top. The four egg halves sat on top of some lettuce and tomatoes. They tasted okay, but I would have preferred the egg yolks and mayonnaise mixture to be mixed together, you know, like an actual deviled egg. The eggs were also slightly overcooked. Also, the lettuce leaves could have been more fresh.

Coq au vin Excellent! Deliciously tender, juicy chicken in very generous portions with large chunks of potatoes. The leg meat was practically falling off the bone. The red wine broth was smooth and luxurious. When it arrived in what appeared to be a Dutch oven with a handle, I was surprised by just how large the portion was.

Le Filet de boeuf, frites Great! The thinly sliced filet was cooked to a very nice medium rare with some of the meat juices visibly oozing onto the plate, and drenched in a roux. It was accompanied by an entire plate of French fries.

Fromage Good! Our waiter presented a platter of cheeses for us to choose from. I thought I was to choose just one, but Mr. Joy asked for one of each, and they cut up large chunks of each type of cheese. I particularly enjoyed the aged cheddar and creamy brie.

As for dessert, we didn't get any, because they most likely forgot to serve us dessert. First of all, they stuck us in a table outside, which was fine, because it was a nice night out. However, our table was hidden behind a bush, so as the night wore on, it became very apparent that we were out of sight, out of their minds. That was probably why it took a while to receive each of our courses, ~30 minutes for each course. For the mains, I'm willing to forgive that, but after we finished those, it does not make sense to wait half an hour for someone to bring us cheese. After we finished the cheese, our waiter did not stop by our table for a long time. When he finally appeared, it was clear that they forgot about our dessert, which is supposed to be part of the prix fixe menu. Instead of giving us dessert options, he asked us if we were still interested in dessert, which I thought was a strange question, considering it was supposed to be part of our meal. By then we had waited so long, we decided we didn't wait to wait another half an hour to receive our dessert. We asked for the check, but once again, he disappeared from our table. I definitely felt ignored. When patrons say no to dessert, that should be a clear sign that they are ready for the check and ready to leave. Finally, Mr. Joy went to pay at the counter. We found that they still charged us the full price of the set menu, even though we didn't get any dessert. By then we were just ready to get out of there and move on...

A la Biche au Bois near Bastille is a down-to-earth restaurant that I think does really tasty and authentic French food at a fair price. I would definitely go there again.

After arriving in Paris and walking along Promenade Plantée, I decided to go somewhere in the evening not too far from where I stayed. I ended up at A la Biche au Bois in the 12th arrondissement.

I started my dinner with a special of the day, mixed pâté of pork and rabbit. It was an interesting combination and I did enjoy it together with the nice bread they served with it. I even gave in when the waiter suggested an aperitif - it was my first evening in Paris after all. The drink was based on red wine, mixed with black currant juice and plum schnaps - a pretty boozy way to start dinner.

I ordered a white wine as a light option following the strong aperitif. It was not as dry as I would have liked, but it was alright.

I wanted to eat a traditional main and went for the coq au vin. It was a rather big portion with a very tasty, rich sauce and tender chicken pieces. The boiled potatoes were surprisingly soft, they were almost melting in the mouth - delicious. I must admit that the pot was a bit too much for me, but I tried my best, while unfortunately spilling some sauce on my shirt...

And because I was in France, I could not leave the restaurant without tasting their cheeses. The friendly waiter explained the options they had, and I quite enjoyed the little selection.

Towards the end, service became a little bit slow, but overall I did like the atmosphere and the staff. There was one very young waiter, one older one who was never quite happy with whatever the younger did and a lovely, funny waitress. They were all pretty different and having them all around and watch them working guaranteed an entertaining dinner.

Really, A la Biche au Bois is a great, rustic restaurant that will fill you up with tasty food, while not being...

A small restaurant close to Gare du Lyon that only opens for lunch (12-14) and from 19.00 in the evening. The chef serves traditional French cuisine at a very high level and the whole experience is marvellous. You will get antique cutlery, napkins made of cotton and cloth and a unique wine selection. The service is excellent. Friendly and very helpful when it comes to choosing from the menu. I had the traditional Ecargots, cooked in a self-made herb butter. It was very delicious. For the main course, I selected the sea bream filets (Dorade) from the daily menu. Cooked to perfection in a light sauce made from olive oil and plenty of different herbs. The filet was buttery soft and a had a great taste. The only thing I missed was maybe a hint of lemon and a tiny bit more salt, but with some salt from the salt shaker, the fish was perfect for my taste. The side dish was mashed potatoes and, honestly, it was the best mashed potatoes I ever had. Buttery, milky with a hint of garlic and some herbs. They serve fresh bread (Baguette) which was also very delicious. The only minor downside: it is a bit loud, when you sit outside because the restaurant is located on Rue de Lyon, but that did not bother me. The inside is beautiful and typical French. If you are close to Gare du Lyon and want to have an excellent traditional French dinner experience, this is a superb choice. Reservations are strongly...