46 & 3RD - Forty Six and Third — Restaurant in Paris

What a disappointment! Don't get fooled by the pretty appearance of the plates on Google Maps. The food is sub-par and overpriced for Paris. This spot trying to imitate US brunch does not know what they're doing. The Benedict I got was served with the lowest possible quality pre-packaged brioche bun (in the country of good bread !!) and with some industrial tasting avocado spread. When a place serves "avocado spread" instead of freshly sliced avocado, you know it's a sign the place is sub-par. The coffee was way more expensive than a coffee from a specialty coffee shop that serves a coffee a hundred times better for a portion of the price. You'll be better off at any typical Parisian terrasse as far as food quality goes. You can tell the ingredients used are low-quality, and the execution is equally as bad. It's that kind of place that makes me scared of improvising when looking for a spot to eat.

EDIT -- Hi Serra, I'm sorry if my bad impression of the quality of the ingredients was incorrect, but I stand my point as far as the taste and satisfaction of the food I was served. If your ingredients give the taste of bad quality industrial ones while they are not, then there's clearly a problem on the execution side of things. It takes to be a skilled Chef to pick the right ingredients and assemble them together with taste in a recipe that is going to give a satisfying final product, the flavors and textures should complement each other, and the way everything is cooked should be mastered by the cooks. I'm really sorry if that hurts to hear, but the food I was given felt like it was imagined and made by people who did not go to Cuisine school, it tasted like someone who doesn't know anything about cuisine created that dish and had it made by someone equally as unskilled. I wouldn't be surprised if this restaurant was created from scratch by people who were not in the milieu of Cuisine. I have no idea if it's the case but it's the way it feels. I wasn't looking for Haute Cuisine, just food that is better than I could make at home because elaborated and prepared by people who have learned skills that I don't have and that's why I pay them for this service. I pay their skills. Here I paid for something really sub-par. Also you might think it's edgy to put popcorn in a Benedict plate, but I find it just a cheap move and it doesn't go AT ALL with that kind of food. Try the same Benedict with sliced avocado instead of this spread, you can't possibly tell me it's not way better. Instead of putting popcorn in your plates, maybe focus on making the basic dish taste better, no need for frills if the basis is satisfying. I'm really sorry for this negative review but I was only a short time in Paris and wanting to really enjoy each and every meal in this renowned country and city, and I felt robbed of one of the little opportunities I had to do so. I wasn't gonna send everything back, it was edible so I ate the food and paid for it. But at the end I had no more appetite, I felt like I gave up one of my very few good meals I could have had during this short trip which cost me an arm and a leg in travel costs. All that for ending up eating that, I'm sorry it's infuriating. I looked through your reviews and a lot of people get fooled but it's definitely not the first time you get negative reviews on the taste of the food. You focus way too much on your plates being instagrammable and way too little on the actual taste of your food. I see you said that you held a team meeting as a response to one of the negative reviews you got, I advise you to hold another one about this core issue. Maybe you need to hire a better Chef who will rework your menu and the way to make the dishes and present them, I think you have potential but as is, it...

I have been here twice, as it is close to where I live and the name makes me a bit nostalgic as a former New York resident. The first time, I had their burger, which was decent. The atmiso here is fine and the location is prime.

The second time (this morning), I came in early because I know the place gets busy later and I had heard their breakfast food was good. There was one table there and it stayed that way my entire time there. The host made a big fuss around fitting me in around all their reservations. He wouldn’t let me sit at one table because he had a reservation coming in at 10:30. I left well after that and no one had come in. I am very understanding about having to accommodate reservations and am appreciative when restaurant staff fit me in around them but the way it happened in this instance (everything was about emphasizing their many, many reservations) made me feel unwelcome and rushed. Even for the table that I did get, I felt like a point was made to say that the reservation was coming in at noon, so it had to be free then (it was just after 10am...don’t worry, I will be gone well before noon). Again, it is not like I demanded a table in a crowded restaurant. The place was empty and stayed that way for the 40+ minutes I was there. It was also interesting to note that ordering and getting my coffee took longer than I would expect, considering that they were not busy and wanted to get me out before all of these reservations showed up.

On to the food. I had the protein plate. The scrambled eggs were dry and like mush, very obviously overcooked, with no seasoning. The avocado had no texture, which is a huge part of why I love avocado. The only plus side was the free refills on filtered coffee.

The worst part is that I shared the above feedback with the host/waiter when he asked me how my meal was and his response was to mumble “Ok” and walk away. Not another word was spoken. When he came around again, I told him that I did not appreciate this, and it would been nice to feel listened to and like they would take this into account in the future. His response: “Ok” and then after I clearly found this to be quite annoying: “I hear you.”

The only saving grace (and the reason I gave this review an extra star) is that I guess I worried the host/waiter after the second time and the owner came over. After I shared my feedback again, she was very sincere, apologized and made an effort to feel like I had been listened to. She offered me a free orange juice, which was a gesture I appreciated. I felt like I should still write this review because I did not have a positive experience overall, but I definitely want to highlight her efforts and mention that it...

I can't rate this restaurant more highly.

Service: 10/10 - Attentive, polite, bilingual, expedient. This is the way things should be done in an international city like Paris. Not too much "service" but enough to provide for your needs and wants.

Quality: 10/10 - I had the eggs benedict bacon and OMG am I glad that I did. It was obvious that the ingredients used were high quality, the presentation was immaculate, the portion size was just right but the taste was terrific!

Price: 10/10 - It's not cheap but not expensive either, the restaurant has got the balance just right in my opinion. It's very good value for money when you consider service and quality

Ambience: 10/10 - The style is a contemporary mix of "industrial chic" with a splash of 1920s art deco. The music played through high end wall speakers was loud enough to be heard but not so loud as to detract from easy conversation. The music itself when we visited was a mix of easy listening 70s to late 90s. It was busy when we arrived but we were shown to the bar stools until a table became free. It was fun being able to view the kitchen staff from the bar and the chef was very friendly to us as he created his art enthusiastically. It was Sunday morning so I was surprised at how busy it was until we finished our experience there, at which point it was obvious why it is so popular.

I would highly recommend booking a table here before you come to avoid disappointment, but the staff are very accommodating and will do their utmost to get you seated ASAP even if you haven't booked.

If I had to criticise anything at all then it would be the slightly longer wait time to pay the bill. I put that down to the popularity of the place to be honest but don't get the wrong idea, 5 minutes to wait for your bill in Paris is light speed (especially when they're also bagging up some of their carrot cake at the same time for your wife)

Overall: 10/10 - Highly recommended. I will be dreaming of the eggs bacon benedict for a while.

Sunday March 10th UPDATE:

We visited again for a family get together and I am very happy to say that the successful formula they have in this restaurant is still in use. All of my assessments still stand and this time I didn't even have to wait for the bill.

I also had the eggs bacon benedict again. It was absolutely divine! The pancakes were fluffy and tasty, and the fries were crunchy and yummy.

Thanks again for a...