Au Clairon des Chasseurs — Restaurant in Paris

We had 14 great meals and dining experiences while in France. However, Au Clairon des Chasseurs was the exception as this restaurant was a terrible and abysmal experience on several levels, the food, the “service” and management’s response. Not only was my Beef Bourguignon fatty and inedible, the service and subsequent non-response from the manager was unprofessional and unresponsive.

After being seated for only a few minutes, our waiter came over and asked for our orders but was taken aback when we said we just sat down and would need more time to review the menu and make our selections. He returned sometime later and was slightly standoffish and with a snarky tone in his voice asked if we were ready to order now. We ordered our drinks and meals.

After receiving our food, I quickly discovered that my Boeuf à la Bourguignon was strewn with a lot of fatty, hard to cut and very tough meat. Beef Bourguignon’s meat should be tender and easily able to cut, or even pulled apart with just a fork, and practically melt in your mouth. The waiter never returned to the table to ask about our meals, and we never saw him again until he came to clear the dishes. I figured that when he came over to clear the table, he would certainly ask why my meal was essentially untouched. However, he did not, and he grabbed the plates quickly and turned away. Any good waiter would certainly ask why your meal was essentially untouched.

When we left, the maître d asked how the meal was. We said it was awful and mine was inedible and the “service” was even worse. We explained what happened. She excused herself to get the manager, who did not speak English. She explained to him what we said, or so we think she did. She said that we should have told the waiter about the issue and would have brought me another one. I said the waiter never returned and was out of sight for the entire meal. I mentioned that it was odd that when he came to clear the table he did not say anything about my nearly full plate of food. Of course, by that time, my wife had finished her meal so bringing me another one would be essentially useless and odd.

In response to some of the less than glowing reviews below, the restaurant's response is: “We're sorry to hear your experience didn't meet your expectations. We understand your frustration and apologize for the misunderstandings. This does not reflect our standards of hospitality and transparency. We will take steps internally to ensure this type of situation does not happen again.”

If this statement was truly the case, the manager would have offered to refund me my money or asked us to return to try to make amends. He did neither, instead, while still speaking with the maître d and the manager, the manager walked away.

While this restaurant has a great location and perhaps at one point was a very good restaurant, it is not now, and I implore anyone reading this review to stay clear and eat somewhere else.

UPDATE:

The purpose of reviews is to inform the public about experiences (or products) so that they have information to make an informed decision on where to eat, products to purchase, stores to shop at, etc. Yes, we discussed it, but as I clearly stated, management does not truly care about their customers’ experience (unless it is a good review). Your defensive response to poor reviews speaks volumes about you. So, from your perspective, the fact that my wife was okay (never said enjoyed) with her meal makes it okay that my meal was inedible and both the waiter and you did nothing about it. So readers beware, he strives to only have 50% of the meals be okay. Now you attack my accurate and truthful review and information. Had just the meal been bad, I would not have posted anything, but your non-response and your waiter's and your attitude was unacceptable and unprofessional. Your written response only helps to reinforce the points that I made in my review and is a reflection on you and your establishment, not on me. But shame on me for not first looking at reviews and seeing...

So, let me start off with, "NO! I'm not a plant review" Go ahead and Google my name as you will find I live in the USA, I've been to Paris a number of times (3) but have only been to this place once. Also, my wife and I have eaten at a number of places in Paris (mostly in Montmartre) but we have not been to the same place twice in the 3 times we've been to Paris (again, Montmartre mostly). . . but this ends now. Because we will definitely go to Clarion again when we come back. The reason why we haven't done the same place twice (again, especially in Montmartre) is that THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT PLACES TO EAT IN PARIS! (Deep Breathe Pause) But I digress . . . Now, let's start with the review with Clarion. First, though, I don't get why this place got bad reviews. I have a theory. Let's start with I bet most of the 1-Star Ratings are from Americans and I really mean, "Typical Americans" who have never been to France before. These are probably the same people whose first words out of their mouth is "Do you speak English?" SWING AND A MISS!! The only place(s) you're gonna be able to start with those very "offensive" words and get decent service is McDonalds on the Champs Elyssess (two blocks down from Arc De Triomphe) or very expensive tourist trap restaurants near the Eiffel Tower and/or Jardin des Tulieries. Seriously. If you're gonna venture out to places that are not tourist traps, please, please, s'il te plait! Use Google Translate to at least learn the following, "Je se deslole" Pronounced: Jay-duu Day-suu-lay, . Say it with confidence, "Je suis désolé mais mon français est nul." Or Jay-duu Day-suu-lay mai mon fran-say est null . . . meaning, I'm sorry but my French sucks. Learn little phrases that we normally say in the USA, like "Two Chocolate Crossaints" or "Deux (Dew) Crossaints (Kraw-sawunts) au (OW!) Chocolat (Choc-co-laaat). Or whatever else we say when we are just shopping. (2nd Deep Breath) Again, I try to digress. (End Scene posture) Sigh. Now, let's talk about Clarion. This place is great. The ambiance as with all places in Montmartre has that "Midnight in Paris" feel. It's so chic. It's so warm. It's so inspirational to help you think of anything art. The service was fine IMO. I believe the reason why this place got a lot of bad reviews of the service was because they were probably wondering why IT TOOK FOREVER TO GET MY ORDER IN! is because in France, they don't rush you to anything. You savor everything, from when your first glass of beverage to when dessert is served. You won't be rushed like pretty much all the Chevy's, Hooter's, Chili's and Applebee's in the USA. The French want you to enjoy the hard work they put in cooking their food. And that's what Clarion wants you to enjoy. From the Escargot (Yes, I gave it a chance and if you like Garlic and Olive Oil, you love this stuff) to the Ribeye. It was Mag-Ni-Feek!" The large glass of their French Beer is something ALL WARM BLOODED AMERICANS WILL LOVE! Alex, our server, was awesome! What I have learned about the French is that if you make the effort by pulling out the Google Translate page and at least type what you want to say and make the effort to try and say it (instead of just showing them the pix), they'll give you the respect for at least trying. Eventually, they will give you a break by just looking at what your typing and then answer your question. The place really deserves better ratings and I heavily recommend if you're in the Montmartre "arrondosment" of Paris, you need to go to this place. And if you are in a rush then learn, "Pouvez-vous s'il vous plaît précipiter ma commande car nous devons être quelque part. . ." Or savor the flavor and the art that is Paris . . .and...

For context: we are a very nice American couple with lots of tattoos. We walked up and there were at least 6 empty tables outside, lots of space inside too. They told my partner and I we could only sit at a table where half of our butts were each sitting on a half a seat. I requested to sit next to my partner and they refused and said it was not possible. EVERYONE else was sitting next to their partners, with plenty of space, at the exact tables. The hostess and the server were both incredibly dismissing and rude, we even smiled and apologized for asking for an actual table with actual seats (which there were plenty of) and they glared at us and refused. About 2 minutes after we sat, they sat another couple next to us (at a decent table, with actual seats) and they sat next to each other. I can’t help but mention all the couples around us were being smiled at, talked to cheerfully, and all had tables where they were sitting next to each other. We were the only heavily tattooed Americans I could tell were there. The server gave us our $16 each wines, and refused to look at us or even help us. We decided we didn’t like being treated so poorly (everyone in France up until this experience has been lovely) so we asked to pay the bill as we wanted to eat somewhere we felt welcome. We just got engaged the night before. The waitress who initially glared at us, refused to speak to us even when we spoke to her, and refused to even make eye contact with us to help us or let us order, had the nerve to REQUEST A TIP FROM US. I told her absolutely not. We paid $50 for 2 bottles of water and 2 glasses of wine. Don’t be fooled by the very nice band playing and location. The service was terrible, and not only absent but actually offensive and mean. We walked 50 feet to another restaurant where we were treated SO NICE and were made to feel welcome. That restaurant had a band too, lovely staff, just as busy. We spent 3+ hours there and spent over 350 euro. It is rare I am treated as less than because of tattoos, but this was definitely a factor as all of the staff at Au Clairon were literally sneering at us. Avoid this place at all costs unless you want to get ripped off, over charged, judged, and intentionally ignored. The bad reviews of this place are all accurate. What a joke of a restaurant this place is. ...