Biche — Restaurant in Paris

During a romantic escapade in Paris after 14years of mariage, husband and i chose to officially celebrate at Biche.

We had an incredible dining experience at this Restaurant! Not to lie, 1or 2 more waiters wld helped greatly the service as we could tell ours , Elliot ,was very busy "flying" from 1 table/order to another but nethertheless we appreciated that he always took the time to stop regularly asking if everything was fine and making us feel he wasnt at all veryy veryyy busy which we obviously knew he was.

He was attentive, very nice, helpful abt the menu/ wine selection and efficient.

This definitely made a HUGE difference in the experience and even made us want to come back ( which we did but were disappointed the 2nd time with another waitress/and quite unpleasant moments)

The food , the Cote de Boeuf was delicious, beautifully presented, and full of flavor. The ambiance created a perfect setting for a charming meal. Price isnt on the cheapest side but when everything is just so delicious , u dont mind paying for the quality .

Again, I truly appreciate the attention Elliot put into the service, which made this dinner a very special one for us. One to remember, memories made !

ON THE OTHER SIDE , we came back 3 days later FOR LUNCH , despite reservation ... we were finally approached and seated 35 mins later after reaching (and people during this time had finished their food and left but yet we were still waiting ), another 10 mins after a lady finally came to our table. We asked for the cordon bleu, not available. we asked for the Cote de Boeuf, Nope, not available..., well we came for that and if were made aware during all that waiting , we wld have left but here we were.

We finally took whatever was proposed instead ... Food was.... ''ok'' BUT though the lady was ''nice'' (she spoke nicely to us when took orders ) she was always on a rush, though some customers already left, she was more busy cleaning the other tables and not really available for the ones still there , seated late. After the mains we were trying to catch her eye, or raise a hand to catch her attention to be able to order dessert and coffee... (she was then chatting with a colleague , nope it wasnt about work )when we finally did ... dessert we asked for was of course NOT available , Cafe Gourmand ...

So we again took whatever was proposed ... was ...MEH ... the creme brulee sugar coating was done in a rush obviously as it was burnt , I have a picture... Well they forgot the coffee, the lady was then cleaning another table so she yelled at her colleague to let him know , abdul? i think the name was, and this guy is just here to put the plates on the tables as quickly as possible, no eye contact , no smile, not a word... he isnt unpleasant or rude BUT just not here for other reasons ...

The ''fast food service'' and having so many of their best sellers not available without informing people in the queue, spoilt everything ... i dont know if we were just lucky with Elliot 3 days before when we came for dinner... he made the experience warm and worth waiting . Even if the plates did took some times to arrive , we didnt felt it. thats how precious customer service is.

So may be go for dinner instead of lunch, or may be its like the Jackpot , depending on your chance to have a good waiter or not .... 1st experience we gave 5 stars ... but google dont allow a 2nd seperate review so here i am modifying the 1st review to add this 2nd experience review and the lunch would...

TLDR: The ambiance was good and, while our main sever was pleasant, the food was only fine, the cocktails were poor, and, in response to several mistakes that the restaurant made, the service was not up to standard.

For what the restaurant did well during our visit, the ambiance was lovely, and one of our servers was friendly, as was the sommelier. The chef in charge of the sauces is also very talented, as the sauces were the highlight of each plate; however, the main proteins were underseasoned and the chicken was dry. Not a huge shame, but the main issue we had was in hospitality. We ordered a few cocktails that were weak and watery, but especially the pisco sour, which tasted nothing like a pisco sour. It was immediately apparent to us that the bartender had forgotten to add the simple syrup, which we pointed out to the staff. The sommelier came and tasted the cocktail, made a face, and concurred that it was incorrect. Again, no big deal, we thought it would just get remade correctly. Instead, the server came by with a jar of simple syrup and the original cocktail and said we could season it to taste. There are several issues with this, not least that the sommelier had drank from this glass already. Moreover, the issue was not a matter of personal taste but an improper initial mix. It's also a shaken cocktail, so stirring in simple syrup after the fact is not a solution for a 14euro cocktail. We sent the cocktail back after explaining this, to which the maitre d came to our table and was largely unfriendly and dismissive when we tried to explain why we had rejected the cocktail. We explained that the sommelier had concurred that the drink was wrong, but he was uninterested in being sympathetic or aplogetic. He did offer to replace the cocktail, but the drink we asked for from him never arrived, so this amounted to only a performative gesture. We didn't complain again, in part because our wine had already arrived with the rest of our food and because we were tired of arguing with the staff about their mistakes. At the end of the meal, the pisco sour which we had returned (not drank) was on the bill... the bill was already a few hundred euros, so we just paid and left despite this further error. There are other small details to note - including a fly (or some other black mass) in the rum glass we ordered (which was replaced as requested), and receiving fries despite ordering salad (they got the salad for us after pointing this out) - but in summation this was not a hospitable experience. It felt like we were labeled as difficult tourists and treated as such despite there being genuine issues with what and how we were served. We have no issues with mistakes being made, and believe that a restaurant should be informed so that they have the opportunity to correct them. In response, this restaurant refused to take accountability or appropriately correct their mistakes, took attitude with us when we were polite about pointing them out (mainly the maitre d), and apperantly value the few dollars of liquor in a pisco sour over the experience of their guests. I hope the owner receives this feedback well, as I wish this restaurant the best in its great location, but the simple things must be...

Thursday, 18 July 2025 at 18h00

Entrée: 6 Escargots de Bourgogne en persillade / 18 € Plat: Chateaubriand de bœuf, flambé au poivre, Pommes pailles / 32 € Dessert: Tarte Tatin / 14 € Vin: Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil AOC / 8 €

Food: 5/5 Excellent. I have lived and worked in Paris for almost 3 years, and I have dined at countless restaurants where I consistently order escargots and different steak varieties. These escargots are probably the best that I have ever tasted. There was a fine balance between the oil and the persil. For my steak, I asked for sanglant (bloody) and it was perfectly cooked. It had a seared crust that encapsulated all the beautiful juices. The body was smooth and tender. It was the most beautiful steak outside of Le Guide MICHELIN. The Tarte Tatin had a crust slightly overcooked for my preference. I like it flakier, but I was still overall impressed to have Tarte Tatin as a dessert option as it is rarely found outside of homemade birthday parties. Crème brûlée is commonplace, but Tarte Tatin is something to be seized!

Service: 5/5 Excellent. My waitress finely balanced between American attentiveness and French independence. She assumptively refilled our water carafe, asked us once during the meal if everything was fine, and she frequently had a genuine smile. Also, expect 2 hours to have a nice, leisurely and enjoyable French dinner.

Ambience: 5/5 Excellent. The wall décor was cute 1950s prints, shelves of old crockery, and filled bottles of wine. The tables had white cloth covers. The dishes were blue-and-white floral Churchill china. The salt and pepper grinders were Peugeot. I enjoyed the traditional touches and nostalgic flair.

Cleanliness: 4/5 Very Good. Perhaps I am a little critical when I noticed hard water stains on the carafes left from the automatic dishwasher. Technically this is more about presentation and aesthetics, but it is the little details that add or detract. However, I cannot fault the restaurant's cleanliness. It was spotless even the basement toilets were clean and presentable.

Value: 4/5 Very Good. 72 € for my entrée, plat, dessert, and wine. It was not a cheap meal but it was not a cheap taste or experience. I would have given 5/5 Excellent if the pricing on the escargot and/or Tarte Tatin were a touch lower making my total around 60 €. Or perhaps, I skip the wine to be at 64 € ? However, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I would not penny pinch to return here again.

Overall: 4.6 / 5 Excellent. I cannot fault the food, service and ambiance and ultimately that is the gold trinity of a restaurant experience. I am going to recommend this restaurant to my friends, family,...