Brasserie des Arts — Restaurant in Paris

This was the second time my group of friends ate at this restaurant. We came back because the first time we had a good experience. This time however we were very disappointed. Context: it was a rainy Sunday night and the restaurant was nearly empty, only 3 other tables were occupied. We ordered 4 starters to share and a main dish each. They brought only two of the starters because they forgot the rest. Only after we asked them they served it to us. In any case it took around 20 minutes to get the starters. While we were eating them we had to get the attention of the waiters twice to get bread and water because they had not seen that we needed more. After the starters (still it took 15 minutes) we received the first few dishes of tartare and the side of salads. At this point, 1 hour had passed since we ordered. After that apparently something had happened and the waiter dropped our food in the kitchen, but we got the rest of the food (3 other dishes and the sides of fries) only after 20 minutes. In the meantime, still we had no bread and water and we had to ask for it to the waiter who was basically avoiding eye contact with us. Once we got the food, it was good, especially the tartare and the fries. Unfortunately they only have 1 vegetarian option in the menu (not super great). While we were finally eating, we spotted a mouse running on the floor of the room. The waiter noticed our reaction and tried to do something/explain that it was because they are close to the street. But the mouse was still there when we left, we saw it two other times. When it was time to leave the waiter offered us as apology shots (not very classy) or coffee. We actually refused because the experience was too much at that point. To conclude, overpriced for the food we ate (yes we know it's Paris). Highlights: nice atmosphere in the restaurant and good starters. Unfortunately for the rest, service in particular and hygiene I would say,...

What an amazing place!!!! I simply can't say enough good things. I stumbled across this restaurant on my first night in Paris when wandering the 5th/6th. It is in the heart of the Latin Quarter (Note: It is NOT in the super touristy Rue de la Harpe/Rue de la Huchette area, where it seems everything is overpriced and not very good. It's not far from there - so, very near to St. Michael's Fountain, - but on a more quiet, adorable and charming street). After a full day of traversing the city, I wanted a cozy place with good food that would not feel too hard to naviatage as a tourist. And man did I find the perfect spot. Prices were reasonable, and the menu was a good mix of classic French fare and some other good selections. I got the French onion soup (it was only right my first day in the city, on a cold and rainy night, to go with a classic!) and the Chicken Kiev. Everything was DELICIOUS. Superb. But apart from the excellent food, the best part was the atmosphere and service. Service was super friendly and welcoming, very understanding of an American (albeit one who was trying her best to use her high school French) and wonderful in every way. The vibe inside is hip, but without feeling too trendy or unwelcoming. It is cozy-chic. I loved it. I will definitely go back and would recommend it for anyone.

Update: Above was from Dec 2023/Jan 2024. I'm back in Paris now in July 2025 and came here again. Google won't let me do a new review. So I'm adding... still top notch excellent. Superb and really friendly service. Delicious food. Lovely atmosphere. Will always come back here when in Paris! Highly...

Myself and my partner went to the brassiere des arts this evening, for a special birthday dinner.

Our first course of the onion soup was delicious and our server very attentive, our second course took some time to arrive but when it did it was initially delicious, until I found a large piece of plastic in the cordon bleu, which I had to spit out. I alerted our server immediately who was very apologetic.

The manager came over and offered a coffee, an apperitif or the same main again. I asked for a glass of wine of which she agreed and brought over after another 20 minutes. We were happy with this and obviously assumed the main containing plastic would be taken off the bill… but it wasn’t. The manager tried to argue that she gave me an option of the glass of wine or to take the food off, which she did not. I asked for the cordon bleu to be taken off and she took off 2€… we decided to not continue any disagreements and pay our bill and leave.

As we left, my partner mentioned about the stingy 2€ being removed from our bill, and she said “well it’s a set menu”. Considering we found a foreign object in the main, I think more than 2€ could have been taken off the bill. Such a shame that such a beautiful restaurant with such lovely wait staff has been let down by poor management. We will not...