Café des Arts — Restaurant in Paris

If I could give zero stars, I would. Honestly, I'd settle for setting fire to the stars and starting over.

After two weeks eating my way through Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and France, I arrived in Paris and spent a week exploring cafés, bistros, and charming hole-in-the-wall spots. Every place I ate in Paris was friendly, warm, and absolutely delightful.

Except this one.

This place wasn’t just bad. It was memorably, almost artistically terrible. The kind of meal and service that doesn’t just disappoint, it lingers in your soul like a PTSD flashback.

The only thing genuinely French about this establishment is its postcode. It waves a few tricolour flags like a warning sign, but what it actually serves is the spiritual cousin of an airport burger kiosk. The menu seems to have been assembled by someone who once saw a photo of French food on the back of a cereal box.

Service? What's that? After being handed menus, we disappeared into a service vacuum so complete I began to wonder if we’d accidentally left the place without moving. No check-in, no drink offer, no eye contact. Our waiter spent most of the time we were there turned away from us, gazing into the distance, occasionally harvesting from his nasal cavity or chewing his fingernails with a focus usually reserved for bomb defusal.

Looking for the bill, we flagged down another staff member resulted in a grunt and a vague finger point. When our assigned waiter finally re-engaged and decided to collect payment, it was to ask if we’d be tipping 10% or 20%. I said neither. He asked why. I told him I only tip for good service. This somehow triggered a full meltdown. He became loud, rude, confrontational, and walking away and then returning with a tip jar he banged down onto the table in front of us, demanding a tip. The name Cafe des Arts must refer to their use in standover tactics, and demanding to know why we wouldn’t essentially reward the pleasure of being ignored and then insulted.

At this point I briefly considered walking out without paying and accepting a brief stint in a Parisian jail. It felt like the more civilised option.

I’d been warned about scams in Paris, but they usually involve pickpockets. I didn’t expect to find one dressed as a waiter with a card machine.

In short: every other meal I had in Paris was a joy. This one was a hostage situation with fries. Avoid it like a wet...

We had a very disappointing experience. While we were still deciding whether to enter the restaurant, a staff member approached us with a menu and asked us to be seated. We told him clearly that we only wanted something cold to drink, not lunch. Despite that, we felt pressured.

After ordering one cup of ice cream, we decided to get three more. While my child sat outside eating, a staff member came and abruptly moved the table where my 4-year-old was sitting, effectively pushing us out. This felt extremely rude and unprofessional.

We had paid for our order and expected to be treated with basic respect as customers. The staff’s behavior made us feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. This kind of treatment is unacceptable, especially in a place that serves tourists from all over the world.

I hope the management takes this feedback seriously and improves their customer service. We left feeling disappointed and...

A real shame the Wait Staff just now (2 men) were fighting over tables to serve.

The man outside the the glasses is rude, bossy and obnoxious. We were clearly heading inside to get away from the hustle and bustle and smokers of Paris. AND he was making the man's life inside a misery, really rough and ready and picking on him.

Server from outside was so rude, he also got our order wrong. Coke without ice...... came with ice. Wouldn't dare correct him and wear his wrath! If he put his phone away for 2 seconds and concentrate on his own area.....

Another family came in and we watched the whole procedure with the bickering again. The man from outside up to his usual tricks, trying to get the family to sit in his area when they clearly wanted to sit inside.

Management, sort this out! Not a nice customer...