Café Jeannette — Restaurant in Paris

I gave two stars based on the coffee being okay and my personal experience here. I wandered past this cafe on the first day of my recent holiday, (I’ve been to Paris many times but have never stayed in this area) and thought it looked like a beautiful spot for breakfast. The next morning I was delighted to see the sun was shining and I was super excited to start my day with breakfast in the lovely front courtyard at cafe Jeannette. When I arrived, I approached the counter and, in my terrible French, I said hello, table for one please. The person at the counter noticed i didn’t speak French and kindly asked if I wanted food or coffee, I smiled gratefully and I apologised in French and responded with, both please. I was told to get a seat anywhere and they would come over.

I found a table directly in the sun and was feeling optimistic about my decision to come to this particular cafe. Unfortunately the remainder of my experience didn’t live up to this ideal. I waited patiently as the wait staff continued to walk around and chat to each other, looking at me whilst completely ignoring me. After 20 minutes someone came over and asked what I wanted, in French I asked for a black coffee and asked for the food menu ( I repeated in English incase I butchered the language). The waitress said yes and then told me to move to a smaller table if I was by myself and pointed to a table in the shade. I was sad to move but understood them wanting a bigger table for a group, although there was only 4 other tables of guests in the whole courtyard. After another 15 minutes someone dropped my coffee off and raced away before I could ask for the menu again.

I drank my coffee and waited 10 more minutes then finally gave up. The staff continued to avoid me and gave me looks as if I didn’t deserve to be there. I was so disappointed but decided I would grab a croissant from somewhere nearby for breakfast instead, I paid for my coffee and left as quickly as I could.

Totally acknowledging that my French is terrible, I still always try my hardest to give it a go and be as polite as I can. It’s common knowledge that many French people don’t like speaking English, but I have been to Paris 7 times, I’ve dined in multiple restaurants but have never been treated this way. As a hospitality worker myself I understand the importance of welcoming all customers from every walk of life, especially after three years of the world...

I really thought I'd stumbled across a gem when I found Café Jeanette. It's a quaint, old-fashioned place with a "been there for years" feel to it. Nestled beneath the Hotel Miramar opposite Gare Montparnasse, below street level, the decor is simple but elegant, and the service is friendly & competent. Sadly, however, on our visit it was badly let down by the mediocre quality of the food. We ordered the chicken (extremely dry & leathery, to the point where I think many diners would have complained, but I was hungry & not in the mood for a confrontation so I just chewed my way through it), and the steak (also overcooked & leathery, my wife asked for medium-rare, what arrived on the plate was like an old boot), vegetarian lasagne (not terrible, but nothing special), and the buckwheat risotto (bland, lukewarm). It's pretty unusual for four out of four meals to be sub-par, particularly in a place with so many five-star reviews, but that was what we got. I felt bad for the front of house staff, because they seemed lovely, and I felt like whoever was in the kitchen on our visit was letting the side down. It's such a shame because this place has so much potential to be wonderful, and if the other reviews are anything to go by, maybe it usually is wonderful, and we just...

If you are looking for a little haven of calm with delicious food in the busy Gare Montparnasse area look no further. Café Jeanette is slightly below the pavement level, with plenty of outside seating and a copious amount of green plants, which creates an atmosphere of seclusion and comfort. I recommend the Café for the wonderful breakfast, primarily for the quality of the food and also for the lovely environment, which makes you feel as if you are seated halfway between your grandma’s kitchen and a cosy village Café in the French countryside. The pain au chocolat was light as a cloud with just the right amount of semi-sweet dark chocolate filling, the café crème wonderfully milky and the omelette a perfect balance between firm and gooey, accompanied by baguette, with a crust fresh out of the oven. The parties and bread all seem to be homemade, as we saw a staff-member carry out a tray of freshly baked croissants & pains au chocolat from the kitchen. We were travelling with a 4-year old and were made to feel very welcome, by the friendly and smiley staff. We will definitely be back the next time we...