Chez Fernand Christine — Restaurant in Paris

I found this place when I was studying abroad in Paris almost 13 years ago. I like to think of it as a hidden gem but I think the secret has been out for awhile now. However i think that is part of what makes Chez Fernand so special- while walking down Rue Christine- beautiful and charming street- away from the hustle and bustle of the 6th-you feel as though you just happens upon this quintessential French restaurant and when you walk in- you are greeted by the friendly servers, who bring you to your white and red table clothed table- tucking you into your chairs and presenting you the menu on a chalk board (note don’t worry they have regular menu too.) The inside is rustic and reminds me of a wine cellar and/or castle. I have been 3 times since throughout the past 10 years on my visits back. I will also say I have recommended this place to any of my friends or family members visiting Paris and everyone always says it was one of the best meals and also favorite experiences. Chez Fernand to me is quintessential French food and ambiance- I always get their famous boeuf bourguignon- absolutely amazing! They serve it to you directly from the pot, hot and melts in your mouth. Escargot are also amazing. Wine list is 50+ pages long! Desserts are also incredible. I have always had incredible service and been welcomed with open arms. I also like the fact that tourists know about it but locals also frequent the restaurant as well! It’s also in a super convenient location near St Michel and a super cute quiet street off to the side of the hustle and bustle of St Michel. Lastly, I just celebrated my 34 birthday there in April and there was a man celebrating his 96th birthday 2 tables down! It was a jovial evening and then all 4 tables in our section were laughing and drinking wine - I just want to say thank you to the staff and thank you bringing out a massive rum...

A decidedly UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE. We were a party of four (two couples). We ordered a bottle of wine and four entrees (appetizers) and two dinners, (duck and pork) which each couple asked to share. The waitress took our order and returned a few minutes later and said they wouldn’t allow us to share unless we ordered three dinners. We asked if we could just order two more appetizers. She called over the maitre’d. We repeated our request to him and he said, “Yes”. We ordered two more appetizers, now a total of six. Five of the appetizers came. The fifth, a salad, didn’t arrive, but we hadn’t noticed at the time. We waited an appropriate amount of time and the first dinner came out split onto two plates. We began eating. It was the duck and nicely done and flavorful. When the next dinner didn’t arrived, we asked the waitress where it was. She said we had just eaten it. That we had two orders of duck. We pointed out that we had ordered duck and pork and thought what we had eaten was the duck dinner split. She brought the maitre’d back. We went over the problem and he said no problem he would take one ducks off the bill and bring out the pork. It came and was delicious. We then ordered desserts, finished them and asked for the check. It arrived and the second duck was on it. Now this is an approximately US $375.00 dinner check. We pointed out to the waitress that the second duck was still on the menu. Once again she summoned the maitre’d. He returned and then denied that he had said he would take it off the bill, even though all four of us heard him, as did the couple sitting next to us. It was an unpleasant confrontation, but we were adamant about what he had said. He ultimately relented. We paid and left with a bad taste in our mouths even though the...

If you are thinking of going back to this restaurant because you were there before, look elsewhere! It was a big disappointment with how they treated the customers now. We enjoyed the food and services so much last year we visited Paris. We were craving for duck confit, and it was not on the menu, but the chef offered to serve that to us. It was cooked perfectly and tasted great. So it became a must for us when we were in town.

This time, we msg the restaurant before making the reservation to confirm if they have the duck confit on the menu. They confirmed that the chef could do that, so we went ahead with the booking. It was to our surprise to find out that there were no notes or remarks about this special request. The manager told us that he didn't know who replied to us and it could be another restaurant with a similar name when we showed him the msg conversation. He tried to argue in an arrogant manner, and no apologies were made. That really ruined our experience there. The food was still good. Another issue was paying the bill. Our bill was 71.50 euro and we gave 100. It took them more than 10 mins to get the change and had to ask twice about it. It came back with 10 euro short. We thought it might be by mistake, but we have second thought after our experience and seeing other's comment about how they are now treating the tourists. It's a pity that this turned out to be our last time going to...