Germaine — Restaurant in Paris

AVOID THIS RESTAURANT. Overpriced AND untrustworthy.

We stopped in just now to sit outside and get something to drink. I ordered a Crozes-Hermitage (the only one on their menu, an Etienne Pochon.) Apparently, since I can’t pronounce French very well (and ordered the “Crozes-Hermitage” instead of specifying the house — but the waitress DID see me point to the menu listing, as well), they assumed I am just some dumb tourist who doesn’t know anything about wine.

Unfortunately, they were wrong. They brought out a bottle of Crozes-Hermitage, but I could immediately tell it was cheaper than what I ordered on the menu. I checked the bottle and saw “La Muselle” and I said “What is this? I ordered the Etienne Pochon.” She said “But this is Crozes-Hermitage. It is the same. It’s okay?” as she had already started popping the cork.

No, no it’s not okay. That’s like serving somebody Sutter Home and saying it’s the same as, say, Mondavi, because they are both “Napa Valley wine”

Since she had already opened it by that point, I figured I would buck up and taste it rather than make assumptions — after all, sometimes (especially in Europe) wine can be good even if it is cheap... and even if it was NOT cheap on their menu (in fact, we had ordered the second most expensive wine on the list.) Well, this was not one of those times. As soon as I got a whiff of it, I knew it was cheap swill. When I tasted it, my suspicions were confirmed. I asked “Why can we not get the one I ordered?” She went away to see if we could, and came back to say we could not. We asked the price of this barely-drinkable one. It was still 40 euro.

Same price for a wine that retails for less than the wine we actually ordered? No, that’s not okay. Why were we being served a wine that wasn’t even listed on the menu?? (A wine that is described online as “one of the least expensive wines from Crozes-Hermitage”)

So, I sent the wine back and told her we would be getting nothing (this is the first time in my life I have ever sent back a bottle of wine.) Originally, we had debated on cocktails instead of wine, but after this, I had no desire to give them money at all for any of their (quite overpriced) menu listings.

Here’s a tip for this restaurant: just because people don’t speak French, don’t assume they don’t speak wine.

Here’s a tip for everybody else: AVOID this restaurant. Their prices are already way too high to begin with, but on top of that they...

I stopped by this café for a coffee while strolling through the neighborhood, intending to enjoy a quiet moment with my book. Since I had a lunch booking elsewhere, I only ordered a coffee, but I was planning to return for dinner later in the day as the menu looked reasonable and relatively tasty. Upon finishing, I approached the counter to pay, planning to use contactless payment via my phone - a clear indication of both my ability and intention to settle the bill. To my surprise, I was informed by the ever-so-charming, curly-headed waiter that card payments are only accepted for amounts over €10.

When I inquired about the nearest ATM, which was conveniently located across the street (in full view, might I add), I was asked to leave something as collateral before stepping out. This request struck me as absurd, especially given that the €10 minimum payment policy is hardly my responsibility, whatsoever. The situation escalated quickly, and I couldn't help but feel that I was being unfairly profiled due to my numerous tattoos—a striking irony, considering I’m a very successful tattoo artist and business owner whose ink and assests alone are worth more than this café’s annual revenue, and certainly a lot more than his own personal annual income.

It’s baffling that such a spectacle was made over a €5 coffee, but perhaps it’s just another example of the pretentiousness that some people seem to revel in around these parts.

I sincerely hope your attitude towards paying customers takes a drastic turn and you turn off that judgemental and pathetic mentality that you appear to wear so...

The food was fine. There's an alley way seating area that's shady, helpful when it's hot.

The service sucked though. The impatient waiter was RUDE. Had to flag or catch his attention for everything. He half listened to our order, of course then got it wrong, and then didn't want to listen and didn't care when I tried to ask about the order. Ended up charging us for a higher price item.

Service to our table was much, much slower and we were ignored largely. Even the water and place setting got to us very late. The waiter had chit chatted jovially with the other tables and gave them timely service. It seems there's 2 sides to this waiter. From my observation, if you're French or 2 young pretty girls, you'd be fine. Otherwise, be prepared to wonder why you're paying to have someone ignore you and talk...