Jòia par Hélène Darroze — Restaurant in Paris

Note: the restaurant replied saying that it was agreed with the table but this is not true. The two men were served and women were refused. When this type of analysis happens you stop serving everyone not just women. I happened to be the only one at the table whi barely drank as I breastfeed.

Original comment:

I usually don’t take my time to write a long review about a restaurant but I would like to highlight the good things I experienced but especially a shocking instance in your restaurant.

We paid for over 470 euros (4 people) and we asked for a complementary drink. We were told that only the men were able to receive it but NOT the WOMEN.

I was extremely offended by one of the servers who said that “we” two women did not have the “right” to a complementary “aperitif”.

The server (Diana) tried to explain herself but the reality was that our husband and boyfriend had the “right” but we didn’t.

I do not like this type of drink nor my friend but the fact to tell us that we have no right is a direct insult to our faces.

Even if I did like it, I do not drink a lot as I breastfeed, therefore, I make very few exceptions.

This whole experience makes me question the type of service that we receive from a restaurant owned by a world class female chef ….

They have books empowering women but then we are told certain things that make us extremely uncomfortable

All of this to say that food experience represented 5% of the overall review.

This needs to be fixed. This type of service is unacceptable. Women need to...

Could have been better. Food with very good quality product and the usual "gourmand" touch of H Darozze...nothing to say on that side. A bit pricey...but seems to be a Paris trend also. Although to be aware the plates are quite decently sized....so don't go for the starter, main and dessert....you'll die. So when you know that....it's not too bad. The waiter should help you on that, or the menu should maybe explain that, would be easier. Very London style in fact, they're pushing you to grab a side with the courses? why? not necessary at all. You'll be full in two minutes. Beware the insanely outreageous expensive list of wines....they jump 10 eur start at low 27, then 45+, then 55....then ...etc. For a place with no pretention to be clearly starred, you would have hoped a bit more little producer wines, decently priced. Cocktails are 15 too, no way. So when you move around finding the best wine deal and share plates...you'll be on the OK-ish. It's clearly tourist oriented (the Hoxton hotel is 20 meters away). One very bad mark, but very bad.....had to wash my cardigan straight after leaving the place. the isolation of smell is so bad that you're smell like a "short rib"....that needs to be seriously give some thought....no way you can go out to Hotel Costes straight after...as this seems to be the direction of the place. A mix feeling here....bistronomie food made for trendy tourist? not sure...better to stick on one side, or the other, but...

Honestly… the google reviews speak the truth here. My experience was mixed. Of a table of 6 people, we managed to try much of the menu. The seafood elements, these were good, the saving grace to this review. The scallops were fresh, sweet and the sauce and garnish was perfectly balanced. My friends tuna dish, though an odd concept bringing an Armagnac pepper sauce on the plate, frankly worked and was pleasant. But the downfall, their “signature” dishes. The chicken was horridly over cooked. The flesh of the chicken was fiberous like an old piece of wood left out in the sun for too long. The sauce it came with, had no chance to save it. And the rib(s), though very generous, had a stale lifelessness about it, as if it had been cooked at the beginning of the week, and revived at the end of the week. It could have been such a winning dish! but it was just disappointing. Call me out if you wish, but ribs are suppose to be succulent, juicy, fall-off-the-bone delicacy. It was none of this. The fat wasn’t melting, the meat was tougher than my mothers disappointing stare, and the poor portion of sauce it was accompanied by, evolved to a sub average experience. Dessert was alright, and creative. But not enough to save the lack lustre dinner. Wine list could be more evolved, though at least did have a few interesting wines to offer. Sadly, for the hype, even if it’s not the Michelin star venue of hers, was...