Léon — Restaurant in Paris

My husband (who is French) wanted us to eat here to take a break from shopping. I was waiting in the outdoor seating area. My husband went in to use the facilities and then planned to get a table. The manager/waiter (name starts with A) approached my husband and he confirmed this and let him use the facilities. Whiles waiting, I looked at the menu and did not want anything also the smell of the restaurant put me off so I decided against it. When my husband finished, he came outside and I told him I did not want dine here anymore. We were about to leave and the manager/waiter came out demanding that we go and sit in the restaurant or pay 1 euro. The demeanour of the waiter was shocking so my husband thought he was joking. He told my husband he was not joking and that he better come inside and sit down or pay 1 euro for using the toilet. This waiter started shouting… we were very very shocked. My husband said well we have 50 euros and the waiter said “well then come in and pay by card.. are you not ashamed of yourself for coming to use the toilet and not order food” this shocked us even further and my husband decided not to pay as we realised this man was trying to start a big fight for no reason. Such an awful encounter here and only can assume it was because we are both black. He spoke to us angrily, rudely and tried to embarrass. Shocking!

The unfortunate thing was my husband really wanted to eat here but I did not. He even planned to come back another time. The waiter did not even give my husband a chance to explain but came out angrily like we had stolen something.

We will never eat here. If you are black, stay away! Horrible manager/waiter here. They will try and embarrass you...

A Disappointing Experience That Matches the Worst Reviews: I visited this restaurant and unfortunately, I had the same negative experience that many others have described here. As soon as I stepped in to ask for a table, the staff greeted me with an unfriendly attitude. Despite the place being completely empty, I was told to wait outside because, according to them, “your friend already came in and asked”—and I was rudely ushered out. The second staff member I encountered wasn’t any better. With the same cold and dismissive tone, they pointed toward the door and treated us like a group of beggars who didn’t belong there. It felt as though our presence was an inconvenience to them—like serving us would mean they actually had to get up and work. As someone who works in customer service myself, I found this kind of behavior unacceptable and shocking. In the end, my group decided to leave and eat elsewhere. After all, no one wants to spend money just to eat in frustration and be treated with such disrespect. We came to dine, not to beg. The owner of the Leon restaurant chain needs to see this feedback. Without a serious change in staff attitude and service culture, this place is on the fast track to closure—and it could seriously damage the reputation of the...

This is a must if you love mussels. Every Sunday night is all-you-can-eat mussels, and I understand that it's excellent. My partner ordered this and he's very picky. The wait staff is very friendly. They work their buns off at this place. Here, there is no attitude if you ask for a second or a third helping of the all-you-can-eat mussels; in fact, it seems they almost welcome it.

If you happen to have some room left, try the dessert--especially the waffle desserts. I ordered the Grand-père de Léon--vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and a side of hot chocolate. It is decadent, I know.

This was our last meal in Paris; so needless to say, we went out with a bang. This is a great place!

Update: Two years later, on another trip to Paris, we came back to the very same Léon de Bruxelles. The service is still great, despite one evening where the servers were a bit on edge because we think their boss was working that evening. We were there another night and the servers were much more relaxed.

If you haven't tried the Spritz Belge, I highly recommend it. The fish & frites is...