Le Central Sébastopol — Restaurant in Paris

Our server was kind and patient to us Americans for one of our first meals in town. He suggested his favorite meals on the menu and that’s what we got: duck confit with mashed potatoes and beef bourguignon. We ad lib chicken burger, per my mother’s cravings, and escargot per my craving. Everything was very flavorful in all of our dishes! My only qualm was the duck was a little chewy, other than that, there was nothing wrong with the dish. The Bordeaux we got per recommendation went very well with the beef and duck. We ended our dinner with a crème brûlée, and it was perfection! It was not too sweet and was topped with a flaming liquor. Highly recommend this place! FYI I love the quirk that this restaurant has: their menu is a massive board that they change daily, so when you sit down, they’ll bring a massive board...

Our experience at Le Central was extremely disappointing. During our visit, we noticed two rats running around inside the restaurant. When we brought this to the owner’s attention, he dismissively responded, “That’s very normal here in Paris.”

Additionally, the dessert was of very poor quality. We were served frozen waffles placed on top of a glass of hot chocolate—a dish that felt haphazardly thrown together without thought or care. To make matters worse, the owner was exceptionally rude, sarcastically asking, “Are you leaving because of two little mice?”

We were also charged an unreasonable amount for the dessert, and despite our request, we were not provided with a receipt. This experience was unprofessional and unhygienic, and we cannot recommend this...

The food was good, I’ve got an onion soup and panna cotta (do not add burning alcohol on top). However me and my friend were waiting for 50 min! for our food, as there was some mistake at the kitchen (the other French! Customers got their food earlier than us even though they came later). I believe it’s not fare, even if we are not French originally, I am learning French and I’m trying to be a part of this culture. Why is that hard to be respectful. At the end the cherry on top is that we almost got cheated with coffee at our bill, which we didn’t order of course. Also they are charging 1€ more for the main dishes after 8pm. Of course nobody tried to explain this. I’m very disappointed with the service… haven’t seen this for a long...