Le Clown Bar - Restaurant — Restaurant in Paris

We were very excited at first. However, we had a table reserved for 9:00 PM, but our reservation was messed up, so we had to wait 15 minutes. Eventually, we were given a table at the bar. The service struggled to organize all the tables at the same time for the next round of guests.

The staff did not ask if we wanted them to take our jackets—we had to ask ourselves.

We ordered some wine, an appetizer, and a main course each. The appetizer arrived quite quickly. However, there was a group of six men dining, and one of them had to send his starter back because it wasn’t warm. Another table at the bar also had to send their appetizer back because the order was mixed up.

And then everything went downhill. A table behind us received their main course, but the woman had to call the waiter because her plate was cold. The staff said they would fix it quickly, but nothing happened for over 35 minutes. Meanwhile, we waited 50 minutes between our appetizer and the main course. The group of six men, who had arrived 15 minutes after us, were already eating their main courses.

At one point, the three staff members went for a cigarette break. Each of them poured themselves a glass of wine or lemonade, leaving one after another while we all waited for our food. There was no apology or communication of any kind.

When we finally received our main courses, the plates were cold—the meat was lukewarm, and the fish was almost cold. I tried some of my girlfriend’s fish, and she tried mine. Later, we noticed that the fish didn’t smell right. We waited for 10 minutes to inform the staff, and when we finally managed to speak to someone, we sent the cold food back to the kitchen.

After another 30 minutes with no food, I was so frustrated that I asked for the check to end the evening. I spoke to the table behind us and asked if they were still waiting for their food. The woman still hadn’t received her main course. Another table next to us was also waiting. Both tables paid after us.

I told the staff that I was extremely disappointed. Leaving the service area for a cigarette break is unprofessional, but not communicating with guests, not apologizing for delays, and not offering even a small gesture like a glass of wine or some bread to make up for the situation is unacceptable.

In the end, we did not have to pay for our food and drinks, but we left the restaurant hungry. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come.

After three hours in the restaurant, we left, and I was already feeling unwell—so was my girlfriend. We rushed back to our hotel because I felt like I was going to vomit. Once we got there, we were both extremely sick. I had food poisoning, vomiting all night, shaking, feeling cold, and barely getting any sleep. The next day, I couldn’t eat anything and felt terrible.

We had both eaten from the cold fish. While I cannot say with 100% certainty that it was the cause, the symptoms started so quickly after our main course that it seems highly likely.

I work in a Michelin Guide restaurant, so I understand how tough and demanding this job can be, especially with the high turnover of guests at Clown Bar. I also understand that kitchens can have bad days, sometimes due to being understaffed. Mistakes can happen, but the service team must communicate, make an effort to keep guests happy, and manage the situation professionally. That did not happen.

I left feeling extremely disappointed. In the end, we lost a night out in Paris and an entire Sunday of our holiday due to food poisoning. It was a frustrating experience.

I hope you address these issues soon. After reading other reviews, it seems that service is a recurring problem that definitely needs to...

Beautiful interior. The music (00s hiphop) didn't really fit but they changed it after a few minutes, so I won't consider it further in the review.

The menu was carefully selected and made it easy to decide for a dish. No vegetarian main was possible but I wouldn't really expect it from this kind of place.

The service unfortunately wasn't really helpful with selecting the wine. No information, no offering to taste it. In general I must admit that I was a bit disappointed with the service. Surely they were friendly but they forgot us a few times (!) and didn't really pay attention to details. They were a bit sloppy at times like dropping the dessert spoons on the table in a random manner. There was little to no counseling regarding foods and wines. For the price range, I'd expect a bit more attention and care.

The food on the other hand was absolutely delicious and the portions were generous! We had Scottish salmon and asparagus for starters (cooked perfectly) that were very well rounded with the accompanying vegetables, sauces and herbs - good mixtures of different textures, colors and flavor profiles. For mains we had cod and guineafowl that were cooked perfectly as well, well seasoned and combined with the veggies. The only two thing to criticize was the oyster mushrooms that came with the Guineafowl and the dessert. The mushrooms could have been omitted as they were super tiny and not cooked well (they need a stronger sear in my opinion) and also not seasoned well enough. They didn't really add anything to the poultry and veggies. Maybe exchange those with mushrooms that have a stronger aroma.

For dessert we had the rhubarb which was delicious too but a bit difficult to eat with a spoon. Maybe serve a knife or cut into smaller angled pieces.

Wine was very good too but nothing exceptional. I liked the Rosé the most.

All in all a pleasant stay with great...

We came here for my partner’s birthday and were very excited as we had heard great things. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

Starting with the good, the wine was excellent, and the scallops (noix Saint Jacques) were delicious. The fish of the day, sea bream, was fresh and tasty. The tartare was underwhelming.

Now the bad. We ordered the duck special for 40€. It came with two small pieces (not even 1/3 of a normal duck breast) which is such a small amount of duck. We had a couple small bites each, and realized the duck was very overcooked and chewy. Duck should never be cooked past medium rare and as you can see from the photos, it was medium well.

When the server came by and asked us how it was, we politely explained that it was overcooked. His response was to take it away and ask if we wanted dessert. Confused, we asked if they were able to remake it. He said no, it would take too long, and then asked if we wanted it back.

I was shocked, as we had already said it was overcooked so we were not going to take it back and eat it. I told him we did not expect to pay for it if this was the only option.

He spoke with his manager and said that because we already ate half of it, they were not able to take it off the bill. This is absolutely not true. We had a couple small bites of the duck and determined it was overcooked and then stopped eating. I told him this and eventually the manager came over and lectured us, saying if you don’t like something, don’t eat half of it before saying anything.

The reason I gave 2 stars and not 1 is that they did eventually take it off the bill. Unfortunately, this really put a darkness over the whole evening. We were very excited but ended up being very disappointed, with and uncomfortable and frustrating experience with the staff.

Overall, this place is overpriced, the food is hit and miss, and the service is...