Le Départ Saint-Michel — Restaurant in Paris

Caught in heavy rain, we decided to take shelter and wait for our friend at Grom Saint-Michel, thinking it would be a pleasant place to rest and enjoy a coffee or dessert. Unfortunately, what followed was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve had anywhere, let alone in the center of Paris.

We entered and politely asked for an espresso. The waiter, who can only be described as patronizingly arrogant, immediately asked if we wanted a double. We said no, just a single. He then curtly responded that they don’t serve espresso after 4:00 PM. While this may be a house rule (strange as it is), the manner in which he delivered this information was cold and condescending. What’s more, the menu showed the single espresso was €3 and the double was €6 – I’ll leave it to others to draw their own conclusions.

I ordered a mineral water and a crème brûlée instead. The waiter said nothing—he just walked away. After some time, he returned, placed the bottle of water awkwardly in the middle of the table (nowhere near either of us), again without a word, and left. The same cold, dismissive behavior followed with the crème brûlée, which, by the way, was underwhelming at best.

We were still waiting for our friend, but without being asked if we needed anything else, the waiter came back suddenly and presented the bill, claiming his shift was over. I paid, but interestingly, he remained at the bar for another hour, until after our friend had arrived and left—never approaching her or offering to take her order.

This level of service would be unacceptable anywhere, but in Paris—known for its hospitality and café culture—it was downright embarrassing. The waiter in question was bald and wore glasses; I mention this because if management reads this review, I sincerely hope they either properly train or seriously reconsider keeping someone so unprofessional in a customer-facing role.

I don’t enjoy writing reviews like this, but this was genuinely a gross and disappointing experience. I would never return, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for even a basic level...

NEVER GO THERE RUDE, WRONG PRICING, ILLEGAL PRACTICE, RACIST : I'm french and i live in Paris 5min away from this bar. I went there with my boyfriend to have a drink around 2pm (we were not drunk, we just work late) and we ordered 1 beer for him (i wasn't in the mood to drink). The waiter answered very hostile "one drink per person", wich I can understand even if it's not legal. So we ordered 2 beers . We were about to pay the bill but my boyfriend, very good at math and with an excellent memory, noticed that the amount to pay was not the one indicated on the menu. INDEED : they give people the "day menu" instead of the "evening menu" (probably expecting people at this hour of the night to be tired or too drunk to notice that). So we reported the issue to the waiter, who became much more aggressive and directly send the security to make us pay (illegal practice again), even though we were very calm and never mentioned that we wouldn't pay !! Then, we gently spoke to the guy of the security, who told us that this happens quite often and that we should speak to the manager. After we paid the bill (with the price of the evening menu wich we didnt't have in the first place), the waiter said "MAZELTOV" to make fun of us in a very inappropriate way et then gave us plastic glasses to pour our beers into them and asked us to leave immediatly. We were just stunned and speechless. None of what happened made sense. We paid, we were sober and calm, and as soon as we pointed out the pricing issue, the waiter went literally crazy. I had to take another door to go back inside the bar and talk to the manager. I explained calmly what just happened, he apologized and gave us a new table to sit (eventhough the manager was also a rude man who was before talking to me yelling at a poor chinese tourist saying "YOU CAN SAY THANK YOU"....). Anyway, we finished our beers, enjoyed the evening and promised ouselves to never go back there again and warn people about their...

NEVER GO THERE RUDE, WRONG PRICING, ILLEGAL PRACTICE, RACIST : I'm french and i live in Paris 5min away from this bar. I went there with my boyfriend to have a drink around 2pm (we were not drunk, we just work late) and we ordered 1 beer for him (i wasn't in the mood to drink). The waiter answered very hostile "one drink per person", wich I can understand even if it's not legal. So we ordered 2 beers . We were about to pay the bill but my boyfriend, very good at math and with an excellent memory, noticed that the amount to pay was not the one indicated on the menu. INDEED : they give people the "day menu" instead of the "evening menu" (probably expecting people at this hour of the night to be tired or too drunk to notice that). So we reported the issue to the waiter, who became much more aggressive and directly send the security to make us pay (illegal practice again), even though we were very calm and never mentioned that we wouldn't pay !! Then, we gently spoke to the guy of the security, who told us that this happens quite often and that we should speak to the manager. After we paid the bill (with the price of the evening menu wich we didnt't have in the first place), the waiter said "MAZELTOV" to make fun of us in a very inappropriate way et then gave us plastic glasses to pour our beers into them and asked us to leave immediatly. We were just stunned and speechless. None of what happened made sense. We paid, we were sober and calm, and as soon as we pointed out the pricing issue, the waiter went literally crazy. I had to take another door to go back inside the bar and talk to the manager. I explained calmly what just happened, he apologized and gave us a new table to sit (eventhough the manager was also a rude man who was before talking to me yelling at a poor chinese tourist saying "YOU CAN SAY THANK YOU"....). Anyway, we finished our beers, enjoyed the evening and promised ouselves to never go back there again and warn people about their...