Le Petit Saint-Benoit — Restaurant in Paris

First heard about this place from my wife who had attended the place on several occasions. She was mesmerised by the experience: a quintessential Parisian affair, walls adorned with scenes from the city history, wooden tables with red and white checkered tablecloths, a cabinet that safeguarded napkins used by the regulars. Most of all, it offered great food, authentic and classy in its simplicity and honesty. That was the image that I had in my mind having entered the place. What we found instead was downright disappointing. The place seems to have devolved into a tourist trap, with the old charm of the place meticulously excised. The props were still in their place, but nothing else was. The staff was mildly interested as it took them 15 minutes to take our orders - in an empty restaurant. We were recommended a fairly decent wine, and that was, thinking back on it, the highlight of, otherwise, a rather wholesale experience. The worst, however, was the food. My wife ordered lentils with pork and I ordered monkfish with a mushroom risotto. The lentils were chewy, bland and in general looked like a clinical case of depression. She struggled through the half of portion, and then pushed it away dejected. The 29-euro monkfish was undercooked, risotto never really made it to reaching an average. We didn't bother with the dessert. The fact that I am writing this review 9 months later shows how frustrated I was with the experience - a French culinary show on YouTube reminded me of our gastro travels through France, and this was the only time I...

I always had a soft spot for le PSt-B: its shabby, and not so chic, aspect, quite délabré; its classic bistrot cuisine, the question mark about what was still available to order in a menu, where frequently you had to eat what madame still had to offer. so you understand my panic when, in my first visit post-pandemic, I entered a restaurant no longer délabré, still preserving some of its old aspect but with clear changes and accepting reservation. the table configuration of my favorite spot in the restaurant changed for better comfort. I still remember the tables that had to be assembled and disassembled to let the customers in and out of the seat. but I got to seat in my fav table. nevertheless the panic turned to despair when I read the menu: no boeuf bourguignon, no andouillette, no blanquette de veau. ah! the foie gras mi-cuit is still there, as well the soupe a l'oignon! well, our party of 4 dug into some new and some old food and the foie gras is still splendid with few competitors in town. les cuisses de grenouilles are splendid too. while I'm still in choc for the loss of esprit bohémien with improved comfort of the bistro and the deeply reformulated menu (and prices) le PSt-B continues a valeur sure in paris. food quality and execution is still beyond any reproach: but we need some old plats back...

Hard to believe my eyes, so I took photos as proof (with close-ups of each): this restaurant's menu in French says, "Prix net service compris" which is the law in France, meaning the service (or tip, as we call it in English) is included in the price of the meal. However the English menu clearly says, "Tips not included" in the same spot where it should say "Service included". The recent series in Le Parisien shows all the ways tourists are being ripped off in Paris, but this is so blatant it's laughable. Do they really think no one notices? Or do they just think we're imbeciles?

Note: I never leave Google reviews, good or bad; but this was just far too disturbing to let go.

PS: Replying to the owner's response here. If you really believe this to be true: "The English wording is indeed awkward, and we sincerely regret that this may have caused confusion. This is in no way intended to charge extra or mislead anyone." Then you would have written in the English version, "15% Service included, extra tips appreciated." But you know in America "tip" and "service" is the same thing, so when the French say "Tips not included" they think the staff won't be paid if they don't leave a tip. I support many small restaurants in your neighborhood, and none of them have this shameful text on their menus...