Le Pure Café — Restaurant in Paris

Very chic place, surprisingly poor service…

I biked and decided to spent my afternoon there. I walked in, and tried to order a coffee long at the bar, and mentioned to the girl at the bar « sur place ». In the end I got a shot in a paper cup and I didn’t say anything, and I asked for some ice, again, it came with a paper cup.

I took my coffee and found a seat inside, no one came and checked my sanitary pass nor offered me water. 1 hour later, after they finished their lunch, the girl at the bar came asking to check my sanitary pass, and I showed it to her, asking her for another coffee and whether I can change to a seat at the corner since I needed to charge my computer. It was 15:30 in the afternoon and the café was fairly empty, but she replied saying she’s not sure and need to check whether it’s booked or not. Come on! It’s a table with only one seat at the very corner next to the bar, with all the materials piled up next to it, I doubt that it’s booked. I waited for another 10 mins, after asking her again, she said it’s not occupied and I’m good to go, meanwhile she came with my coffee and water in a regular glasses. (I would totally tell her to put my coffee in regular glasses if it came with paper cups again)

So I grabbed my stuff and held my coffee, trying to move to the other table. It was a challenge and I had to let go the glass of water since I don’t have enough hands. They never came and check again. I really didn’t care about the quality of the coffee or whether I have my water or not, since my priority was to work and I usually zoom out. But the level of poor service did successfully got my attention.

In the end I got my check, noticed there’s only one coffee on my bill. I told the other lady who got my bill that I actually had two coffee.

What a weird experience. Really. It was my first visit, and I doubt I’ll go there again....

I’ll caveat this review by saying that my partner and I go here at least once a week, love the food, often share full evenings with friends (old and new) and absolutely adore the staff.

We live in the neighbourhood and started coming here when we moved close by about 6 years ago. Since then there have been many changes to the menu, clientele and staff…but when we need something grounding, comforting and quintessentially Paris to remind us why we live here - this is where we book our table. Our favourite time to come is for apéro and then stay on for dinner. There is always a mix of people from all walks of life/language and you are sure to have a warm time, whether you come to write in a journal alone, strike up an interesting conversation with your (table) neighbour or plan to celebrate a birthday. The dinner menu is solid - don’t expect molecular gastronomy - come here when you need to feel the subtle magic in LIFE of everyday Paris. Mainstay dishes in our rotation are the onglet de boeuf, saucisse, os à moelle accompanied by a good red wine (and followed by chocolate mousse, of course). Lunch specials are often surprising and very tasty. Very much like home.

For those who have commented that the staff are cold, everyone has bad days and even busier nights of service. They aren’t here to be puppets to entertain you…they are here to help facilitate the experience and make sure this hub of energy keeps moving smoothly. There is a reason people come often (and devotedly), and that allegiance doesn’t exist without an...

I go to this place a lot for launch and everything is fine. I really like it. My favorite plate is Onglet. Tonight for dinner, we ordered 2 onglet: first of all, 3 separate pieces in each plates with different tastes. The two First pieces were fine, the third piece was GARBAGE. The first bite and it was TERRIBLE. I almost vomit. I told the waitress to just take away the plate, I did not want another plate. In a few minutes they bring back the plate and just put it back on the table !! This was super rude ! I took back again the plate just to take it away and I even said I do not want another plate. They were insisting no it’s fine. Just acknowledge that it was a mistake ! SUPER RUDE. Too bad for a place that I always used to bring my friends and colleagues to. I even told my brother it’s ok let’s stay for dessert , ( yes the naive me, I really like this place! ) and for 10 minutes the waiters did not even look at us, they did not even came to pick the other plates on the table. So in the end we just left, and I don’t really think I would risk bringing any of my guests...