Les Fous de l'Ile — Restaurant in Paris

Extremely disappointing experience. We arrived at for our reservation at 7pm (the correct time). We were seated, given water and requested glasses of wine (which were also poured) and gave our order (one appetizer and two mains) by 7:15pm.

By 8:15 pm we had received no food (not even a basket of break), our wine was finished, and no one had come by during the entire hour to see how we were. A couple who had been seated beside us after we arrived had received their food already. We called the waitress over to ask when our food would be coming and were told it was coming shortly. She also did not ask if we would like more wine so we requested more. Five minutes later the main courses arrived (no appetizer). When I asked the server what had happened to our appetizer he had no clue what I was referring to. We again called over the waitress who apologized and asked if we would like the appetizer anyway to which we said no. Five minutes after we started eating she returned to ask if "there were any problems."

The food was well prepared but not exceptional and not worth the money. I had the scallops as a main which were well cooked but there were only 3 on the plate and they were small...this is what I would expect for an appetizer.

At this point we were so disappointed by the service we requested the bill so we could leave. The bill was completely incorrect...it still included the appetizer, had a main that we didn't order, and listed more expensive wine than we had had.

In addition, the table on the other side of us never received their main courses and ended their meal early after getting tired of waiting.

Lastly, to the restaurant, I've seen on Google that you respond to negative reviews by apologizing and suggesting that people come back because you hope that the experience will be better. This is not a satisfactory response and seems very self-serving. You want people to come back to spend money in your establishment but offer nothing more than a hope that the service will be better? A better approach for bad service would be to comp part of the meal when it occurs...this was not...

I had a reservation for new years eve diner 2018/2019. 6h before start, they asked for confirmation of the table with all my credit card details (including the expiration ones and the three numbers on the verso). This is not allowed and not legal!

Without giving all the numbers they refuse my reservation. I can not recommend this restaurant for this way of interacting with guests. [Update: to make it clear: finally, i gave the credit card number and the expiration date by phone. That is enough data to reserve a table! In parallel also my Hotel called you to confirm the reservation! But you still wanted to have my 3 digit secure number on the back of my credit card. This is not legal and also my Hotel told you that this is not needed for any reservation!

In parallel, with this number you are able to buy anything on the internet pretending to be me and my bank will not cover the loss, because this secure code is not for you!!!

So, i gave you as much as data i could give to you to confirm the reservation and my Hotel confirmed it for you too. But you still denied my reservation and forced me to give also the 3 digit of the back of my credit card.

In parallel, also "the fork", which we used to book the table, apologized to me and said, that you are allowed to ask for a deposit but you should not have done this by asking for all the credit card details by e-mail. You should have organised a more secure way to ask for the deposit. They wanted to contact you and wanted to give you some tips on how you can correctly ask for deposits.

So, i told you that you are wrong, my Hotel told you that you are wrong, the Fork told you, that you are wrong and now additionally, instead of saying sorry, you blame me that i wrote nonsense?

Ask yourself: Which rate would you give for such behavior to your...

Beware, change of direction! I had previously been 3 times to this restaurant which I have always loved, but unfortunately it’s no longer the same experience. Upon arrival, noticing the decor and ambiance had lost its charm, I was already worried. From there it was a disaster… a bland ‘classic bistro’ menu and a worthlessly short and poor wine list confirmed that the restaurant had changed hands. They made a mistake on 2 of our starters, and the 3rd had to be re-heated as arrived cold. We were told at late notice that they had run out of their signature aligot and mashed potatoes yet could offer chips or sautéed potatoes (clearly not home-made as otherwise could have been mashed) despite there being only a few tables before us. They didn’t have the wine we wanted (despite such a limited selection) the food was as bland as the menu itself and the waiters tried their best to reassure the entire complaining restaurant as the service was so long, but were stressed and making mistakes all the way along. After a ripoff meal we appreciate the gesture of a free dessert but I could have made it better myself at home. The new direction has ruined what was a fantastic establishment, which is unacceptable in Paris with so many incredibly alternatives. All the guests were rolling their eyes and trying to laugh between us to keep up spirits but it was clear none of us...