Loulou — Restaurant in Paris

WORST SERVICE EXPERIENCE EVER RECEIVED AT A RESTAURANT

Having dined at LouLou five times before, I was excited to return and share what I had thought was one of Paris’s gems with close friends, travelling all the way from Australia. Unfortunately, what unfolded was not just disappointing—it was frustrating and frankly unacceptable for a restaurant of this supposed caliber.

From the moment we arrived, we were greeted by an extremely rude server. Despite having paid in advance to confirm our reservation - organised by our hotel we were laughed at and told our booking was never confirmed. No apology—just a rude response and a dismissive attitude.

Once seated, the table was a mess, the plates were covered in dust and dirt and it took 15 minutes just to request a glass of water. We tried to stay positive, as we had been so excited and are not usually ones to complain but then it continued to get worse. The waitress came over to take our food order before even offering us a drink order and was furious - stormed away when we had not yet decided on our main meals. Her reaction was really quite shocking. When she later returned to bring out or food the entire order was wrong - when we stated we had not ordered half of the meals on our table she angrily said “Yes I read it back to you” and stormed away again…. A different waiter had to step in after seeing her react so aggressively.

What was meant to be a special evening turned into the worst dining and service experience I’ve ever had—not just at LouLou, but anywhere.

Given my past visits, I’m shocked at how far standards have fallen. This was not just a bad night—it felt like the restaurant no longer values its guests. Sadly, I won’t be returning, and I certainly won’t be recommending it to others.

Extremely frustrated to have spent 700 euro on a...

Please don't fall for this trap!

This restaurant is only nice in the sense of convenience to the Lourve. I can see the potential in the cute location and graphics, but they know exactly what they are doing in terms of manipulation.

My boyfriend and I made a reservation over a week ago to come after our Lourve visit. We were seated by the hot window literally squished next to two other ladies. We didn't want to gorge, so we told our waiter that we would like to order a pizza to the share (the truffle pizza, which already is a pricier food option). He stopped us right there and said every guest has to order an entree. We tacked on a pesto pasta on top of our specialty cocktails. We truly knew it would be impossible to finish two whole dishes, so we asked for a takeaway--which we understand isn't ideal in Europe because they don't like when there's an abundance of your meal left. But what else are you going to do when you have 2 huge entrees that you're paying for and sharing on top of drinks and even dessert? When we asked for the check and a takeaway box, our waiter took away our food THEN brought back our pizza without the pasta. When he came back, he asked if it were okay that he threw away our pasta. First of all, LOL. Second of all, I asked him why was that necessary when he did not mention that when he left with our plates AND forced us to order another plate. He tried to tell me "oh, it's fresh pasta, and it doesn't stay good over time, etc." --then why serve something that can't last an extra hour...not to forget, he only came by 3-4 times total. Trés mal. Pas bien. Il est épouvantable.

He, then, insisted that we add tip because "gratuity isn't included".

Beware if Ludovic is serving you near the window. He...

I had heard that this restaurant has a great view, so I made a reservation for 12 PM, the opening time, 12 days in advance and arrived feeling excited. When we got there, people with reservations were lining up to enter in order. When it was our turn, we were guided to a seat on the opposite side of the Eiffel Tower view—beyond the kitchen area. I asked if we could sit on the side with the Eiffel Tower view instead, but they told me those seats were already fully booked.

When I made the reservation online, there was no option to select a view, so I didn’t understand what they meant and asked again. Whether it was due to a lack of English proficiency or simply not having a valid explanation, I couldn’t get a clear answer and was just seated where they led us.

I believe it is common sense that people make reservations for the opening time of a restaurant hoping to get a good seat. I would never have imagined I would encounter such rude and arrogant behavior from the staff at a restaurant that has an average Google rating of 4.1 from 3,328 reviewers.

People pay a high price for meals at this kind of restaurant to enjoy the view while dining. But if you have such an unpleasant experience the moment you walk in, no matter how delicious the food is, it all feels meaningless.

The server who was in charge of our table provided good service, and the food was decent. However, the attitude of the managers—not the servers—was extremely rude, and honestly, even giving one star feels too generous.

And one more thing. When I was paying, I was surprised to see a tip option on the portable card machine the server handed me. I selected “no thanks” and just paid for the meal, because France does not have a tipping culture as...