Ma Dame — Restaurant in Paris

Warning: tourist trap!

I dressed nicely to find a place to eat including heels and red lipstick. I looked at the menu outside this restaurant. The first time I entered the restaurant, no one acknowledged me even though staff were sitting by the entrance. It was completely empty. I walked by outside to check the hours on the menu and on Google maps. I walked in and asked if it was open. Someone seated me. I was offered alcohol, but I can’t drink on my asthma medication. I wasn’t offered water. So, I asked for hot tea. They offered me only bagged tea and brought a pot of Luke warm water. I ordered the menu for the week: veal with potatoes and chocolate mousse. The veal was overdone. The potatoes were cold. Both needed more salt and some kind of acidity for the potatoes. All I tasted was butter. The presentation was very sloppy without any garnishes. The dessert looked better but tasted average. There was so much cocoa powder that it overpowered the softness of the dessert. The best part was the nuts. I ordered a café au lait with dessert as it was fairly early in the evening. I received an over-foamed cappuccino—it was 3/4 foam. I live in Seattle, Washington. I know good coffee. I have had better coffee at Vivari. I’ve eaten at some of the best restaurants in America. The meal was 39 euro. But, the coffee and tea were each 10 euro!!!! It was 59 euro for the worst meal I’ve had in the last two weeks between Barcelona and Paris. I was sitting across from a couple who did not have American accents. They were treated better and smiled at and checked on more frequently than I was. I didn’t even want to tip. The person, who was different than the one who sat me, kept staring so I dug out 3 euro reluctantly. I usually leave a 50% tip or more. I wanted to send everything back to be honest but I couldn’t find another place open at 6 pm nearby without a long wait. Oh! And the chef was staring at me from...

The restaurant or coffee shop had two sections, and we, as tourists, liked its exterior view. We entered with all politeness, said hello, and sat in the lower section. We noticed that it was inappropriate and dark. Then we changed to the upper section, and we noticed that the girl and man who worked in the place were looking at us with provocative looks. It was clear that we did not understand French, so they were speaking in French and looking at us. They laugh annoyingly at us. Their service was okay, but their treatment of us was not good. I gave them a tip to improve the situation, but the man still looked at me with a strange look. I did not understand, but I did not say anything and left the place. This conversation was 10 months ago, and I have not forgotten it for a moment. I even forgot the place. And I forgot to evaluate it until it happened to me by chance this day and I wrote what I wanted to say. I visit Paris often every year since 2012. I have not found anything worse than this situation, only because our appearance is different from theirs and we do not speak the...

The cooking is exceptionally poor for decent Parisian standards anywhere where one goes. The lack of skill is really shocking, to give an example there is a cold starter composed of an overcooked (not very fresh) octopus chopped with grapefruit/orange pieces and avocado. One of the mains was lamb that also came overcooked and not fresh tasting, and with some badly made veg side. The other two dishes we had were equally awful and not worth mentioning. Last but not least, a vodka martini came copious amount of vermouth, with olives AND a lemon rind inside, and a slice of lemon on the rim. When it comes to service, we were asked three times what we ordered and the waiter did not not bother to bring us water for absolute ages. It was all a bit ad hoc and they did not seem to know what they were doing, the place was not busy so they should have managed easily with this number of guests. I thought maybe this place is new and they are still learning but in the waiter’s words ‘this restaurant is...