Maison — Restaurant in Paris

This is not something I enjoy doing, but in light of our recent dinner experience here a couple of weeks ago, I feel it's necessary.

The space is unique but poorly utilized as the entire first floor is empty, save for a bed (unmade, at that!) and some chairs in the back. While that was bizarre in and of itself, there's no one to greet you when you arrive. There was a photographer in the back taking photos of dishes when we arrived, but he didn’t acknowledge any guests arriving or leaving.

The first time you actually speak to someone from Maison is after you climb the stairs to the mezzanine, where we were then seated opposite one another at a large, family-style long table. However, we were the only guests seated across from one another, whereas everyone else was seated next to each other facing the open kitchen. We had asked to be seated together rather than face to face but were told that there wasn’t enough space, even though the other end of the table seemed to have enough space to fit two people side by side.

We were given the food menu, but when we opened it, we realized it was printed upside down. To be fair, they did mention that it was an accident at the printers, but it’s a small detail that should not go unremarked, especially in a place that’s supposed to pay attention to details. The wine list also consisted of about 20 A4 pages stapled together as they hadn’t yet finished putting together a proper wine menu.

The bread arrived (it’s made fresh!), but we had to ask for the butter even though every other table seemed to have gotten theirs without prompting.

We chose to do the full chef’s menu, consisting of around 10 dishes. Unfortunately, the food was below subpar. At €125 per menu, it should go without saying that each dish should be excellent. Unfortunately, some of it was bland, some of it just didn’t taste very good, and some were improperly cooked. The mushroom dish lacked any seasoning whatsoever to the point that we had to ask for salt. Whoever had prepared the dish likely hadn’t bothered to taste it before it was served. The risotto dish was actually quite nice until we discovered that one of them had undercooked rice at the bottom. These were two issues that we did bring up to the servers; however, we’re unsure whether that was passed on to the kitchen or not.

On the plus side, the wine pairings were excellent, and the sommelier was very friendly and accommodating. The servers, on the whole, were nice, but the star of the show at a restaurant should be the food, and that was incredibly disappointing.

At €432 for two people doing the full menu, wine pairing, and an aperitif, I find it unacceptable. If this had been a middle-of-the-road restaurant, I could've conceded that perhaps the kitchen was having a bad day, but at such an exorbitant price, it is not an excuse that I am willing to allow, especially as it was my birthday. Did I mention it was my birthday? The servers did send over a small plate with "Joyeux Anniversaire" on it and a little candle, which was very nice but doesn't make up for the rest of the experience. My husband made the reservation as a surprise for my birthday because it was one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in Paris this year, and he knew I'd enjoy this. What a letdown...

A quick review as it’s not yet a Michelin star (but already in the red guide). Follow me for all the reviews and updates on every Michelin stars in Paris and 3 Stars in France (and many more).

The atmosphere. Somewhere in between. The usual question: What’s interesting here? One obvious one and the question that rises behind it. The obvious one is the atmosphere. You’re in a kitchen. 2 ovens including a wood fire one, the cooks in front of you, more hidden behind or in a room close by. Few words are heard, just the sound of the kitchen. It’s fascinating. I do recommend (I strongly recommend) to ask to be at the counter if you’re into gastronomy, it’s intense. But the big table is a great place to be if you want a more local atmosphere (a step back and a bit more laid back). I’ve posted plenty of videos and pictures, so you can have a glimpse of what’s going on there. The restaurant is still under work (and has been for quite a time because of technical difficulties) which gives it a very specific atmosphere. Because, where are you? In a kitchen? It felt like. In a Japanese restaurant? A Japanese chef, a lot of Japanese in the staff, but not really. International? Not sure although the work language seems to be English. A French restaurant? Yes and no. May be more French than international. So, where are we? At home (Maison in French). This restaurant makes me think of Aida (a one star in Paris 7), where the Japanese chef explained me one day that when he landed in Paris, hummed the air and felt like it will be his home. Here the chef is asking you what is home? An address? The tools? The techniques? The staff? The ingredients? He’s telling you that it’s just any place you create from all the experiences you had (and the chef had some), with the stuff the you like , where you feel right. And when you got that, you can make others feel good. That’s what we call home, a “Maison”. So of course, it’s under construction, literally and figuratively (the timing between dishes, the construction of the menu, etc..) but it’s ok, it’s part of the charm. The dishes are very pleasing don’t get me wrong, but I guess once you’ve established your home, at one point you want to call it by your name, like Aida. Still you can guess what Maison Sota (the name of the chef) would (or will) be with some of his dishes. The crowd was cool international foodies and locals in the know. The service was nice, sometimes the tempo was a bit off, but I guess a star will help (it’s not a star yet, so it’s fine). The wine list is interesting, with young energy. I’ve recommended to my PT for his wife’s birthday. She loved it. She loved the atmosphere and the dishes. It’s a strong candidate for a star. A top tiers non star...

This was the WORST ever dining experience we’ve ever had in our entire three years of living in Paris!!!!!

We chose this restaurant—which we had been wanting to try for a long time—for our special family anniversary, and despite quite a few positive reviews on Google, me, my husband and daughter seriously experienced an unbelievably poor level of service at this fine dining restaurant!!!

We had booked a lunch today, and while I was nearly done with the third dish of mussels, I was extremely shocked to discover an ANT 🐜 in my food!!! It was horrifying!! I immediately told the waitress, a Japanese girl, who called over the French male manager named Max. He glanced at my plate and said, “That’s not an ant, it’s a flower,” and walked away without any apology...

We couldn’t believe our eyes—it was clearly an ant! So we called the Japanese waitress again and asked what flower it was. She said it was a zucchini flower, so we searched for images of this flower to double check, and found that there was no part of it that looked anything like what we found!

We called the French male manager again and asked which part of the flower it was. This time, he took the plate back to the kitchen to check. When he returned, what happened next was even more shocking: the manager, with a completely arrogant attitude, said, “Yes, it’s an ant. But in France, it’s very regular to have ants in salad.”

I was furious at his use of the word “regular”! ! I could NOT even believe such a sentence could come out of the mouth of someone working in the fine dining industry-especially such a highly rated restaurant!!

He then asked us with a disdainful tone, “So what do you want?” showing NOT the slightest bit of sincere apology the entire time.

I replied, “You’re saying it’s normal to find an ant???” He said, “yes, it happens”………😡In all my dining experiences during my three years in Paris and including all other restaurants experience in my lifetime, I’ve never found an ant in my food! If you are saying it’s “regular” I absolutely don’t buy it.

The attitude and handling of the situation by this manager were truly appalling!!!!! We were extremely angry at the dishonesty and arrogance he showed from the very beginning of and throughout the issue. A special visit that we made with good expectation turned into such a terrible memory!!!💔

Such a bad service level of the restaurant manager is really a stumbling block for this restaurant. I am not sure if the chef knows or recognizes the manager’s attitude towards customers and the way he handles problems when there are issues with the dishes, because we were not able to communicate directly with the chef throughout the...