Parcelles — Restaurant in Paris

We had very high expectations given the rave reviews and the difficulty of securing a reservation. For context, we’re well-traveled food lovers, equally comfortable at casual bistros and Michelin-starred restaurants, and familiar with the Paris dining scene. On arrival, the welcome was warm — the room is inviting, the bar lively, and the music well-chosen. Unfortunately, the experience went downhill from there. When selecting dishes, we intended to order a mix of fish and meat. Discussing wine with the sommelier, we indicated a budget of around €60–70 — hardly unreasonable in France — and asked for options to complement our choices. As a sommelier myself, I was looking forward to an engaging conversation about the list, but the exchange felt perfunctory. There was little enthusiasm or storytelling, and the options offered were minimal (“If you like Burgundy, there’s nothing in your range — maybe consider Corsica…”). We ultimately chose a wine that was lovely on its own, but not ideal given what unfolded next. When placing our order — three starters and one main to share — our server firmly told us that each guest must have a main course. While the menu does note “we are not a wine bar,” the tone felt prescriptive and uncomfortable, especially after we’d already opened our wine. A prix-fixe would avoid this awkward exchange. We adjusted and ordered the sweetbreads and gnocchi as mains. The food itself was mixed: sweetbreads were well-prepared, but the gnocchi were uninspired. Service felt uneven — courses arrived too quickly after the appetizers, pacing was rushed, and overall polish was lacking. There wasn’t much interest from the staff to improve our evening . Overall, this was a disappointing experience that didn’t live up to the hype. With so many outstanding options in Paris, we...

One of our favorite meals in Paris. It was off to a very stressful start as I had misremembered the time of our reservation, and while we were en route on the metro we got a call from the restaurant asking if we were still going to dine there. Panic ensued, just because I had put in so much effort to make a reservation by setting reminders ahead of time to book on certain days when it opened up, etc., and this was one reservation I didn’t want to miss. Luckily, the staff at Parcelles was so kind and understanding. We sprinted from the metro stop to the restaurant, and from there on out it was smooth sailing. I don’t know if it was from the adrenaline, but everything was delicious.

We got oysters to begin and two starters, the head cheese and this sashimi carpaccio dish, both were delicious, especially the fish. For our mains, my husband got the gnocchi which was delicious in a buttery rich sauce with crispy sage, and I got the cabbage roll which was a mix of comforting, nostalgic, and decadent with added foie gras. It was in an delicious savory and acidic broth which helped cut the richness, and I could have eaten 10 of them! To end our meal, we had fresh figs with ice cream which was perfect, as the figs were ripe, the ice cream was creamy, and the drizzle of something that I’m forgetting was savory and a little acidic.

Apart from graciously holding our table, the waitstaff at Parcelles were all so nice and responded to me in French even though my French wasn’t the best. We felt very welcomed there and had prompt service from the team. I’m not sure about the bad reviews about the waitstaff, but that’s what prompted me to write this review.

Can’t wait to comeback and dine again!...

Where to start. This was the most disappointing experience I’ve had at a restaurant. I made this reservation weeks out from our trip and had no problem putting my card down for no-show, which is an understandable policy for a high-end restaurant. The morning of our reservation my fiancé was sick. They emailed me asking me to confirm the reservation, which i was waiting to do until i knew if my fiancé would be able to join me, but there was no option to leave a comment for something like this. Instead of confirming the 2-person table, which i didn’t want to do in case it messed up their numbers, I tried calling the restaurant to let them know the situation. They didn’t pick up so I figured I would just show up and let them the know the situation and that it wouldn’t be an issue (they did try calling me back but I didn’t notice this until later). When I get there and explain the situation, the hostess is beyond rude and goes on to tell me that I’ll be charged half of the no-show fee since my fiancé did not join me. I reiterated that my fiancé was very sick, and that it probably wasn’t the best idea for her to come in. The hostess didn’t care, and simply said the other option is to get a $100+ bottle of wine, otherwise I’d be charged half the no-show fee ON TOP of my bill…. Just disgusting behavior honestly. It’s too bad the hostess was such a nasty person, because the food was actually pretty good. I also met a very nice couple, also from NYC, that i chatted with for the entire meal. I’ve never felt the need to leave a review due to the staff, I understand it’s a stressful gig having worked in the industry myself, but this was...