Restaurant Le Coupe-Chou — Restaurant in Paris

What an utter disappointment, but not altogether surprising. When I was researching the restaurant, most of the reviews were very good. However, I did come across a few reviews that had me questioning my choice of reservation and I almost canceled (I wish now that I had). It wasn’t the negative reviews themselves that had me questioning my choice, (because anybody can have a bad experience), but rather the replies back from the restaurant. Instead of being understanding towards their patron and offering to take the review under consideration to make changes, instead the replies were defensive, arrogant, and bordering on insulting. But I had such an eager curiosity about the restaurant itself, (considering the history, building and the street) that I decided to keep my reservation and hope for the best. Big mistake! We were fairly warmly welcomed and brought into the front room to be seated. That’s where the good stuff ends. Our server immediately seemed rushed, impatient with my French (while not knowing very much English) and mostly unhelpful. I ordered an aperol spritz which came out in a smaller wine glass with mostly Aperol (very red) and a couple of ice cubes. The escargot was almost impossible to get out of the shell. They were so tiny and pushed in and not very tasty at that. My duck was like rubber… I couldn’t even cut it, nevermind chew it! The fois gras was so tasteless, I might as well have been eating Crisco (all duck fat). But here’s the clincher. A lovely French couples sat down next to us. Immediately they were shown a special (fixed prix) board (which we never were!). When I asked the waiter about it, at first he pretended not to understand what I was saying. Then the nice French couple next to us translated. His response to us? “Oh I forgot”. He forgot?? Or did he purposely not give us that choice? He seemed embarrassed. I also remarked that the Aperol spritz the lovely French gentleman next to us received looked totally different from mine. He was served a large round goblet with lots of champagne and 1/3 aperol, ice and a twist…the proper spritz. My cocktail had zero champagne. With mentioning that to our waiter, he became totally frustrated and hurried off. Not one word of apology or regret or an offer to give me a new cocktail. No apology or regret for not showing us the special board. With that we were ready to leave. Instead of our waiter bringing over our bill, the female manager who had welcomed us (and had made my lousy drink) came over instead. Again, no word of apology, regret or reasoning from her either for the way we had been treated. Only our bill was handed to us without a word, with no compensation, and drastically overpriced, of course. We went to many many restaurants in Paris. We were there 10 days. All of them were fabulous experiences! So I am not a killjoy by any means. Read my reviews. Do yourself a favor with this place and go visit the establishment if you are curious, and ask for a tour to go through the rooms if possible (not sure they would be that hospitable, but perhaps). But do not eat there, especially if you love good food and service. Be prepared to be treated differently if you are an American or not a regular. And be prepared for pushback or attitude if you’re not satisfied. There are hundreds of delightful, delicious establishments in Paris with equally attentive, professional and friendly service to...

My overall grade for Restaurant Le Coupe-Chou is: A-

This is still absolutely one of my favorite restaurants in Paris since I've been coming in 1998. I've visited this restaurant more than any other restaurant in Paris.

I would normally give this restaurant an A+, but my grade of A- is really based on just a couple of small details. First, the main reason that this has been such a favorite for me is that they have regularly had "the classics" on the menu. Beef Bourgeon, Coq A Vin, etc. Those items are no longer on the menu - thankfully frois gras is still on the menu - and it's fabulous.

The others are no longer on the menu - please note, that what is on the menu is terrific, it's just that I've so relied on Le Coupe-Chou to have "the classics", we have always come back time after time. I think I've been there maybe 9 times now.

The other point is that the service this time (tonight) was not the great service that we've experienced in the past. The waiter brought my bill and 2 coffees were on the bill, but he failed to bring the coffees. I know it's the stereotype to not serve coffee with dessert, and I get it. But after dessert, the coffee failed to appear, so we just asked for the check. No coffee, but it was on the bill.

And to be clear, all other aspects of the restaurant are and remain great. The food, the venue, the wine. Please do yourself a favor and visit this great long-standing restaurant. It's great. We will be back next time I'm in...

A truly outstanding experience! Le Coupe Chou was a recommendation from Carl, our fantastic Delta flight attendant who regularly does the LAX-CDG run and said the restaurant has become a favorite - now we know why!

The restaurant is very handsome, comfortable, and warmly welcoming, and we had the opportunity to chat with several other patrons, some from the U.S. and others from Ireland, all of whom are regular visitors to Paris and all reported having a wonderful experience at Le Coupe Chou.

Our server, Alba, was attentive, knowledgeable, and delightful to deal with. She helpfully answered questions and made great recommendations upon my request. My husband is vegan and greatly enjoyed his vegan entrée, plat, and dessert - he said everything was delicious, and he was appreciative of the vegan options in an otherwise classic French menu.

I loved my chilled pea and ricotta soup, filet mignon of pork, cheese course, and gorgeous and relatively uncommon Île Flottante dessert. It was marvelous and definitely worth trying! I enjoyed a couple of tasty non-alcoholic mocktails before dinner and my husband enjoyed his white wine with the meal.

We thank Carl at Delta for his spot-on recommendation and thank Alba and everyone at Le Coupe Chou for a wonderful...