Sellae — Restaurant in Paris

Bottom line: the fish was old and smelled and tasted of ammonia.

The meal started off lovely. Delighted with the entrées and then the mains came out. Mine was very fishy smelling and getting closer, I could smell ammonia which is a sign of spoilt seafood. I did not want to make a fuss but I tasted it and it definitely was there. The longer it sits out, the ammonia smell will fade a bit but is still there. The female waitress tried to say it was normal and was unhappy I brought it up, but the younger male waiter apologised and took it back for the chef to review. However I wanted to change it for something else and wasn’t allowed that option. Because he came back and said the chef smelled and tasted it and it was just fine. And he was cooking me up another piece and they get fresh fish delivery everyday. Big mistake there. I should have pressed to change for something else, but at the same time it was awkward because they were taking the stance that the fish was fine.

Plate comes out and again there is a faint smell of ammonia, but they are watching and I felt too uncomfortable to send it back. I ate a piece, ate the surrounding vegetables and ate another piece from the center and immediately vomited it out. It 100 percent tasted like ammonia and smelled like ammonia. I told them I did not want another one and would move onto dessert as I felt they thought I was being a difficult tourist. In fact not, as I am well versed in restaurants and work in one.

Dessert was lovely and the bill came. I was charged full price which I paid without a fuss. If they wanted to charge me full price, I was not going to argue in such an uncomfortable position. As they are a restaurant, surely this was not the first time they have had a complaint. But to take the position that I am wrong and they are right and to get stares from the female staff and chef is not right. I am not being picky, but I do know when my food is not fresh and has turned.

Having just left, I was still hungry and so had to buy a something at a boulangerie to hold me over.

To be fair, everything else was satisfactory. Loved the entrées. Food has been made thoughtfully and it shows. But the young chef should be brave enough to change the menu if given a bad...

Mixed experience. The menu is short and heavy on meat, cream and buttery sauces (beurre blanc, bearnaise, velouté). There are also other french classics like frog legs and snails. There was also a cote de boeuf, frites bearnaise at 140 Euro for two persons 900g that we passed on.

We were there in fall so lots of mushrooms on the menu. For a starter I had a soft boiled egg with nuts and a mushroom velouté. OK, but overall a bit on the heavy side. My husband had escalopes de foie gras with chanterelle mushrooms.

The dish did not make sense. The foie was good, but the mushrooms were soft and the taste combination did not work. My main course, cod with bok choy, miso and beurre blanc was delicious, but would have been even better without the butter sauce.

My husband had a dish of fowl with vegetables and a sauce of vin jaune with lots of saffron. Good quality meat and vegetables but the flavors did not gel.

Good selection of wines and friendly service. Overall the dishes were on the heavy side, and...

The food quality was excellent, however, the service was exceptionally poor. It appeared the staff lacked the necessary skills to accommodate non-French speaking patrons. Upon arrival, despite stating our limited French proficiency, we were provided only a French menu. We subsequently requested two complete menus, including starter, main course, and dessert. Upon receiving the bill, we were overcharged, with the explanation that one dish wasn't on the tasting menu and the error was ours for not selecting correctly. While I accept the communication barrier and paid the additional amount, the waiter's demeanor was exceedingly rude and unempathetic. He should have addressed the issue at the time of ordering, rather than highlighting the discrepancy on the bill and implying a lack of attention...