Sphère — Restaurant in Paris

Amazing food but unprofessional waiter who ruined the night.

I had high expectations for my dinner at Sphere Paris, especially since it was to celebrate my mom’s birthday and I travel all the way from London just for this. However, the night was overshadowed by the unprofessional behaviour of a waiter in a blue suit, who I believe might have been the manager.

Due to a metro fault, which is unfortunately common in Paris, I was delayed by 27 minutes and had to take a last-minute Uber. I kept the restaurant informed throughout the delay, and they reassured me it was fine, acknowledging that I was on my way and that I shouldn’t worry. When I arrived at 9:57pm—just before their last order time of 10 pm—I was greeted by this waiter shouting at me at the door (in front of other customer), scolding me for being late. I have already apologised for a few times and this was despite the fact that I had already communicated the delay earlier, which they had acknowledged and told me it’s okay.

This public reprimand, in front of other diners, was deeply humiliating and incredibly unprofessional. I understand that restaurants have policies regarding late arrivals and last orders, but the way this waiter handled the situation was completely inappropriate. He didn’t just mention the time politely; he loudly berated me as if I had deliberately disrespected their schedule, which wasn’t the case at all. I had done everything I could to arrive as quickly as possible and kept them updated along the way. As a result , the waiter’s attitude was very unprofessional.

Later in the night, when he attempted to greet my mom more warmly, he tried to make up for his earlier behaviour. By that point, the damage was already done, and his initial outburst had set a negative tone for what should have been a special evening.

However, on the bright side other than this unprofessional waiter. Let’s talk about the food and other waitress. It was truly exceptional! The four-course meal was beautifully crafted, with a range of flavours that I thoroughly enjoyed. Our waitress who end up serving us, who handled most of the service, was incredibly kind, polite, and attentive. She even remembered my mom’s birthday, which added a nice touch to the evening. Her professionalism was everything you would expect from a fine dining experience.

It’s unfortunate that such an unprofessional display from one staff member ruined the evening, because the food and the rest of the service were outstanding. However, being treated with such disrespect, especially on a night that was meant to be special, has left a lasting impression on me. This was unfortunately an interesting evening for me, not sure how will I describe my experience here at sphere Paris despite the...

Sphère was ok, but it was far from the best meal of our trip. The biggest complaints are with the communications and front of the house service.

Below are my comments for those considering a visit for the first time and our lessons learned.

I made the reservation a little over a month before our visit. As always, I inquired if the tasting menu was a possibility with a lactose allergy. Not receiving a response after a week, I followed up. I did receive a response after the followup, confirming there would be no problem with the accommodation.

When we arrived at the restaurant and simply reminded staff of the problem there was NOW a lot of back and forth about the allergy if the allergy could be accommodated with the tasting menu?? Eventually, they said they could, but the whole point of the advanced correspondence is to avoid this type of awkwardness at the restaurant. STRIKE ONE.

We were seated at the very back of the restaurant. We asked for a better table. When we arrived the restaurant was still more than half empty. We were given the excuse that all of the other tables were already reserved by others.

I found the explanation completely nonsensical. First, when I made the reservation, I had my choice of times for the entire dining period, so I know my reservation was made well in advance of others. I think it was largely because they knew that we were tourists. Of course, as travellers, this is not our first experience of being put in the tourist ghetto : - ), but it is a lesson learned. STRIKE TWO.

For the table table service and the food, the food was of good quality and largely competently executed. Chef Tetsuya is talented, and we saw him hard at work on a Sunday evening. His strengths lie in seafood. The sea bream was outstanding. However, the paté was a miss. The wine was largely competent, although we did experience a couple of misses where the wine just didnt hold up to the dish.

Table service was friendly, but there were also several misses. Food arrived before wine a couple of times and the wrong plate for the lactose allergic diner was misdelivered twice. While this is not a Michelin star restaurant, these missed attentions to detail are still notable at this price point.

We had two full tasting menus and wine pairings (called the Prestige). The total price was 455 Euros, including the tip (mostly for the server's energy). For the price, considering quality and service, this was not a good value.

Overall, the experience was not a complete strike out (only two strikes with maybe a foul or two : - ) ). However, at the same time, this will not be a repeat for us, even though we visit Paris...

Not Worth the Money

We visited this restaurant for my birthday and opted for the four-course menu: starter, fish, meat, and dessert. Unsure if we should choose dishes from the à la carte menu, we asked the server. He clarified that the choices were up to the chef but to inform him of any dietary restrictions. Since I don't like chocolate, I mentioned that to him.

The experience started on a disappointing note. My appetizer arrived with some crumbs on it. This place tries to present itself as high-end, but clearly isn’t, especially given the 79-euro price for four dishes. (Yes, I am picky when I'm paying that much.)

The starter was light and interesting, but the fish course had salmon that was too salty. For the meat course, I chose the wagyu beef option, but it was too fatty and unenjoyable. The regular beef dish was also nothing special.

The worst part was the dessert. Despite my earlier mention of not wanting chocolate, the server brought me a chocolate cream. Realizing the mistake mid-service, he acknowledged it and went to speak with the floor manager. I expected an apology, but instead, the manager asked me whether I had mentioned my chocolate preference when ordering.

Blaming the guest for their mistake, especially from the floor manager, was a new low. Whilst asking me the question he looked at me with a nasty expression, showing his displeasure. I confirmed I had mentioned it from the start, and without an apology, he just walked away. Another server eventually brought a different dessert.

I've never seen a restaurant handle such issues so poorly. Most places would gladly change a dish if a guest didn’t like it, especially when the menu isn’t specified. It was their mistake, yet they doubted me. Even less expensive restaurants would have apologized and corrected the error promptly.

To add to the poor experience, I saw the same dessert served to another table, but the part of it was crumbled, showing a lack of attention to presentation.

As someone else mentioned, it was quite noisy, as well. There was a family with kids, who were making quite a noise.

It wasn’t the worst restaurant, but certainly not somewhere I recommend. I wish we had opted for just one dish instead of the four-course meal.

Edit: Seeing their reply, I see that they’re doubling down on their attitude. I suppose the chef is Japanese but the level of customer...