Sugaar — Restaurant in Paris

My partner and I had the profound misfortune of dining here last night, lured in by the Instagram hype. It was, without exaggeration, one of the worst culinary experiences of our lives, especially for the exorbitant price.

We ordered two appetizers and their signature Txuleta Simmental steak, accompanied by a bottle of fine Burgundy. The meal began with a laughably small portion of bread and some fish spread adorned with a single radish cut in half. We are in France, the land of sublime baked goods, yet this bread was stale and tasted like it was baked last week.

The appetizers arrived. The grilled octopus (€15) was a joke—two measly skewers, more akin to conference finger food than a restaurant-quality tapa. The beef carpaccio (€24) was so microscopic we had to use that terrible bread to make it into a semblance of a bite.

Then came the main event: the disaster. The famed steak (€130) was an inedible, gristly, fatty mess. It was utterly impossible to chew. We left most of it on the plate. When we told our waitress we were dissatisfied, her response was to simply take the plates away and ask if we wanted dessert. No concern, no offer to replace the dish, no apology. Nothing. We are accustomed to fine dining around the world, where if a guest is unhappy, the staff shows concern and offers a solution—a replacement, a complimentary dessert, or at the very least, an apology. Here, they simply did not care.

The final insult was at the exit. The manager asked if everything was alright. We told her plainly that it was the worst meat we’d had in recent memory. Her response? A blank smile and a casual "OK." Not an "I'm sorry," not a "Let me make this right." Just "OK." Curtains on this farce.

After this "magnificent" €300 dinner for two, we went to a supermarket, bought a bottle of good Burgundy and a bag of chips, and had a more satisfying meal in our suite at the Mandarin Oriental.

Conclusion: Do not be fooled by the social media hype surrounding this place. It is a spectacular waste of money that values your presence not as guests, but as walking wallets. Avoid...

WARNING on portion sizes: the fish and steak mains can only be ordered "whole", i.e. the whole fish, or =1kg cuts of steak (see caveats below). For solo diners, you might be able to get lucky like I did, but you might not, YMMV.

Overall quite pricey but very tasty. I ordered the shrimp and steak and everything was delicious, but the hefty price tag puts this at 4* for me.

Mini-salad (free little amuse-bouche): Surprisingly good. The dressing was light and really went well with the crispiness and flavour of the veges. A great start to the meal.

Carabineros (entrée, shrimps): They were unfortunately out of their signature Gamba Roja Crudo, so I ordered this one instead and it did not disappoint. Probably the shrimpiest dish I've ever eaten, in the best way. The meat itself was really flavourful, but the best part was the brains and guts that you get after removing the shrimp heads. So good.

Txuleta Simmental (plat, steak): I was hesitant to order the steak after finding out there was a 1kg minimum on portion sizes. BUT (1) this includes the bone, which the server told me can weigh up to 200-300g on its own, and (2) I told the server my concerns and he was able to find me an 800g portion, which ended up being about perfect with the bone. Steak was cooked beautifully, and had a really great beef-y flavour. My only nit was that it was under-salted, but I was able to get some additional salt from the server and that fixed everything right up. Also the price - I only really got like 12oz or 340g of final cooked meat out of my 800g portion, which really means I'm paying 26€ per 100g of actual steak, which is hefty.

I also ordered a glass of red wine, which was not listed on the menu, and it came out to 18€, so that just added onto the sense of cost.

But again, ignoring the price, the food was delicious and I could see this being a great place to splurge on a great dinner with friends. The music was...

On the evening of May 27th, I had made a reservation for 21:00. Firstly, I would like to express that it was not clearly communicated that all main courses at this establishment have a mandatory minimum weight requirement. Accompanying me was a female friend of mine. Personally, I am not particularly fond of excessively large food portions. Regrettably, the waiter did not elaborate on their policy regarding the minimum weight per main course, despite my mentioning that I preferred a smaller portion due to having plans to visit another venue after this one, and having already consumed a starter. Consequently, I requested a modest serving of meat for my main course. The waitor suggested we share the portion of meat. Without explaining their concept to me, our meat gets served to us. It is perplexing to me why anyone would consume nearly a kilogram of meat as their main course when their appetite is not that grand. Upon receiving the main dish, I immediately voiced my dissatisfaction with the excessive portion, as it was not in line with my expectations for the evening. The waiter then proceeded to explain that their entire concept revolves around this minimum requirement of 900 grams. I had been recommended this establishment by a friend, and I must say, I feel rather deceived. I do not recommend going here. Lastly, while the ambiance is undoubtedly charming, the lack of air conditioning in the face of rising temperatures has made the...