Pavillon de Paris Étterem — Restaurant in Budapest

We recently dined at Pavillon des Paris to celebrate our anniversary, drawn in by the restaurant’s beautiful setting and refined promise. Unfortunately, the experience left us deeply disappointed, particularly given the occasion.

Upon arrival, we waited 15 minutes before anyone approached our table, in crazy heat and without so much as a glass of water. When the waiter did arrive, there was no introduction, no welcome, and no attempt to make us feel cared for. He took our full order (drinks, starters, mains) in one go and then disappeared, leaving us unattended for another 15 minutes before our drinks finally arrived.

The delay continued with our starters, which arrived only after another 15 minutes. There were no side plates provided, and all the cutlery, for both courses, was brought out unceremoniously on a single plate and left on the table without explanation. It felt confusing and careless.

As for the food: the cheese platter was a highlight and well-executed. However, the tarama dish, supposedly truffle-infused, lacked any discernible truffle aroma or taste, dominated entirely by salmon. The accompanying caviar was a letdown: three crackers, inconsistently topped, one generously, another sparsely, and the last with barely three eggs and a single onion ring. It felt more like an oversight than a deliberate plating.

After finishing the starters, we were left sitting for 40 minutes before anyone cleared our plates or approached us. We had to wave someone down just to place our next drink order, a level of inattentiveness that was frustrating and frankly unacceptable for a restaurant of this caliber.

The main courses arrived soon after the table was cleared, lukewarm at best, despite the plates being hot, suggesting the dishes had been sitting under heat lamps too long. To make matters worse, the wine we had ordered to accompany the mains only arrived after we had finished eating, a detail that completely undermined the dining experience.

We expressed our dissatisfaction directly to the waitress, who said she would inform the chef. Yet after that brief exchange, we were once again left completely unattended, no apology, no effort to salvage the experience. We eventually had to flag down the hostess just to get the bill.

It’s a shame, because Pavillon des Paris has the potential to be a truly remarkable destination. The setting is elegant and atmospheric, but the front-of-house service is wholly inadequate and unpolished. Given the prices, the marketing, and the aspirational image this restaurant promotes, the experience feels misleading and falls far short of expectations.

We had clearly noted on our reservation that this was a special anniversary dinner, and to have such a significant evening mishandled so thoroughly was not only disappointing but also quite disheartening.

Until the service is significantly improved, I cannot recommend...

It is a pretty beautiful place! Very romantic atmosphere. There was a wedding as well when we were there. But nobody was noisy, it was nice and beautiful. It was full, so a reservation is recommended in advance, or call to check before coming.

We have ordered the French tasting menu and signature tasting menu, so we have tried a majority of their food and I can say you will not regret coming here. Specially signature tasting menu is worth the price (take it with wine pairing, trust me, it is worth an extra 10k).

I have seen a lot of reviews about rude waiters and waitresses before going there. I was a bit worried, but I live in Hungary, so I know the service sector can be rude to foreigners who haven't gotten used to it. However, I have to say, we haven't seen any rude attitude. First one of the female employees welcomed us very politely, took us to our seats, nicely joked with us, then wasn't sure about our order, so she asked another male employee and he took over, and he was an even nicer and kinder person. It is hard to find this kind of nice guy around in the service sector.

Food might be late a bit, and they might forget your wine (the signature tasting menu included 5 wines and 1 champagne, so they forgot a couple of times), but if you can be patient or politely remind them, they will immediately help you out. Those small nuances can be compensated with the food, environment, and employees' attitudes.

We will recommend friends and possibly...

My friend and I went on recommendation of our hotel. We were the only customers all evening which given the reviews and quality was disappointing. We were welcomed with a violet and sparkling wine cocktail which was delightful. We went for the degustation menu with wine pairing. The waiter told us we were trying a new menu, and I totally believe this as after 2 hours we had only had the amuse bouche and two courses. The whole experience was well over 4 hours, which frankly was far too slow. The salmon ravioli with lobster sauce was very, very salty, and I doubt the chef had tried it before sending it out. The rest was lovely although warm rather than hot; which with regards the soup was especially disappointing, but as we had waited so long for the food we ate it when tepid rather than send it back to be heated up. The staff did not describe all details of the food, which I would have expected, and the waitress tried to take the bread away until we asked for it to be left on the table. The wine was well paired and the origins of each explained without any of the qualities of each being described. For me the pairing over-focussed on white wines. In summary a pleasant experience (except the salty dish) but far, far too slow. If they had been full and busy I would have understood but they weren't and really there...