Le Bouillon Bel Air — Restaurant in North Island

Absolutely fabulous experience from Booking a table for 11 (and changing it) to outstanding service and excellent French cuisine of the authentic ‘Bouillon’ style restaurant. A French ‘Bouillon’ style restaurant offers classic French fare in a casual and festive manner at an affordable price.

Le Bouillon Bel Air was all these things and more!

The friendly and professional manner on the phone for my booking and subsequent adding of guests created a great first impression. I went in a few days before our Sunday, 6 pm booking in April. This was a party of family and friends celebrating multiple birthdays. The staff were helpful and welcoming despite the restaurant closed between lunch and dinner service. I preordered a number of starters and a magnum of champagne for a toast. This would allow the kitchen to prepare and us to be served fairly quickly while we decided on our mains, which also came in a timely manner.

Our server was Phillipe and he delivered deft, warm and professional service. After each serving of courses, he was quick to check in after everyone had tasted to ensure the dishes were correct. 5 stars for that! Not many restaurants in NZ consistently check if you like your food.

The food was authentic, delicious and true to its ‘working man’s meal heritage’. The tablecloth was paper and dishes came ungarnished, affordable wine bottles set on the table for self service. The more expensive Champagne was presented correctly as a Sommelier would. The care was in the dishes, not the trappings. We had a wide range of starters, mains and then desserts. Everyone was truly impressed with their meal choices. Seasoning was judiciously applied, so some reached for the salt on the table.

The portion sizes were in line with the very affordable pricing for Wellington.

Starters ranged from $7-$17, mains $24-$28 with a good selection of fish and vegetarian options.

I am including pics of some of the dishes with captions from my insta stories as we basically covered ordering almost everything on the menu!

The ambience and atmosphere was fun and festive and the vibe was great. The restaurant was packed, every table full on a Sunday, at 6 pm and this is a particularly trying year for the Wellington Hospo scene.

Highly recommended Bel Air! Also, make a reservation as Wellingtonians have discovered this...

I went for dinner with 2 other friends, based on the previously positive experience they had there. We were excited for a delicious and authentic French meal. We never got it.

First off, the service was friendly enough. But that was about it. Without orders taken, we were excited to be served our dishes (2 x veal stew with creamy sauce and rice, 1 x bouillabaisse and a side of French fries). Once our food arrived, we were sorely disappointed: ALL of the dishes were luke warm, tasted bland and lacked any colour or garnish. The fries were overcooked (brown/biege) and yet weren't even hot. I still find it hard to fathom how the chef/s got it so wrong.

It was a Thursday evening and though it was busy (many WOAP burgers ordered and served), that's not an excuse for sloppy food. We did not complain and chose to raise it with our waitress when she came to clear our table (her only other contact with us apart from when she took our order). Our feedback was passed on to the matre de, who sought clarification from us upon settling our bill. The reply from her was that we should have brought it to her attention as soon as it happened. We were hungry and knew that sending our food back would result in a longer wait and probably the same mediocre dishes as before. I can understand her point, but the basics were not done well here and that shouldn't happen with the prices they are charging.

I may come off as being picky and possibly a karen, but I am a chef of 26 years and my friend who dined, also of the same. We know good food and this wasn't it. For the price we paid and what we received, this was unacceptable. I would be reluctant to dine again when there are establishments who offer cheaper, tastier and better...

Food not bad for the price, but nothing special.

Tipping is not part of NZ culture, so I resent that you set up your eftpos terminal to prompt me for a tip and that your cashier stands watching while I press the ‘no tip’ option. Just pay your staff a decent wage so they’re not dependent on tips. Customers’ appreciation would then be shown through repeat business. At this stage, I’m not sure whether you’ll be getting any of that from me.

Note added after reading your response…

You don’t need to “give me the option” of leaving a tip. I always have that option anyway. Having a terminal that displays amounts / percentages of the bill as suggested tips is actively soliciting for tips and attempting to normalise tipping. It goes way beyond “giving me the option”.

To justify solicitation of tips on the grounds that it’s done in France - part of your authenticity, is either superficial or disingenuous. By that logic, maybe you should only accept payment in Euros? Maybe if you ran an American restaurant in Wellington, you’d expect tips of 20% + and be openly hostile if you got less? Maybe if you ran a Japanese restaurant here, you’d expect me to remove my shoes and leave them by the door?

Your French food is welcome here. Your attempts to change NZ tipping culture are not. That applies equally to the minority of NZ restaurants that do...