Les Bouchons Rochester — Restaurant in Singapore

My wife and I went there on Valentine's Day evening (14 Feb 2022), this outlet had just opened. While the setting of the restaurant is really nice, the service that evening was more than sub-par.

The main issue for us was that after ordering starters and main dishes, we experienced prolonged waiting times and had to enquire to the staff about our orders several times. We had to wait almost an hour between having finished the starter dish and receive the steaks that we ordered... To give a concrete time-frame: we arrived at about 8pm and only received our steaks and fries at 9:30pm !!

In the meantime, we had ample time to observe around us and could notice many issues with the service that evening.

Some other guests that arrived and ordered at least 20 minutes after us received their orders before ours (in one case we noticed a table where the main dishes was served shortly after their starters were served, causing some confusion to the guests as their table was suddenly flooded with plates), while in other cases, some guests were in the same ordeal as we were and seemed to be waiting for their own orders forever.

On the other end of the spectrum, a table not far from ours received only one of their main course. After more than 30 minutes, the lady still hadn't received what she ordered and as we finally departed after having finished our own mains, the man at that table was berating the staff and telling them that they needn't bother with trying to serve the lady any more, and that they would be leaving at once.

In a nutshell, the service staff was completely overwhelmed and disorganized that evening. We saw them multiple times walking through the aisles with dishes, then suddenly making a U-turn in confusion, only to come back some time later with the same dishes and serving them. Now, I understand this could be a consequence of having a very busy evening due to Valentine's Day immediately after the soft opening of this branch, but the level of service was simply not acceptable for a restaurant of this standing and left us quite disappointed.

On a more positive note, when our steaks finally arrived, and we tasted them, they were really delicious and perfectly cooked. That's at least a consolation for the evening.

Unfortunately, that was the only thing we really appreciated, as the cold cut platter as starters was quite underwhelming, and the fries, even if they do look like those I expect from a French Parisian brasserie (I'm French and was especially looking forward for their French fries), they were oversalted and not sufficiently warm when we received them.

From the other reviews I would almost be inclined to think this was a one-off issue on that evening, and I sincerely hope so. But from what we experienced I cannot give more than 2 stars out of 5 (one for the setting, one for the...

I’ve been a long time customer of Les Bouchons for well over ten years now, but I’ve usually been going to the OG Ann Siang and Robertson Quay branches.

Decided to try out the Rochester branch since this one was closer to my home, and I was surprised by how Les Bouchons Rochester surpassed all my expectations.

Ambience wise, this branch is definitely the prettiest and most comfortable. It’s located in one of the black and white colonial houses opposite Star Vista, and it appears to be the largest of the three outlets, occupying two floors with both indoor and outdoor seating. Getting a table is no longer an issue so long as you make a booking.

And the beef. We usually order a large format meat to share - and in this case, we got the Cote de Boeuf, the 1kg 150-day grain fed Black Angus Prime Rib, grilled to medium rare. This steak also comes with a side salad and free flow fries.

Firstly, the steak was perfectly cooked to medium rare. It was not at all overdone (I do note that some restaurants seem to vary between medium rare and medium for their doneness).

Secondly, this was a darn good cut of meat. The meat was tender and juicy, and flavourful enough that I didn’t even need to pair it with the mustard. (Of course - you do still get Dijon and wholegrain mustard, and mayonnaise and bearnaise sauce to paid with your meat). This was fantastic, really. I completely enjoyed my steak.

This being said, the fries were also excellent. I usually tend to focus on the steak more than the fries, but the ones at Rochester branch are really hot and crispy. They are really addictive. I find myself reaching for more fries if I don’t stop myself.

Dessert-wise, I’ve never asked for the dessert menu so I never know what new desserts are on offer. I always go straight for the creme brûlée. Again, the same standard (and size) for this creme brûlée as per their other branches.

Service is also excellent. The staff are really friendly and attentive. They are prompt to bring you to your table, take your orders, refill your waters and make sure your needs are met. In fact, when we requested for a refill of water, our waiter came immediately and even apologised that he didn’t notice the glass was empty, even though he really didn’t have to because the restaurant was crowded and we wouldn’t have expected him to. But that’s the standard of service here at Les Bouchons Rochester.

Colour me completely impressed. I’ll be back the next time I want...

We had a good experience here when my wife was still pregnant last year. So we decided to head there for a nice lunch and some alone dating time. The location is quite inaccessible even if you do drive, and especially so if it rains. For this meal, we also utilized our Amex love dining offer, as we did so the last time. We informed and checked with the server who received us if we could use the Amex love dining, and she told us with a smile that we could. So we went upstairs, where our seat was, and we were led to our seat by a non chinese male server. The chap was okay, no smile, but he gets his job done. It was also the same the last time we were there. At this point of time, we are not sure if it was communicated within the team that we will be using the Amex love dining, as no one explained the menu and the exclusion list. But as it was not the first time we were here, and we knew what we wanted, so we did not think or asked more about it. We went on with our meal, got my refill of fries for my steak and fries. I remember the steak were delicious, but this time round it was still acceptable, but definitely not as good as my last visit. The fries we noted were underwhelming this time (over fried, and dry). It might also be because it was pretty crowded during lunch. TBH we are not picky eaters, and we went on with our meal, and ate everything including the fries.

So, this happens next. I told another male chinese server that we wanted to pay for our meal. And I told him that we are using the Amex love dining. At this point, he decided to inform me (his tone changed btw, from polite to a more informal frustrated or rude tone) that since I am using the Amex love dining, I am not allowed to have the fries top up. No one communicated this to us, and we did not pay for this extra portion of fries the last time we visited. However we did not kick a fuss as it was just $11, so we proceed to pay for it.

I definitely will not go back to this outlet the next time. If you work near here, maybe you can give it a try. The lunch set is not super attractive in terms of its offering, which is why we used the Amex love dining. However I feel that there are better options for this price that...