Le Bilboquet — Restaurant in Atlanta

5 star for HOSTILE , RASICT , CLASSLESS & UNCOUTH staff —— Attached is a photo showing one of your staff members sticking her tongue out at me after subjecting me to a horrendous and dehumanizing experience on July 11, 2024, between 6:15 - 6:20 PM. I visited your restaurant located in a retail district known for its casual atmosphere, where people often walk pets or dress up to enjoy the luxury aesthetic.

Anyway , Feeling hungry after a walk, I decided placed an order. Initially, the staff member asked me to wait and walked past me to sit 2 white women who were ahead of me. No big deal. Upon her return, we agreed on a take-out order. She suggested I could sit in the outdoor dining area since I planned to take a walk and return later. Great.

Later, when I requested drinks, she informed me that I needed to be seated by a server to receive them. I agreed to be seated outside per our conversation so far and she reassured that someone would come seat me. Cool.

While I waited and I was listening to a podcast with earphones on, two white female guests approached me from behind and then her respectful tone abruptly changed, and she aggressively & condescendingly said to me “ you couldn't be seated due to the restaurant's dress code, you have to leave immediately.” Unsure whether I was shocked or simply absent-minded due to my focus on the podcast, I complied and left.

Confused and shocked by this sudden turn of events upon reaching my car, I called at 7:34 PM to speak with a manager. To my surprise, the same staff member who asked me to leave answered the phone. I requested to speak with a manager, but she claimed the manager was busy and asked me to leave a message. I detailed my grievances, but she accused me of lying and seeking free food !! before abruptly hanging up. Subsequent calls at 7:38 PM went unanswered until David finally picked up at 7:51 PM. I explained the situation, expressing my understanding of the dress code but questioning the sudden change, hostility, and dehumanizing treatment, and demanded to know the status of my food order. He asked me to return.

Upon returning to the restaurant, I requested to see David. However, this same female staff member antagonizingly instructed me to step back from the counter & I oblige as I realize she was try to trigger me into a heated reaction. After waiting patiently, David eventually came forward. I recognized him as the staff member who was standing by her during her sudden change in mannerism. He listened as I told him while I understand the dress code policy, being denied service for take-out was unacceptable. I quested to speak to the manager again but now he claimed the manager wasn’t in the store, contradicting earlier information. This inconsistency raises concerns about a cover-up. But Despite this, I focused on addressing the immediate issue. I requested my order (and I paid, as I clearly was not seeking free food, ) & for an Apology she returned with an attitude, offering a disingenuous apology. When I mentioned my intention to share my experience on social media, she responded by sticking her tongue out at me and laughing, as captured in the photo, unfazed and unapologetic.

I'm not even sure if I got what I ordered—as I ended up paying $68.81 instead of the $100+ per menu prices I saw initial but as David didn't confirm the order with me directly, but with her and since I gave the food to a Quick Trip (QT) employee in the end I guess we will never know.

This entire ordeal was deeply disappointing, humiliating, and dehumanizing. I expect your restaurant to take immediate and appropriate action to address this matter. I was treated unfairly and disrespectfully by your staff(s) who failed to uphold basic courtesy and professionalism. My experience was marked by dismissiveness, condescension, and outright racism. I insist on a swift resolution and request this matter be escalated to a manager promptly Or I might just need to take to social media to seek accountability and ensure this incidents are taken seriously doesn’t repeat it...

Horrible management at Le Bilboquet as they ruined my wifes birthday dinner this weekend. They have no compassion, no empathy, just rudeness. A socially inept element that should be exposed of this company and its staff as this situation that happened to us and I hope it stops happening to others as I saw in the news and on facebook and on review if the bad reviews don't get taken down. They judge and discriminate at their whim. You may or may not have heard horror stories from other really good people saying how they now hate this restaurant for the way they discriminatorily pick and choose who they want to be nice to and who they don't. Stop supporting Bilbo until they become real people again. Some of the locals in Sag Harbor and EH and NYC also told me they hate the way Bilboquet restaurant treats people and they will never return to the restaurants. Atlanta Bilbo was in the news for similar discriminatory practices. As I left a Bilboquet restaurant being refused to be seated this weekend, and my family was dressed neatly and so respectfully, dressed beautifully, on the way out I ask a few patrons if I'm dressed nicely enough to eat here, they say yes. I also had called the urgent phone number that Bilboquet supplies on their e-mail replies, yet the nice young lady says she is in the NYC location and cannot help me (she was nice, totally not her fault, she just picked up the phone therefore I did not take it out on her of course..but she sure said "Oh my god! I wish I could do something but I cant"). This story gets even better now, as I mentioned that I later see on facebook they they let in a man with Shorts that weekend, they also let Chris Cuomo the news anchor in with a baseball cap and a tee-shirt with a fishing advertisement on it (all of which the restaurant says is not acceptable if you actually read their website ambiguous attire suggestions)(btw, which totally emphasizes more about avoiding beach-wear - as in bathing suits, flip flops, cover-up, tee shirts, sports branded attire, political statement wearables.). They lied to my face, and yet I also noticed they did manage to let a different man in with wearing faded jeans and a tee-shirt, but the website says "dress to impress"? I hope you will help me and others take a stand against the discriminatory and socially unjust behavior the Le Bilboquet is using against good people. Others have expressed their pain in reviews but most of those reviews get taken down. Le Bilboquet management is sending a hateful, discriminatory message to people, which likely will continue to fuel the feelings other less fortunate people will feel about those who have power and more money to get treated more favorably. I am a 64 year old business professional, my wife and I are educated business professionals, we had no political or social agenda to push that evening, we just wanted to enjoy a nice family birthday dinner we had reservations for. My wife and mother-in-law had favored Bilboquet in NYC for many years, even when it was a hole-in-the-wall startup years ago which needed the support of people like us to get them off the ground. I have reached out to the Corporate e-mail at Bilboquet numerous times however they do not reply with even a shred of decency to be professional enough to reply. Sag Harbor Bilboquet also refuses to reply to address this horrible situation either. We are all supposed to be changing the world for the better, not going backwards in time of societal and civil separation. Discriminatory behavior does not help the country, does not help the world. Shame on Bilboquet for forgetting how to treat all people nicely and equally. Not a good way to show the next generation of the world how to create a...

I have tried to come here via walk-in a couple of times before and both times I was turned away due to the popularity of the place. You really need reservations to get in, it seems. A bit of an inconvenience for someone who likes to go on impromptu indulgences but understandable once I managed to get in.

For once, on a wet Tuesday night, I took a friend and walked right in. I'll note here that we were not turned away due to our attire, or lack thereof. I was probably closer dressed for the occasion (simple shirt and slacks) but my friend merely wore a faded t-shirt and sweats.

I'm very impressed that the hostess did not turn us away in spite of what other patrons were wearing; for that they have earned themselves a return visit.

Exterior is modern just subtly hinting on contemporary. They do try to go for that classic bistro feel with the white table cloths, adorned with a flower and little wooden seats with a patio design.

Interior is quaint and impressively rustic. Wooden veneer cabinets and cloth drapes on the expansive windows. It was simple and spoke like a true bistro. Nothing too fanciful or outlandish . . . though the music was a tad bit questionable.

Food! I quite enjoyed my slight charred octopus with garbanzo beans. It wasn't quite what I expected at a French restaurant/bistro but very interesting indeed. Though it was a tad bit more chewy than is normal for my liking. Flavor-wise? Interesting and acceptable.

My friend ordered the foie gras. He knows a great deal more about French cuisine than I (I'm more partial to Italian), so naturally I had to bring him here. How to describe the foie gras? It was a creamy meadow of fatty, nutty richness melting in your mouth with just a hint of fruits. Though, I suspect that was from the fruit preserve that came with it. Might have been cranberry; my memory fails me.

For the main course, he had the veal scallopini while I the branzino. Veal was good, naturally, with the reduced sauce (not sure if it was marsala). A classic Italian dish yet served at a French bistro? Interesting.

Branzino had a nice thin crispy skin which subtly caressed the flaky white underneath. It was served on a circular bed of wild rice (pilaf?). Nothing else needs to be said. Was excellent.

Restroom was typical of these kinds of places. Nothing new here. But the cologned? hand-soap was a nice touch. Didn't expect that. Very nice.

Service was a tad bit . . . expected. It seemed that the server turned his nose up at my friend due to his lack of attire. They seemed throw the dishes unceremoniously onto our table before scurrying away to get as far away from my friend as fast as possible.

I'll overlook this as we got a table but if anyone at the restaurant chooses to read this just know that sometimes the people who return again and again aren't the best dressed or loudest in the room. The people who return just want to just have a good meal and not have to dress up to impress. We like to dine without reservations (if it can be helped) or expectations. We like to talk softly and eat our luxury in peace.

And who knows, maybe we might even leave a review if the food and experience warrants it.

Just some food for thought.

I will be back, most likely with reservations so as to not have to worry about seating next time.

Will I be dressed sharply? No promises.

But I promise the restaurant this . . . that hostess does deserve a tip the next time I come. And hey, she even speaks...