Petit Louis Bistro — Restaurant in Baltimore

Before I get into my review, I want to address a few things I’ve read in the reviews for anyone new to French cuisine or French dining experiences:

French cuisine naturally has smaller portion sizes. It’s only Americans that fill your plate with an excess of food. Other cultures have smaller portions, so as not to eat excessively.

The atmosphere is very lively and jovial. This is indicative of an enjoyable dining experience. It can appear “noisy” if you aren’t sharing in the jovial experience of dining.

A business has a right to post whatever signs they feel are appropriate, and have a right to stand in solidarity with whatever marginalized groups they choose to stand with. If anyone has an issue with that, then that says more about the individual than the actual business. It’s important for businesses to let people know that they are welcome in their establishment, and I applaud Petit Louie’s for having done so.

When you are good to your server, your server is good to you. I typically experience good customer service all the time because I treat the servers like human beings. The old adage says you can catch more flies with honey than you can catch with vinegar. If you give vinegar to others, especially to your food servers, then vinegar is what you will get in return.

With that being said, I’ll begin my personal review.

I ordered Take-Out, and from the time I called to when I picked up my order, I received excellent and swift customer service. The young lady who took my order over the phone was nice and friendly, read back my order correctly, and got my payment.

When I got there, it was a Friday evening, so I had to park a bit away. But not too far. The atmosphere was joyful, both inside and outside. I didn’t perceive it to be loud, it was just happy diners enjoying their experience. The staff who brought my food were also very nice and friendly, and the customers I encountered were also very friendly.

My mom has been wanting Escargot for a few months, so I surprised her and my dad with dinner. My mom has had French cuisine before but it was the first time for me and my dad. My dad is a VERY picky eater, but he raved about how good everything was.

The food was packaged well for take-out, and there were no spills or anything. They prepared for someone traveling and labeled everything so we would know which was which.

The food was DELICIOUS! We were so excited to try everything and the chef did not disappoint. My parents and I had a lovely dinner at home, and we truly enjoyed everything. I’m excited to go back soon, this time to dine-in, and my parents and I will enjoy the...

First time at Petit Louis tonight and had a reservation for 630. We were told to wait at the bar. By 7 I’m getting frustrated so we ask what’s going on, Maitre D says the table for us has people who are just sitting around talking but we are the next up. 715 and he asks what kind of wine we would like for a complementary bottle, I tell him “I am pregnant so we won’t be drinking but thank you so much, I appreciate the gesture”. I hear him talking to another staff member about the situation and running around working. Meanwhile, we are patiently waiting (my husband stepped outside to check other restaurants availability to no avail) but frustrated and there are a lot of people waiting around the bar, either to be seated or drinking. We have a 18 old at home with a babysitter so we don’t get out for dates often and we were planning on spending a hundred or so on a 4 course dinner so I am trying not to get to annoyed. 730 comes and he profusely apologizes and says they are comping our whole meal and we will be seated shortly. A few mins a 4 top opened up and they rushed to get it ready to escort us over. I’m floored they give just my husband and I a 4 top because it’s so crowded and ask “are you sure you want to sit us here?” Maitre D says “Absolutely! We want you to enjoy your meal and take your time!” The waiter was great. The food was fantastic. Check comes to $125 and we aren’t sure what to do if we should just pay or say something to the waiter and before I know it the Maitre D comes over snags the check and says “we’ve got this, please just take care of your server. We hope the wait wasn’t too much of an inconvenience and that you come back soon!”. The way they handled this and the food is why I am giving 5 stars. I’ve been to other fine dining restaurants where they don’t even acknowledge that you have been waiting, with the arrogance of “your lucky to eventually get a seat”. We will go back. The French onion soup, muscles and creme brûlée were out of this world. Moral of the story, if your at a small crowded restaurant during peak dining hours, eat your meal then leave within a timely manner. Waiting around taking your time talking is an inconvenience to staff and...

There is no excuse for a jerk of a maître d'. Having dined at Petit Louis a half dozen times, I do not share the opinions of most here. The food is OK, not great. And staff service has been mixed. This night, "less than pleasant" does not come close to describing the maître d' at Petit Louis. Unpleasant, disagreeable, obnoxious and snarky would be more appropriate characterizations. Yes, it was the holiday season. Yes, the restaurant was way overbooked. However, whose fault is that? Certainly, not your diners. You, sir, are responsible for the restaurant being overbooked. Making people wait well after their reservation time. And then to be disrespectful and short-tempered to your customers? Shame on you, sir. It is well documented here, and on other review sites that my greatest pet peeve regarding restaurants is small children. You want to take your ill-mannered child to Chucky Cheese? Fine. A hamburger joint? Okay by me. Bring them to a fine restaurant where I am paying $15-$20 for a glass of fine, and $30+ for an entree? No, no, no. On this night, next to my table was a five year old who was clearly not happy about his meal, or being at this restaurant. He was disruptive. When my dining partner and I asked to change tables, with two tables near us open, the maître d' was about as argumentative as he could be. How unpleasant? To the extent that our waiter and the wine steward went out of their way to be attentive to us the rest of our meal. You know how you get revenge on a snarky maître d'? You stretch out your meal as long as possible. And that is what we did. As for the food? The duck breast was OK. The sauce not very flavorful. The confit was way too fatty. The vegetables accompanying? Not very flavorable. Ms. Wolf, I love Charleston. However, on your watch Cinghaile has gone downhill. Petit Louis? I will never return. And I am going to publish this review on every...