La Nouvelle Maison — Restaurant in Boca Raton

BEWARE IF YOU HAVE FOOD ALLERGIES

I have never written a restaurant review, however after eating at La Nouvelle Maison in Boca Raton, FL, and interacting with the employees and owner, their actions and reactions were so irresponsible I felt compelled to write this review.

My wife has food allergies, so when we made reservations she called to confirm they would be able to handle her allergies. When we arrived at the restaurant my wife reviewed her allergies (gluten, bell peppers and corn) with the waitress and confirmed that the fish dish she ordered was safe. The meal arrived and after a few bites my wife started to react and noticed there were pieces of what looked like bell pepper in the vegetables. We asked the waitress about the pepper and she told us that it was not bell pepper, it was a different type (I don’t recall the name) and that she didn’t realize my wife was allergic to all peppers. We later confirmed it was in fact bell pepper and discovered that the waitress forgot to tell the chef about my wife’s bell pepper allergy. We understand that mistakes are made but to make a mistake and then lie about it to someone who is having an allergic reaction is inexcusable.

The lack of concern by management starts with the fact that no one came to our table after being informed about the situation. Ultimately my wife felt very ill and had to leave. After my wife asked the manager to expedite getting the car from valet parking, the manager rationalized what happened by explaining that the waitress was so focused on my wife’s gluten allergy, she forgot to tell the chef about the bell pepper allergy. The fact that the manager seemed satisfied with this explanation provides some insight into the lack of awareness surrounding food allergies (remembering some allergies but not all of them is totally inadequate).

Later that night I called the manager and he confirmed the dish did have bell pepper. The manager again tried to trivialize the situation by explaining “it was only one piece” (which reinforces his lack of awareness - all it takes is one piece if you have a food allergy). When I told him the waitress lied about the type of pepper when my wife reacted, the manager didn’t seem as concerned as I would have expected. He did apologize during our discussion and asked what he could do for us. Ultimately he offered a free meal for my wife and I during our next visit. Really?? They couldn’t handle my wife’s food allergies the first time, and my discussion with the manager did not inspire confidence, so we would not be giving them a second chance. To be fair the food was excellent aside from some soggy salads, and we might have gone back even after the waitresses mistake, however my discussion with the manager demonstrated a total lack of understanding of food allergies.

Finally his cavalier attitude got to me and I told him I didn’t think he was taking the situation serious enough. The manager found my comment insulting and abruptly ended the call by hanging up. I called backed and asked for the owner. The manager answered the phone and told me that he was the owner. I asked for his name and he would not tell me. How could the manager/owner of a restaurant, in this situation, refuse to tell a customer his name?

La Nouvelle Maison is not a restaurant I’ll be recommending. If you have severe food allergies you might be risking your life due to a total lack of understanding of food allergies. Even if you don’t have food allergies, there are far too many choices to support a restaurant where there is a lack of integrity from the top down.

After I wrote this review I found out the owner was Arturo Gismondi and left a message for him. A few hours later I got a call back from Guido Barisone, who was the manager the night we dined. He apologized about the night, explained that he was the operating partner and offered me a $850 gift certificate. I told him that we would not be returning to the restaurant based on our experience and declined his offer. His response was “at least I tried”. I think it was a little...

The second star is only for the ambiance - the food deserves not more than a half star. The first thing you receive is the wine list and the cheese menu - while serving cheese as an appetizer before dinner is unheard of in France it is also impossible to choose the wine before you know what you are going to eat. As appetizer we had one of the daily specials a warm peach salad - 5 somewhat limp leaves of bib lettuce with grilled peach slices and goat cheese in very little, very uninteresting basil dressing, Escargots a La Bourguignonne - the brioche croutons already baked with the dish and therefore soaked in garlic butter, which takes the pleasure away to dip up the juices with crispy bread and Hudson Valley Duck Liver Pate - which was very, very greasy. As a main course I ordered Fettuccine à La "Flambé" Homard - a pasta dish with maine lobster medallions in a tomato cognac cream sauce. The plate was served with Parmigiano already sprinkled over the pasta which is a big no-no with lobster in particular but also in general because some people just don't like to eat their pasta with cheese. I was even offered more cheese - not even freshly grated but from serving dish. The sauce was just plain tasteless; only an aftertaste of garlic powder which kept me up half of the night. One of my friends had the Pan Seared Yellowtail Snapper - a nicely presented forgettable little piece of fish in a lemony sauce and the other two went for the Twice Cooked “Jurgielewicz Farms” Duckling. This dish was really the highlight of disappointment in such an expensive restaurant. The plate looked like the leftover of a house fire - black bones, leathery (not crispy) skin and chewy, dry meat all accompanied by overcooked carrots and a spoonful of black barley. As dessert we shared an order of Profiteroles- Trois Glacé - Trio of French Cream Puffs served with Vanilla Bean, Pistachio and Salted Caramel Ice Cream garnished with Valrhona Chocolate Sauce. At least that's what the menu said in reality the cream puffs were filled with the ice cream and came solid frozen directly from the freezer and therefore practically inedible until they were thawed. I did not complain since my friend had invited but I am pretty sure he was not happy either. The restaurant is very elegantly furnished, the wait staff is super friendly - it could be a nice experience if the would just hire someone in the kitchen who can...

I wish French restaurants would learn to think more regionally and offer great local ingredients executed with excellent French sauces and techniques. This is a very nice, fairly expensive place with GOOD food, but not great food, though their pate is excellent. I just feel like when you're paying $30-$50 for an entree you should get something special and excellent rather than something that is simply fresh and prepared with good ingredients in a way that has no real fault in execution but no real flare either. The French fries, I must say, were a real disappointed. I ordered them as an accompaniment to the mussels which were beautifully cleaned, fed, and properly cooked. Like a lot of what we tried there the mussels recipe was good, but unimaginative...too reliant on a French = butter and not reliant enough on French butter and a balanced complexity of flavor. But seriously, at a fine French restaurant how do you bring wilted, marginally hot fries to the table? It may have had something to do with our waiter who seemed loud in our small dining area and generally disinterested in us and our dining experience. We hadn't even had a chance to sit before he was asking us if we were starting with cocktails or wine. He never introduced us to the restaurant, the signature cocktail list, or the ways to consider ordering for maximum enjoyment of the menu offerings. He wasn't rude, but he just didn't really seem to care about us, and that general attitude was pervasive throughout the restaurant. We spent about $170 and without even ordering a bottle of wine. I think we had a right to expect a better experience, a more inventive menu, and fresh, crispy, HOT French fries. Worth noting is that we had a birthday there, and the server was aware. It's nice that they deliver the dessert with a wish for a happy birthday, but shouldn't they ask for the name when you've told them about the birthday in advance so that they can write "Happy Birthday, " on the plate? Doesn't that seem like a $170 touch? I think a restaurant like this would do well to revise the menu and include more interesting regional dishes from around France...perhaps even some "country" recipes that offer insight into French cuisine beyond the butter. Honestly, the place is very pretty, but also pretty dull. I think they can and should do...