Bien Mérité Bakery and Restaurant — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

I want to start by saying the front of house staff (hosts and servers) were absolutely amazing. Our server, Zee, deserves a full five stars. She was great. The food here is awesome. It’s a gorgeous restaurant. My bad review comes from trying to plan my baby shower here. I would NOT try to plan any sort of large event at this establishment. This took place on 2/8/25.

We booked the party room for my baby shower back in January. Sent out invites. Had people coming in from out of town. One week before the shower, the event planner called me (at 8 months pregnant) to tell me the party room had been double booked and we could no longer have it as the other group had booked first. She essentially blamed it on the previous event planner, who had recently quit. I said it was fine, and asked if we could just be put at a reserved table in the party room with the understanding that other people would be in there. She said it was not possible and the entire party room was closed off on the weekends. (This was not true. There were people in the party room when we arrived.) our reservation was for noon. When we got there, the host informed us that a party who had a reservation beginning at 10 was still sitting at our table. We had to wait 30 minutes to be seated, and were not placed at the table that was promised to us (with photos) by the event planner. We were crammed into a small table at the middle of the restaurant which made it very difficult to open gifts. We had a good time and the food was great. At the end of the meal we asked to speak with the event planner to make sure we were not charged for the reserved table since we had to wait 30 minutes to be sat. We were told that the event planner is NOT, in fact, there on the weekends. We were directed to a manager instead. She was very kind and apologetic about the issue. We were not charged for reserving a table. We went and sat back down, only for the manager to come up to us five minutes later and inform us that another party had arrived for their reservation and we were sitting at their table. She said she wasn’t rushing us but that the other party asked if we could hurry up. I was on the fence about writing a review at all and was planning on letting the whole thing go because all the restaurant employees were so apologetic, but that pushed me over the edge. If we had been sat when our reservation started at noon, we would have been done with more than enough time for the table to be cleared and the other party sat. In my experience and opinion the manager could have politely told the other party that things were backed up through the fault of the restaurant. Being asked to, essentially, hurry up and leave after our party room was double booked and then our reservation not honored was extremely...

After being seated by the hostess near a walk way with our son’s strollers and finishing our breakfast, the management felt like it was an opportune moment to ask us to get up and move. Using your customers as training opportunities for ADA compliance when your systemic problems begin in the management of your staff is a failure in leadership at multiple levels.

Typically I’m very understanding, but the situation was handled absolutely poorly. Furthermore, the owner didn’t make it better, rather she made it worse. Take the opportunity to set clear guidelines for your staff before seating customers, especially if you’re seeking to set ADA standards for your business. Maybe consider posting signs to remind your staff of keeping walkways clear. For a 4 star business, you can do way better in situational management, not only to keep your business held at the 4 star regard but to be a better leader for your staff.

--The owner response below creates a false narrative; the manager she sent to talk to us did not offer to move a chair, rather the manager told us she would like to relocate us to another section of the restaurant at the end of our meal. Once you show true effort and concern about the comfort and safety of your customers by training your staff correctly and set up flyers to remind your staff of keeping the walkway clear, I will not only come back but I will delete these reviews. Thank you

-I highly suggest you review the cameras and this situation in your business closer. There was no chair where my son’s stroller was located. The hostess removed the chair to accommodate his stroller’s location before we sat. I also asked the hostess if there was room for my son’s stroller before bringing my family into the restaurant. Secondly, the first thing the manager told us when she walked to our table at the end of our meal was if we weren’t leaving already, she would assist to move our belongings to the back of the restaurant. Never in that conversation was moving a chair mentioned. Also, you don’t need “extensive”’ programs to train your staff, it starts with you. During our conversation you mentioned being sued over ADA, if the safety and well being of your employees and customers mean anything to you as a small business take the time to set standards and guidelines for your staff, post ADA flyers to remind your staff of those guidelines and as I said I’ll happily come back and support your...

Went in with My Mom and Granddaughter to Order a dozen Macarons, Pastry, Hot Coffee and a Matcha…Here is My Granddaughters Review:

I visited this restaurant with my grandmother. As soon as we walked in we weren’t welcomed warmly. The young lady at the register asked if we were ready and I replied I needed time to look. She didn’t respond but asks the man behind us if he’s ready to order. Once I’m ready to order I stand by the cashier. The man had finished ordering by this point. She says she’ll be with us in just a moment. Her tone the entire time of the visit was bland and monotone. No friendliness whatsoever. Once she’s done after a minutes or two of packing another order, she comes to the register and just stares at me. I apologize in advance for any inconveniences hence it was only my second visit there. She just stares at me waiting for me to continue. I order slowly, allowing her to take time on her side of the order. She continues to just start instead of using words, meaning she’s ready for the next order. One mistake on my behalf of the visit was underestimating the price of the macarons i wanted. I ordered around 12 since i’d be sharing with friends that day. At the end of the order she told me it would be $62. Inside i was shocked the total had amounted so much. I looked at my grandmother and I just had instant regret. Again, the pricing was entirely on us they did have a disclaimer on the counter about higher prices due to product price. We wait around 5 minutes for our order and my grandmother asked for a straw for her warm coffee (The only way she can enjoy it lol). She says the straws are out… The straws are out. I was served with a straw??? I understand things run out but she was so bitter and passive aggressive about everything it continued to frustrate me. We end up walking out with two small boxes (to go boxes at that not the Pink Boxes) of goods and two drinks. Here we are ordering at a cute cafe I had picked out. Their matcha was good the last time i’d went so i suggested again. But once we came inside it was a disaster. Long wait, terrible customer service, and mind you it came out to $70 WITH A TIP WE LEFT. “Tips are greatly appreciated!” Please appreciate it then. You have horrible customer service. You don’t care either. I don’t recommend this restaurant unless you want low tier customer service and a ruined day. Only frustration and regret...