St. Martin's Wine Bistro — Restaurant in Dallas

Last night was my third visit here, but it will be my last. We almost left without eating because of how rude our waitress was to us. I believe her name is Soloma, but she had a mask on so it was hard to understand. Forgive me if I butchered it, I don't mean to be disrespectful.

She immediately seemed irritated that we only wanted to drink sparkling water. When we tried to order our appetizers, she told us she, "had to get the entire order, it helps the kitchen out". We didn't want to order all at once because obviously an appetizer can impact an entree choice. Maybe the appetizer is filling, or lobster bisque is enough seafood for the night. Either way, at a fine dining experience you shouldn't require someone to order their entire meal if they don't want to. We could have simply said that we're only eating appetizers and then "changed our minds" afterward. There's no way to enforce this "rule", so why pick a fight with your customer over it? But the waitress was frustrated by us and took it out on us.

We told her why we just wanted an appetizer and she said, "Maybe you need some bread. Let me get you some bread." We didn't want bread, we wanted appetizers while we decided on entrees, like every other restaurant in the world allows.

She then said, "have you ever been here before? We have three dining rooms and 200 guests seated. I need the full order." She was making the restaurant's inability to manage its kitchen the customer's responsibility. Got it. Then, without us saying anything other than we weren't ready yet, she muttered under her breath, "I'll get someone else to serve you" and stormed off. She continued to harp on how difficult we were being to her fellow staff as if we couldn't hear her a few feet away. All that we wanted was an appetizer, how was that so difficult?

That's when Charlie took over and earned the 4 stars I'm leaving in this review. He recognized we literally just wanted an appetizer and soups while we decided on entrees. Simple as that. Soloma (again, sorry if that's not her name, but it's close) was willing to lose customers over this "kitchen rule". Charlie did a fantastic job and saved our experience the best he could. Had he originally been our waiter, we would be returning St. Martins soon. I realize that $180 isn't the biggest check of the night, but is St. Martins really willing to let that walk away over a customer wanting appetizers before ordering?

There are too many date night restaurants in Dallas to have a server that treats guests like that. In our experience, the competition doesn't have servers that ruin dates, so why risk a night on St...

My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with dinner at St. Martin’s, and I think it was the most perfect dining experience I’ve ever had. To start with, every food and drink item we had was outstanding. The cocktails were lovely (you won’t go wrong with the French 75!), and our appetizers of escargot, foie gras, and champagne Brie soup were each outstanding. The venison entree was an incredible first experience trying deer, and we were impressed with how well-seasoned it was. And the chocolate terrine dessert was just scrumptious - do not hesitate on that if you’re a chocolate lover!

The food definitely sold us on this place, but if it’s possible, the service, ambience, and kindness we experienced may have sold us even more. Firstly, we were running 15 minutes late for our reservation and worriedly called to let them know. We shouldn’t have worried. They were perfectly accommodating and we stayed almost 2 hours without feeling anything close to rushed. We felt taken care of not only by our wonderful server Jeremy, but also by all of the hosts and other staff, who always kept our water glasses full. The ambience was upscale and romantic, but without feeling stuffy or showy in the least. Everything felt warm, friendly, and authentic.

Most importantly, we brought our 5 month old baby girl with us. Of course nowadays a parent can feel a bit nervous about how this will be received, especially at a more upscale venue; you wonder if you’re unknowingly walking into a place where there’s an unspoken expectation that children ought not be there. I am so glad we took a chance on bringing her to St. Martin’s. The hosts were extra courteous to us because of her, making us feel completely at ease about having her there. The dim lighting and consistent background noise (especially with the live piano!) was not overstimulating for her and she fell asleep easily for a short nap. As we were leaving, one of the hosts even genuinely THANKED US for bringing her, which brought me almost to tears of gratitude.

If this experience had taught us that we ought to choose between 1) being with our precious daughter while she is this young and dependent on us, and 2) having the date night of our dreams on a day that is so special for us, we would without a doubt choose option 1, a little disappointed but firm in our priorities. But instead, St. Martin’s taught us that we do NOT have to choose, and we will never forget that. Now we cannot wait...

My partner and I were really looking forward to celebrating our anniversary at St. Martin's, but unfortunately, our experience was incredibly disappointing. We had a reservation for 9 PM, and after waiting 45 minutes, we were still not even close to being seated. It took the host at least 30 minutes to even offer us a glass of Prosecco, which felt quite inadequate given the circumstances.

What made the situation even more frustrating was the lack of transparency. While they mentioned they were running behind, they didn’t provide any estimate on how much longer we might have to wait. A simple acknowledgment that it could take an extra hour to be seated would have been appreciated. We ultimately decided to leave without ever getting the chance to enjoy our dinner, which was a huge letdown for such a special occasion. I hope the management at St. Martin's can address these issues for future guests.

••• ••• Update ••• •••

After our initial experience at St. Martin's, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from the restaurant the following day. They sincerely apologized and invited us back to give them another chance to make things right. We decided to visit again that same night at 8:30 PM, and I’m happy to report that this time was a complete turnaround!

Upon arrival, we were seated immediately, and the staff took the time to apologize in person for our previous experience. Our waiter, Rene, was truly exceptional. His knowledge of the restaurant and the menu added a wonderful touch to our evening. He shared interesting history about St. Martin and provided excellent recommendations for food and drink pairings, which enhanced our dining experience immensely.

The food was absolutely delicious, without a doubt one of the best meals we've ever had! The ambiance was incredibly romantic, and my partner remarked how much he felt transported to Paris. It’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into creating this location, and we genuinely cannot wait to return.

Thinking back on everything we tried still makes my mouth water, and there’s so much more we want to explore on our next visit. Thank you, St. Martin's, for turning our experience around and giving us a night...