Paris Dining Club — Restaurant in Minneapolis

My family and I went to the Grand Cafe for dinner on Sunday, May 20, 2018. It was one of the worst dining experiences of my life.

It didn't start out that badly, though there were clues the kitchen was not in top form: our wine - my Sauvignon Blanc and my partner's Cote du Rhone - were of noticeably poor quality. The server also informed us that our appetizer of choice (smoked oysters) and the entree I was interested in (rainbow trout) were not available because they had had a "really busy brunch." That was a little off-putting. She later said there were a couple more orders of trout available, with peas substituted for green beans - more on that later. The spinach salad and poached shellfish we ordered to start with were fine. They seemed to be low on spinach and there was no dressing on the salad (which I think must have been an oversight - I don't think it was intentionally bare), but the hazelnuts and savory crisps that garnished it gave it some flavor. There was a third appetizer that I can only describe as a mini Totino's pizza. Interpret that as you will. We didn't think it was up to par with sit-down dining.

The entrees were the real disasters. I had the trout, my partner had the hen egg dumplings, and my daughter had the roast chicken (which she may never eat again). All three were disappointing in terms of flavor and execution. The trout was totally flavorless except for a mild coating on the skin and it had the slightly tough, dry texture of frozen fish. The small portion was served atop a mound of totally raw peas in a cold cream sauce that had just a hint of lemon. It seemed to have elements that might have worked together had they been better executed, but as it was, it seemed hastily assembled and not well cooked (or cooked at all, as it happened with the peas). The hen egg dumplings weren't much better - basically, pasta in a salty brown sauce that seemed to be the same as the sauce on the roast chicken with the addition of maybe mustard. The chicken was the worst. My daughter noted it was "cut strangely" and had a "weird texture" - which should have clued us in to a problem - and that it had no flavor except for the very salty brown sauce. But we had biked all day and were famished, so we all ate what was in front of us. It was about half way through her plate when my daughter mentioned she thought the chicken might have been raw inside. It was hard to see in the low lighting, but that seemed to be the case. When our server came by to ask how things were, we were reluctantly honest - neither my partner nor I have ever complained at a restaurant before, but my partner especially was stunned at what we had been served, given he had had a good meal there just a week earlier. He brought my daughter and I back as a special birthday dinner for me, only to have an opposite experience. He inquired whether the chef had the night off, and the server said, "Oh, no - she's back there...." And that was about it - no apology, not even a modest attempt at making it up to us. We decided to skip dessert and get the check, and by that point, my daughter had disappeared to the bathroom, where she was violently ill for several minutes. She was so sick that she required assistance walking out of the restaurant and had to stop to vomit again in the flower pot outside the entrance before we could make it to the car.

We ended the evening in the emergency room, where it was confirmed my daughter in fact had food poisoning. Ultimately, that is why I'm writing this review. It's one thing to have a bad meal; it's worse to have to pay a fairly high price for that bad meal; but there is absolutely no excuse for sending someone to the hospital. While I understand others - my partner included - have had decent - even great - meals at the Grand Cafe, a decent meal shouldn't be a 'sometimes thing' in a good restaurant - and what we experienced should not have even been possible. It sounds a little harsh, but I think they should actually close until they get their act...

I normally dont post bad reviews, but I posted on their facebook wall and they deleted the post. so I wanted to share the word about the horrible service I received there today. I have NEVER been treated like this before! So my wife and I found this place by doing a search on my phone after the "Bachelor Farmer" told us we had an hour wait today for brunch. We were very hungry and when we arrived, we were quickly seated (awesome there). The menu looked amazing given the prices. My wife ordered a brunch burger (with a fried egg on it) and I ordered this egg in a bowl pastry thing. The kitchen brought out our food initially, and the egg was only partially cooked. (sunny side up, runny whites). We can understand that since it was our first time, we didnt know how they prepared their eggs. So the waiter brought her plate back to fix it. They cooked the same egg a little more and put it back on the burger. Which meant that there was still runny whites left on the burger. My wife hesitantly bit into the burger and noticed that the burger was only partially cooked and was cold pink in the middle. She was then disgusted and sent it back and did not want to eat her meal. I did not eat my meal, and at that time I told the waiter we just wanted to pay for what we had already consumed (a scone, orange juice and a tea and leave) he brought the bill and it still had my plate on it. He said since he offered to fix it for my wife that I was on the hook for my plate (even though he promptly removed it and i did not eat it). Hang on here...we are getting to the best part. So I hesitantly paid... On our way out the manager called me over (he never had the courage to come address me at the table while I was still there), by waiving a gift certificate at me. I told him the whole story and why it was not fair that I had to pay for food I did not eat. His response was "Well its good that you are never coming back, because you are not welcome here" I have never been told that by someone before so I was shocked...I have been nothing but respectable to the people there, and I will be honest that I got really upset and told the manager to F- off on my way out the door ... they mocked me on my way out by telling me loudly and obnoxiously to "have a good day". ...

Third time eating here over the past year and a half. Previously I left two 5-star reviews and was very impressed by this small local restaurant. Things have changed dramatically since our last visit about 6 months ago. Staff told us there is a new chef in town, and also new management/ownership. It shows. The food is still good, but the portions are substantially smaller and the prices have gone up considerably. $40 for an omelette main course made with special Japanese eggs. $9 for six small rolls of beef tallow/fat that would literally fit on a single tablespoon. $7 for flambes you can eat in a single bite. The menu (this time) was downright kookie, as if the chef was trying to make a point about avante garde he/she is. All the wines by glass are from France (one from Italy). None from California or Argentina. The waitstaff are trained to spend much time explaining how unusual what you are about to eat is (thereby potentially deflecting thoughts about the price of the plate in question). But for 3 refills of bread we would have left hungry after spending $100 (including tip; total of 2 beers for both of us, and no main course - just small plates). Service and ambiance are excellent. Nevertheless, we'll have to find a new favorite restaurant. As my departed best friend Craig used to say, "They...