Olivier Bistro — Restaurant in New York

Olivier Bistro has surprisingly good reviews considering the awful experience that I had yesterday.

Initially, I had to request that my water glass be changed twice since the rim was stained with lip marks. The third glass that came was also stained but I decided to keep it in embarrassing disbelief. Note, there was no apology offered. The waiter picked up the glass (twice) and looked at it in the light while walking away as if I was making it up. The glasses on the table next to us weren't any cleaner.

The food itself was very poor. I ordered a brisket tartine, which was supposed to be brisket in "jus," on country bread topped with fried eggs and hollandaise sauce. What came was a bowl of transparent liquid in which sat my country bread and brisket, upon which was two underdone eggs and a thin, runny, white sauce that tasted like heavily diluted butter and possibly some cream. By the time I forced my way through the first third, the bread had become a soggy mess by absorbing all of the flavourless liquid in the bowl. I stopped eating not long thereafter. Sadly, my spouse's plate wasn't much better.

The waiter didn't once come over to ask if we needed anything until our table was bussed and I requested the bill. Once the bill came I placed my credit card upon it and was then informed that they only accept cash or American Express BUT there is an ATM in the corner of the restaurant; an ATM that tells you "the owner of this ATM will charge a flat $2.50 service fee."

Once I had my cash, I sat at my table as my waiter conspicuously wandered around "keeping busy" likely with the hopes of me leaving without asking for change. When I had had enough, I got up and asked for change thereby leaving a 10% tip, which I thought was generous considering the lack of service, uneaten food, and overall experience that we had.

When the waiter calculated what I was leaving her, she spat out, "is something wrong?!" I said yes and then proceeded to tell her that the food was terrible. Her response was to say, "you know I'm not the cook." I responded that the service was not much better than the food. She then slammed my change on the counter and exclaimed, "I guess I won't be seeing you again!" No, no you will not.

Perhaps I was there on an off-day; however, considering the unprofessionalism and entitlement of our server, I would think our experience is more common than not (and looking through the reviews of this place confirms as much). I'd go out on a limb and say this restaurant was once authentically owned but now whoever is in the kitchen cannot cook French cuisine nor frankly, cook at...

Let’s start with the fact that I’m just a year removed from living in Paris and miss it deeper than he sea covers the ocean above. There are special few places for me that transcend local, this is one of those restaurants, I feel like I’m back home in Paris, for even a brief moment. I recommend the escargot for an appetiser and I would like to have tried the fried squid but I picked the fois gras while excellent the matching apple sauce purée was more miss than hit. I have had the steak,duck, and lamb. I recommend them in that order personally, with the steak barely passing the canard. The service is simply devastatingly good and the people as kind as can possibly be. There’s no negatives I have and if you read my other review’s you know that’s rare.

UPDATE:

Oliver’s: Once a Favorite, Now a Maybe

I’ve been a longtime fan of Oliver’s — the ambiance, the French bistro aesthetic, the sense that you’ve stumbled into a little corner of Paris tucked into Brooklyn. But my most recent visit made me question if the magic is fading.

👎 Service: Cold and Defensive

Our waitress was… difficult. Dismissive, oddly defensive, and unwilling to take accountability. At one point, she claimed I didn’t get the dessert menu because I had stepped outside to smoke — which I hadn’t. Instead of simply placing the menu on the table like any competent server would, she made it my fault. That kind of interaction just kills the mood.

🫤 Food: Technically Fine, Totally Forgettable

Everything was cooked well, sure. But nothing tasted like anything special. Sauces were bland. Seasoning was minimal. No dish stood out. It all felt uninspired, like the chef was following a script but forgot the soul.

💸 Price: $127 — For What?

With service that felt icy and food that didn’t deliver, $127 for one person felt absurd. I’ve had better meals at half the price where I was treated like a human being, not an inconvenience.

⸻

I’m hoping this was just an off night. Oliver’s has been great in the past. But the vibe, the food, and the service all missed the mark — and for now, I can’t recommend it the...

My folks were visiting and since we are a Franco-American, I wanted to find a nice French restaurant. I chose this place because the menu looked tantalizing, especially the Profiteroles which is my Step-dad's favorite. More on that later. Excellent onion soup, foie gras, mushroom sauce, seared tuna on salade niçoise and drinks. Good chicken with lemon sauce. The veal was a tad tough. The Profiteroles were awful; stale choux pastry, bland ice cream and no warm real chocolate sauce, but a tiny bit of fake syrup from a squeeze bottle. Very very disappointed. My Step-dad ate his to be polite, I didn't and complained about it. The server showed me they only charged me for one, but when I looked at the bill, they only wrote 1 in pen and still charged for 2. Quite dishonest. So is the cash only policy, which I noticed many small French restaurants insist on; not so transparent when it comes to paying taxes back to the community.

Despite the above-mentioned negatives, I still give high marks because the place is really lovely, the servers very attentive and most of the food authentic and delicious at affordable prices. $241 for 3 with all the trimmings and many drinks.

I'm French and a former chef, so I may have higher expectations that most. Fix the...