Pomme Frite — Restaurant in Palm Springs

I have been to the oasis area six or seven times now, and every time I go to Pomme Frites simply out of love for the place. My father and I have brought along Belgian friends and old Parisian relatives before and they loved their experiences. I was born in Montreal, have been to France a dozen times and briefly lived in Switzerland and I can easily say that most dishes from the restaurant rival those in Europe. The interior decor is also gorgeous, with classic beer adverts and beautiful bar space, so even when waiting there is a lot to look around at. Makes for a very cozy eatery. During a hot day, those who sit outside can enjoy cooling from the mist sprayers.

I have read others’ comments regarding wait times, so just to let them know: Jean-Claude (the owner, who my family has met) is on a first-come, first-served basis. It is always busy when I eat there but even a half-hour wait for a table is well worth it. Just be patient and remember that whoever comes first sits down first. Reservations are recommended for sure, but during any wait, one can simply walk down the boulevard, there are many distractions and fun things to look at. In my opinion JC manages things well from what I’ve seen. Even if the place is small and there are a hundred people, my experience has always been that he will find time to take care of us.

To speak of the food now, the mussels are famous for a reason! I get the Cajun ones Au Gratin and they are délicieux! Of course les frites sont merveilleuses and are served with amazing sauces! Just thinking of the ketchup makes me want to go back again! I have also eaten from the Prix Fixe menu during the holidays and it is great. Make sure to know the daily specials as well! Many high-quality meats: very tender pork chops on Monday, great-tasting shanks on Wednesdays and Fridays, collection of pig meat on Tuesday, top-of-the-line ribs on Thursday, plus the lamb rack on Saturday. And then you can get half an entire duck on Sunday! Specials are well worth the $25 but you can always settle for some $10 mussels! And save some room if you can for mousse or sweet bread pudding!

Coming over to cool off from the desert with a refreshing glass of liquid Europe? The drinks are high in quantity and quality! I remember the first time I came to Pomme Frite, when I was seven years old, I was specially treated with a Belgian orange soda. Everyone I have come with loved the beverages. My family enjoys the wines, my friends like the beers, and I get sodas every time. They are savoureux!

Overall, a great place to dine. Prices range so anybody can afford a dish and there are endless items to cure any craving you have. If waiting near an exciting central street and a cool retro eating house doesn’t bother you, then you have chosen the right place to enjoy near-perfect food. If my picky French grandfather loves the place, then you will too!

— Alain Hayden Verstraete Enjoying Pomme Frite for ten years

Postscript (P.S.): The bar has TVs showing great entertainment and even the bathrooms have funny artwork! There is French humor to...

We came here for lunch around 2pm we want to try their mussels and steak. The place was pretty empty with many seats open either in the outdoor patio or inside. So we thought there will be no issue getting a table for us.

There’s a sign that says please wait to be seated at the host table near the entrance, but it took a while before someone eventually came out to greet us. He said “How many people and do you have reservation?”. It was kinda weird to me since the place is really empty with only a few tables occupied sporadically. So I told him that there are 4 of us and we don’t have reservation, thinking that it won’t be an issue at all as they are probably glad to have customers to fill the place. But to my surprise, he said in a grumpy tone and annoyed look “No, you need to have reservation”. Then he asked the couple behind me if they have reservation, to which they replied “no”. Without hesitation, he accepted them and said “since there are only 2 people we can seat you”. This doesn’t make sense at all, especially since there were plenty of empty tables. So when he returned from seating the 2 guests, I asked him if we can make a reservation for any time later in the day or evening. Then with a very rude and condescending tone he snapped at me in front of other guests seated nearby “I TOLD YOU THAT WE’RE FULLY BOOKED AND VERY BUSY” while pointing to his booking sheet.

First, he didn’t tell me earlier that they’re fully booked for the whole day. Secondly, there’s no need to be all rude and angry toward a customer asking if we can make a reservation.

In order to protect other customers I will be sharing my horrible experience with all my families and friends as well as social media so other people can spend their hard earned money at plentiful other establishments in Palm Springs who would be so much more welcoming and actually happy to...

Food was alright. Now, here is how I leave one star when my food was alright in chronological order during the course of my dine in experience here.

EVENT 1: We spend total of 4 hr of our time in this restaurant. Waited 0.5 hr for the waiter to take our order. Waited one hour for our appitizer to come and waited another 1.5hr for main course after that. Then, another 0.5 hr later we finally got our water after asking three times during the evening. Many people had to give up their desserts and take off after finishing the main courses.

EVENT 2: One staff fainted and callasped during his shift around 9pm and EMS was called in to the restaurant to do first-aid on him.

EVENT 3: We had a reservation for mid evening but none of the dessert menu was available after we initially ordered and later was given a choice of pumpkin pie or a flan at a French bistro.

EVENT 4: An immigrant family of four who didn't speak English fluently was ignored and dismissed by the waiter saying "I know your ready (to order) but I am not (ready to take your order)" even though they waited for this waiter for 0.5 hr patiently before they raised their hand relectantly. They waited for an hour and waiter asked them to leave the restaurant since the food will take longer to come. They were confused by the level of rudeness. Then other customers around them stepped in and recommended them to leave the restaurant and go over to stakehouse next door. They left.

CONCLUSION: Understaffing, Frontal rudeness, Medical emergency during your meal, Feeling of being disrespected for $160 meal, and EDM music blast from next door dance club. The bottomline is they are really understaffed and are compromising their service qaulity by running an entire restaurant including patio with just two waiters to wait on. Very disturbing dinning...