Le Petit Bistro — Restaurant in Town of Rhinebeck

My recent visit to Le Petit Bistro was so disappointing that I felt compelled to write this unfavorable review. My daughters made a reservation days in advance so that we would be assured a table to celebrate a special family birthday. The table we were given was in the direct path of the kitchen door next to the cappuccino and espresso machines, where there was constant noise and traffic. I requested that we be given another table, but was told that no other tables were available, that they had been reserved. I decided to not press the issue, despite the fact that my daughters had traveled from out of town and it was my wife’s birthday. Instead I accepted the less than desirable table. I ordered the Swordfish and asked for it to be served WELL DONE. When my food arrived, I was stunned at the size of the portion, so small that I wondered if it was a lunch portion. While it may be true that the price of food has increased, it is not right to punish the consumer. Raise the price on the menu, NOT the size of the portion. This was not a portion worth the $34.00 price. Seems like a bit of price gouging, no? Additionally, the fish was served to me very RARE. I eat and prepare fish several times a week and when I do, I prepare it so that it is NOT rare, which is why I specifically requested that it be served to me well done. I asked the waitress to correct the problem and back to the kitchen it went, and 15 minutes later, it arrived, this time looking like wet mush, and inedible. Admittedly, I am not the ultimate authority with regards to fish identification, however, since I eat fish several times a week, I know what swordfish is, and I can say with certainty that what was sitting on my plate was definitely NOT swordfish. I was asked if I wanted to order another entree, but declined, as my family had already finished eating. This was so disappointing, as the whole purpose of going out to eat was to enjoy a meal TOGETHER as a family. At the end of our meal, the “unavailable/reserved tables” were still empty, and no one had been seated at them during the entire time that we were there. Hum?

Reservations were made at Le Petit Bistro thinking that our family would have an exceptional dining experience, but the whole ordeal fell so far short of exceptional that I am certain that we will never return. To add insult to injury, the manager of the restaurant never came out to see what the problem was so that he could personally rectify the situation. So much for diplomacy. Deleting the cost of my meal was simply not enough.

I have dined in many fine restaurants both in the US and abroad, and I can say with certainty that this experience did not even come close to...

Girlfriend book a table here a month ago. We ate our meal and ordered dessert to share. One particular item we order was listed as "Kit Kat Cake". We asked our server if the cake had any peanuts, to which she responded in the negative and that the caje contained hazelnuts. After one bite I had a severe allergic reaction and need to leave the restaurant immediately (still had a drink and part of our dessert left). Spent most of the night and next day sick.

I called the following day thinking that the food had been cross contaminated or there was some other honest mistake, thinking a person with a more severe allergy may order the same thing. However, upon calling, the person answering the phone informed me that the cake had peanuts and peanut butter in it. We had specifically put instructions in our reservation for no peanuts. Additionally, Le Petit was willfully and deliberately deceptive about the contents of their food; no mention of nuts on the menu for that item, the waitress was not informed of peanuts in the cake, and no marking or indication of nuts or allergy info otherwise. This is tantamount to felony assault!

If they can't even pin this down for a relatively common allergy (life threatening for some), you can infer the care, or lack thereof, they are taking with handling the other food.

Upon discovering this info, we called back to complain and tell them they need to clearly mark allergy info. The best part is they got back to us with an apology and offered to REFUND THE DESSERT FOR OUR TROUBLE. NOT EVEN THE MEAL, which they ruined. I realize having and allergy is my own issue, but I took every precaution to avoid the situation. Greedy owners with mediocre...

The menu was solid, the food was decent, the service was okay.

During my meal, a man at the next table scooted up to me and put his arm around me to initiate a conversation. I told him not to touch me and to leave me alone. He and his entire table began to argue with me, saying that he was just joking and I was overreacting. I insisted that I would not tolerate being touched by strangers and that my reaction was warranted. my disappointment with the restaurant is that a manager/staff member came over to check on the situation but only spoke to the man who had touched me, placated only him and his guests. Not one member of the restaurant even acknowledged that I had been harassed by other guests, let alone that I was upset at all.

Following up: The following day I spoke with the manager to discuss the incident and communicate the restaurant staff's failure to even ask if i was ok or acknowledge what had happened and how that made me feel. The manager Jessica seemed to take the situation seriously and spoke with empathy, assured me she'd speak to the staff and owners and get back to me.

The following day, Jessica called me back and all she was able to tell me was that the staff was trying to "de-escalate" and didn't intend to ignore me or diminish my experience. She then asked me to take this review down, which was just insult to injury because it made me feel that all of our conversations were merely to protect the reputation of the restaurant.

Not only would I not return to this restaurant, but I'll know probably warn people against coming here if they are...