Georges French Bistro — Restaurant in Wichita

Was that French Food? It sounded vaguely like something I’d eaten before—just not in France. Maybe somewhere in the country. Maybe. But definitely not on the Rue Anything.

Still, the place had a certain je ne se cois. A sense of occasion. In Wichita, people actually dress up to go to dinner, well “fancy” places. Not tuxedos or tiaras, but the sort of outfit you'd wear to church if you were trying to convince God you’d finally pulled it together. The difference being: at dinner, nobody falls asleep mid-sermon, unless the wine list is unusually long.

Instead, they feast. They laugh—sometimes even at their friends’ jokes. They tilt their phones to catch the light just so, capturing their fat fries and mid-laugh expressions for the Instagram gods. For most, it was just a moment: a bite, a scroll, a sip, a snort.

When I arrived, I caught a couple trying to smuggle out a doggie bag as if it were contraband. Like it’s some kind of felony to leave a single fry—excuse moi, a French fry—behind?. Or half a serving of poutine, which even in its prime has average consistency – a forgetful dish.

The Food? Pretty good. Nothing to moan about—no involuntary groans, no eyes rolling back in ecstasy—but good enough to consider coming back. Solid. Dependable. Like a Honda Civic with a dash of aioli.

The standards? Exactly what one might expect from Wichita: napkins and table linens still holding the creases from the packaging. Not freshly pressed so much as forgotten in the dryer after a night out, then given a lazy shake and a silent prayer.

While waiting for our table, a group of girls floated past us in a cloud of perfume, sequins, and optimism. They were dressed like they’d just stepped out of a Ross commercial: all sparkle, all smiles, absolutely thriving. They sat at the table next to ours and looked like they were having the time of their lives. We briefly considered following them to wherever the real party was, convinced their food must have come seasoned with joy.

The Service? Also “fine,” in the way a shrug is fine. The waitstaff couldn’t tell a red wine glass from a white if their lives depended on it. Let’s just break it down to the basics: stem, bowl, liquid. I like to think the kitchen staff broke all the proper glassware in some tragic dishwasher incident and management just said, “We make do.”

It was, as the youth say, a hot mess. Maybe we were underdressed—just enough to signal “second-tier service” but not enough to be escorted out.

The birthday boy ordered the branzino—his first—and when it arrived, he looked at me like I’d opened his third eye. “Thank you,” he whispered, as if I’d just reintroduced him to joy. I offered the kind of nod that says, “Yes, I am your god now,” and let him bask in the glow of his own grilled epiphany. As one does when taking credit for someone else's spiritual awakening. He offered me a bite, and I declined—not out of politeness, but self-preservation.

I explained that I once had a Branzino in Beverly Hills so perfect, so transcendent, I’m still not entirely sure I didn’t hallucinate the entire thing during a nervous breakdown. It was buttery and light, but ever since, I’ve refused to eat Branzino anywhere else.

I wasn’t about to overwrite that with a piece of fish that arrived looking confused, sweating oil, and garnished with something that I didn’t recognized. So I sat back, watched him take his final bite, and smiled—happy for him, really. No longer a branzino virgin, and like most people after their first time, politely pretending it had changed his life.

George, I was not impressed. But I’ll see you again, if only in the hope of crisp linens, the right glasses, and a properly stirred martini—one with just enough melted ice chips to make me forget I’m still in Kansas, and gin smooth enough to remind me why I chose Hendrick’s in the...

We went to Georges Bistro for our Anniversary. Got all dressed up, and made it at our reservation time. Got seated and our table had a fly. And a gnat. Our waiter poured our water and took our drinks order. Left. About 5 minutes later came back and took our appetizer order, we got the Brie Cheese sampler. The cheese and crust were delicious, but the apples were bland.

Somewhere in this time our server took our mains order. We both got the Steak Frites (steak and fries). I did not pronounce Frites correctly, and was immediately corrected by our waiter. We finished out the Brie and the waiter brought out steak knives, but then checked if we’d ordered steak… he placed them on our table. And because I’m klutzy I moved my knife to the left of me so I wouldn’t knock it off the table.

We got our mains. They were delicious. Though for me there was too much green sauce on the steak. A good steak (to me) needs no embellishment… so I mostly scraped it off. The Truffle Fries were smashing, and the Arugula Salad was perfect with the tangy dressing. BUT as the waiter placed our food on the table he made certain to move our knives back into their “correct” place as if we had no manners and didn’t know what we were doing.

He was also very grumpy with us every time we refilled our water glasses ourselves… filling them just a bit more to show he was watching. Kinda. My biggest issue was the dichotomy of service. While we were waiting for our drinks, some regulars came in and our waiter hugged them and showed them to their seats. Graciously fawning over them. As we were eating our Brie plate another regulars and their friends came in, and by the time they’d been seated they had a drink on the table for him, and the waiter was once again fawning.

With us… clipped. As soon as HE was done talking he’d walk away. Not when I was done talking. This happened once during the appetizers and I thought it was a fluke. Then as we were wrapping up our mains, a teenager came in and our waiter hugged him, gave us a quick check in, and walked out. Legit. Walked out into the parking lot to see someone. I had wanted to ask for the check.

My partner flagged down one of the other waitstaff and asked for our check. They waited for our waiter to return, told him, and he brought out of check and the fancy sparkler that they light up for special occasions. As it was our ANNIVERSARY and all. We both told him it wasn’t necessary, paid with a sad tip because I wasn’t happy, and we left without dessert. I wished we’d had any server but him. I think it would have made the...

Had the worst experince from their so called manager Abbie. Instead of finding out what transpired at our table with all our friends wanting to pay for our friend's birthday dinner. She came out and insulted and lied to us infront of other tables. Her actions not only was completely unprofessional but made me a customer that wouldn't ever return back as long as such behavior from the higher management is tolerated. After spending over $600 and celebrating a special occasion, for Abbie to come out and accuse us of "scaring" our server who had taken care of us on previous occasions completely destroyed our celebratory mood. She accused us of using derogatory language towards the server and that he was so upset he left the restaurant. Which we found out was false as the other servers confirmed he was still there plus we saw him. And coming from a past service/restaurant industry experience we wouldn't ever insult anyone let alone a server who took really good care of us last night plus the previous times, and I am sure our gratuity reflected that. We have NEVER been treated in such a humiliating and condensing manner for trying to pay for a friend's dinner. Coming from a classy restaurant such yours, Abbie's managerial skills didn't even come close to the word classy. Her lies reflected her personality and I will not hold that against your restaurant. To me it felt more of a personalized attack as she never took the time to understand why we all wanted to take care of our friend's tab. And our actions didnt affect anyone around us. And for her to bluntly lie and say we insulted the server and he left the building shows her moral judgment as a human being. She surely is not a fit for the reputation you have built not only with you exceptional food but the service. Her action alone have left a bitter feeling within our group. She ruined our friend's birthday celebration to say the least! People come to a place not only for the food and service but for the hospitality and Abbie single handedly managed to ruin it. Shocked to see a manager act in such a manner and be dishonest when she is supposed to be leader and role model for the staff around her. The 1 star is a reflection on Abbie's behavior not the food or the service we received from our server.

Thanks for your reply. It is disheartening to see that such allegations were made as we never used profanity towards anyone and nor did we grab the server. If you have any security cameras please feel free to review them. This is not only an insult but an accusation to...