La Bourgogne — Restaurant in Punta Del Este

Dear Mr.Jean Paul Bondoux, I have had he pleasure of being a client at your signature restaurant La Bougogne in Punta del Este ,practically from the very beginning when you started it with your wife Evelyn 35 years ago when you told me you left your native France because you didn´t want to live under Mitterrand !!!!! I saw you start the restaurant with great sacrifice and vision and convert it from a modest French bistro into probably the best French cuisine in all of Latin America. I have been a loyal client for 35 years and therefore it is so sad to see this formidable bastion of French cuisine ,loose its shine and level of excellence .It would seem that your success in acquiring and managing so many other restaurants has been done at the price of the decline of your most important and emlematic restaurantt I had dinner there last night (March 4th ) with my wife and another couple and was as always reconforted by the impeccable decoration, table setting and the service which continues to be outstanding.The quality of the food unfortunately has deteriorated substantially. -the evening started with a somewhat shocking experience when my wife was offered a basket of various types of bread from which she chose a slice of baguette only to discover that in the middle of the bread there was a DEAD FLY . The serving waitress did not seem to be terribly upset and simply said ......excuse me I will change the slice of bread with another piece which she did from the same loaf of baguette !!!!!!!!! Is this a normal procedure in a Relais et Chateaux establishment or for that matter in a 5th rated French bistro ?????? -the amuse bouche du chef was a miserable muscle and sad looking tomatoe in the midst of a vey sweet orange sauce which was more appropriate for a dessert than a mini first course . -the house smoked salmon plate in its self was acceptable, except there was no proper variety of ingredients to accompany it.No sliced onions,or white of eggs or horse radish sauce or capers . We could have purchased a frozen smoked vacuum packed chilean salmon at the nearest super market and had something very similar. _As a main course I ordered suckling piglet , which was highly recommended by our waiter . The plate looked interesting with the 4 pieces of squared meat with its crunchy skin but unfortunately it was simply UNEATABLE because somebody must have dropped the entire salt shaker into the pot since its salt content was worse than sea water as was PROVEN AND CHECKED by our maitre who excused himself in a difficult to understand half french half spanish .He simply said “ something unexplainable happened in the kitchen , the suckling pig is indeed uneatable ". A mild offer to prepare some other dish was offered but frankly I was sufficiently upset to pass by the offer and not go through the ordeal of having to wait 20 minutes for a replacement. I shared a piece of filet mignon my wife was having with a sauce bernaise which frankly was nor very different from 50 parrilladas in Maldonado and the sauce bernaise was too thick and creamy .A great disappointment to both ladies at the table who had similar dishes. -We declined dessert , but was served a variety of “ petit four” ……… which was plentiful enough but none of them had that special flavour that used to be so exceptional at the La Bourgogne .

Jean Paul you know better than anybody that the difference between a good restaurant and an "exceptional “ one is that in the latter ones every plate ordered offers you new,special ,outstanding tastes where one can enjoy tastes unavailable in other establishments . La Bourgogne had that outstanding feature which has been much to our distress has been totally lost. and therefore your restaurant is no longer...

A couple of years ago, I went to this restaurant with a friend. It is a rather high class, expensive restaurant. The staff were friendly, but the owner seemed to be extremely shy and didn't even bother to say hello despite the fact that I speak fluent French and know French cuisine quite well.

The big problem came when it was time to pay. They said that my credit card did not work (a Swiss Visa card), but this card has never ever failed anywhere. In the end they demanded cash, which was a problem because I didn't have enough to pay the bill (expensive). Finally, I paid in several currencies, but it wiped out all my cash which is not very convenient when you are travelling. I ate an equally good (less elegant setting) meal quite close by at 1/10th the cost the next night. Needless to say, I would never go back to that restaurant.

For food I would rate it 3 stars, but overall (service, ...), I would rate it zero -- thus the one star rating.

After a bit of surfing, I suspect that the other reviewers are friends...

Spoiler alert: Do it for the plot is my gourmet motto ℹ️No es para ir en familia ℹ️No menos de 130 dólares por persona ℹ️Cobran cubierto ℹ️Descarta el revenge dress y que te lleve a cenar como una reina acá para pedirte disculpas 😌

Acompáñenme a esta aventura que comienza con un bello jardín y la intriga por conocer un lugar con pocas reseñas redes sociales. Usualmente me cuesta encontrar mesa para 1 pero al entrar solo habían dos parejas (una festejando sus 50 años juntos) fui recibida amablemente y me dieron una mesa como para 5 personas solo para mi. Amiga porque dejamos pasar la primer 🚩? Just for the plot, asi que seguimos. La carta me fue difícil de entender así que hice lo que cualquier criollo y le pedí al servicio que me recomiende un plato y una copa de vino: corvina rubia con vegetales y cous cous o “Peche du Juor a l oriéntale” Me preguntaron por la entrada a lo cual agradecí ya que no iba a ser necesario y y también por los postres que no suelo consumir por ser intolerante a la lactosa. En ese momento mientras disfrutaba de las dos crackers de centeno con hummus que me dejaron en mesa empecé a observar que el lugar está lleno de adornos extravagantes aunque la decoración de las mesas es bastante anticuada pero ya hay reseñas sobre eso. Para mi sorpresa aparece una entrada de lo que parece ser salmón ahumado con esferas de melón y es que ahí descubrí que La única opción es un menú de pasos, suerte las porciones francesas son tres bocados así que no te desbordas de la dieta. El plato principal pequeño pero delicioso, especialmente las berenjenas salteadas con oliva, miel y vinagre (por favor más berenjenas así en la vida) El postre fue una degustación de sorbetes lo cual fue la sugerencia que me dieron adaptándolo a mis preferencias. Al momento de pedir la cuenta por suerte gozo de buena salud no como una de las parejas donde una señora casi infarta cuando vio que tenía 100 dólares solo de vino. Mi cena salió $5600, aprox 130 USD a lo cual le sumé el servicio porque Gastón fue un encanto. Pero si opino que hay lugares para cenar mejor y tomar más de una copa de vino, pero este lugar es para turistas de gran poder adquisitivo que buscan estar en tranquilidad… o es el lugar donde le decís a tu ex que te lleve a cenar cuando dice que quiere volver, créeme there is nothing better than Revenge. PS: ame el detalle...