07/17/09

not good at all

by carissalynn

Oh my, where to begin....

I got a raise at work and told my boyfriend that I would treat us to a nice dinner. I wanted to take him to Pastis off Beverly Blvd. in Hollywood, but unfortunately they closed their doors due to the recession. When I typed in French restaurants, Cafe Bizou came up as one of the top restaurants in LA. I called immediately and made reservations for the patio (which in fact is enclosed and only has windows at the top that are open...not much of a patio if you ask me). We arrived and the woman could not find out reservation, until we said "patio" then she found it. We were seated very quickly. As we opened the menu, we were shocked to find dishes such as "teriyaki chicken", "cilantro lime shrimp", and "chicken-tequila fettuccini" listed on a French Bistro's menu. Not to mention, the Prix Fixed menu wasn't really one. But we had read and heard good things, so why not. The waiter never greeted us. He came and took away the wine glasses, then brought 2 more, looked at our wine, and said "Soup of the day is potato mushroom." There was no greeting, no "hello"....nothing.

The breaded mushroom appetizer was actually 4 teeny, tiny mushrooms with a huge ball of some type of egg concoction on top drowning in a pool of balsamic vinegar reduction. We did not finish that. The soup of the day (Potato Mushroom) tasted like watered-down potato soup with no flavor of mushroom at all and the French Onion could be compared to Ramen noodles. The waiter, I might add, never asked how either of these 2 courses were. We even waited for over 10 minutes with a stack of dirty dishes on our table. When the entrees arrived, the plates were smoking hot like they had been under a warmer. I ordered Monkfish, which was incredibly fishy (and I have had it before) on a bed of poorly cooked risotto and topped with chewy carrot slivers that were supposed to be crispy. My bf ordered lamb chops that should have been rare, but were medium+ and the mashed potatoes tasted instant (which I hope were not). When the waiter asked how our meal was, I replied "fine" with a disgusted look and my bf said "well....its alright I guess." The waiter said nothing and walked away. That was a mistake we regret....we should have complained right then, but since the service had been bad I got up within 5 minutes and 3 tiny bites of my meal to get the manager. We waited 10 minutes for him to come over. He told us since we ate half our meals and did not complain to the waiter, he could do nothing. Let me add again that I had 3 tiny bites and my bf ate a couple of bites cause he was so hungry. We didn't even ask the manager to comp anything, we just wanted him to know. He said he would see what he could do (which he did not sound very convincing), but nothing came off our bill of $60. He was so rude and snotty!

We left a poor tip and our stomachs were growling, so we went to Alcove for some fabulous dessert and coffee. The best part of our dining experience at Cafe Bizou: the wine! Oh, did I mention that we brought our own bottle of wine?

p.s. My bf and I rarely complain...this was the one time we couldn't let it slide...so disappointing, especially from a place that gets 4/5 stars!

• Pros: wine
• Cons: service, food, management

12/17/08

Check your bank/credit statements... they might skim more for themselves!

by goodlife18

My boyfriend and I had a lovely dinner. We ordered appetizers, salad, entrees, desserts, and drinks. Overall, everything was really good. He paid the check with his debit card, and I left a generous cash tip. A few days later when my bf noticed that his card was overcharged, he called the manager. Apparently, the manager authorized the waitress to charge a higher amount because we "didn't" leave a tip. We positively left cash on the check book, but even if we hadn't, the manager has no right to charge an amount in excess of what an account holder authorizes. Gratuity is optional, and I cannot believe restaurant policy allows management to override a guest's signed credit slip. What a shameful disappointment! We will never go back.

• Pros: Affordable
• Cons: Horrible Customer Service

09/30/08

Incredible French

by Luxforsoul

I was a little perplexed on the terms of service reading previous reviews about this place. However, I found it tasty and service was fine. Most reviews are accurate, I just felt I had a bone to pick with the "Tude Snude and Rude" review-ist. Please don't account this ignorant review into your "research" for Cafe Bizou, it is very clear that the review was written by an arrogant individual ("Cafe Bizou certainly has mastered the arrogant ways of their culture"). For anyone to judge such a beautiful old culture is prejudiced and disgusting. In my experience, the French are only ignorant towards the American, but how can they not be when the American populace is giving them such incentive as ugly one-liners such as the aforementioned.

Other than that the food was DIVINE. I came in for lunch so the service was much much better.