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| - In summary: beautiful space, good food, extremely underwhelming service.
First: a few days ago the owner (or someone) was delivering a box there, and he decided to park his car in the bike lane. At 9.30am, during rush hour, in one of the busiest bike lanes in the city. Even though there was a laneway literally a few doors down he could have parked in safely and legally. There were like 17 bikes lined up behind him because they couldn't get around. This is a) illegal b) dangerous and c) extremely arrogant behaviour. Lame move, dude.
That attitude kind of sums this place up really. It's very pretty, and the food is thoughtfully done. But as pretty much every other review has noted, the service kind of sucks, mostly because (with a couple of exceptions--there are two really pleasant servers) there is just So. Much. Attitude. From the "hosts" who leave you standing at the door for five minutes before you're allowed to sit down, to the barman who sees you waiting there but also decides to ignore you, to the way they look you up and down, to the constant stink eye unless you're spending big bucks - it's just icky. When it's not arrogant, it's inattentive. I was once there when three separate groups were all trying to get the attention of a server, who was too busy talking to her overdressed and overmanicured PR friends and Instagramming their cocktails to notice.
The kitchen turns out decent food; it's a bit pricey, but generally worth it for well-executed French bistro classics. The steak tartare was excellent when I had it. The woodfired oven is a definite bonus. Too bad - the space is so pleasant and the food is good. I would be there all the time if they fixed the staff's attitude problem, but it just taints the whole experience. C'est dommage.
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