| rev:text
| - I'm so disappointed. I don't even know where to begin. My initial excitement was quickly squashed right when I walked in the door. From the reviews I've read on this place and Bourdain's "The Layover" highlights on this place, I wasn't going to leave Montreal without eating here. The hubs and I were hungry enough to eat dinner at 5pm and figured we would probably avoid the dinner rush since we didn't have reservations.
NO RESERVATIONS (not the Bourdain experience)
Once we stepped foot in the door, the snobby older man (which I saw in all the pictures so he was probably "somebody") asked if we had reservations. When we said "no", he gave us a look, flipped through his reservation book, and took his time. Terrible first impression for customer service. The phone rang and that's when he started getting irritated with whoever was on the other end of the line trying to change their reservations. Eventually a shorter older lady came by and asked us if we had reservations. Again, we said, "no".
IN THE BACK
Eventually they give us a table WAY in the back of the restaurant. Normally, I don't care about things like that. However, it was 5pm, and out of the 20+ tables in the front of the restaurant, only two were taken (by two couples). The table we got in the back of the restaurant was right next to another Asian couple and other 6-8 empty tables. My guess is that they didn't have a reservation either. Hm. The strangest thing is that before we walked into the restaurant, there was a white couple outside the restaurant looking at the menu and deciding on whether they were going to go in. Eventually they did and my husband's guess was that they didn't have a reservation either. Guess where they got seated? YUP - in the front of the restaurant with the other white table. I will end my rant here and go onto the food and service without making any conclusions.
SERVICE
Once we got seated, no one came to our table for a good 12 minutes. It got to a point where my husband was going to get ready to leave. Because he knew I so desperately wanted to eat here, he was willing to stay. Eventually, the waitress (the older lady from the beginning) came by for our order. I ordered the Steak Frites and asked for it medium and the hubs the Quiche with salmon and spinach. About 2 minutes later, the waitress came back and asked how I wanted my steak. I reiterated that I wanted it medium.
FOOD
My Steak Frites - Well, it sure wasn't medium. In fact, it was quite well-done. There was nearly no sign of any pink in that flank. I found it ironic that the waitress came back a few minutes after taking my order to see how I wanted my steak cooked. Apparently it doesn't matter how you order it because you're going to get it well-done. Thankfully the fries were very good. That's probably what scored them one star on this review. The Quiche came out and it was not a salmon and spinach quiche. In fact, it was mushroom, leeks, and ham in the quiche. Somehow salmon and spinach must have gotten lost in translation. Thankfully, the quiche was delicious (one more star for them) but the salad accompanying it was drenched and salty.
OVERALL
I'm sorely disappointed with L'Express on so many levels. I can't recommend the food or the service. I understand people say it's a true French dining experience. However, after being in Paris several times, I can't say this was anywhere close to what I experienced in France.
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