10/26/09

Bad Brunch

by Andrea12

When the waiter suggested the Galette de Confit de Canard because it was "the french version of a grand slam breakfast" my mouth started to water. Duck, potatoes, fried eggs and a lavendar sauce sounded delicious to me. When the meal arrived it was overcooked and dripping with grease. But, because we had waited over an hour for a table (even though we had a reservation) I was starving and I devoured the entire greasy mess. I have been sick to my stomach for the last 24 hours. Two other members of our party were also sickened by their meals. This was probably the worst brunch experience I have ever had. The hostess was rude and disorganized, the manager was even worse and the food literally made us all sick. I will never, ever visit Bistro Vendome again.

• Pros: convenient, adorable location
• Cons: terrible service and bad food

10/25/09

Greasy French Food Brunch that you have to wait for

by elliebelly

Bistro Vendome, it appears that most people frequent this place at night and not for brunch - if you have thought of trying this place for brunch i would suggest you look elsewhere. We have been to this restaurant twice for brunch and to celebrate family and friend's birthdays and have been utterly disappointed with the experience. First time we went the kitchen forgot our order and left us waiting 45 minutes, then when they finally did bring out the food it was not served to our table at one tme which at a restaurant is totally unprofessional.

The second time we came for brunch it took an hour to get seated, despite having made reservations due to our party being 5 people. During our hour long wait and seeing parties of 4 people being seated quite quickly, we were left sitting waiting with no kind of apology The general manager was unhelpful and really appeared to have no control over her staff or any kind of acknowledgement that there had been a mistake. To accomodate us one of the staff put a chair at a table that was set for 4 right at the end of the hallway and we ended up seating ourselves. Even our waiter who was finally assigned to us was more responsive to our frustrations than the hostess or the general manager.

So on to the food - overpriced for the quality, incredibly greasy, the eggs were overcooked, the potato pancakes burnt and presentation of the food was mediocre. As it was now nearly lunchtime I ordered their burger, again incredibly greasy, tasted more of cooking oil than meat with "sweet" tasting french fries.

Overall for brunch I would say this place has a long way to go and the atmosphere is more like the mad hatters tea party - brunch is supposed to be a fun non stress time and for the price we paid i think there are a lot better alternatives with attentive staff and food that does not appear to have all been cooked in a deep fat fryer.

• Pros: Dessert
• Cons: Poor Service, Greasy and overcooked food

07/30/09

Superb

by joshb2j

Decided to eat here after reading a lot of good reviews from 5280 and citysearch. Was not disappointed. Had to wait a while for a table, but the bartender, Max, was great and we were comped a drink for the wait. The food was amazing. Yes, you will spend about $20 per plate (sides and salads $4-6 extra), but it is worth it. You can tell there is a great deal of care that goes into preparing the food. My wife had the classique steak frites--she doesn't normally eat red meat and she loved it. I had the trout--it was absolutely delicious. The service was first rate...our friendly server provided honest and useful advice on the menu, recommending what was tasting good that night. All told, with drinks, soup, salad, entrees, dessert, and tip, we spent $88 and it was worth every penny.

• Pros: Great service; Great Food
• Cons: None