David L.
Yelp
So disappointed in our experience at l'Avenue. For years, it had been one of my favorite meals in Paris. The food was simple, yet elegant. Same with the decor, the service, the vibe. Now, in the age of Kardashian, this restaurant has gotten totally full of itself, and it showed in the food, the service, and the overall experience.
On a 3 week trip to Europe, including Amsterdam, Paris, Florence and Rome, this was BY FAR the most disappointing meal of the entire trip, and one we would gladly have skipped had we known it would be this disappointing. The menu has skyrocketed to the point of extreme pricing for very little effort on the restaurant's part.
We had a veal chop for, I believe 55 euro, which was basically a big chop cooked in a pan and dumped on a plate. That's it. No sauce. No garnish. Nothing else. Completely art-less. The chop was OK, but certainly not a revelation, which I would expect for an item of that price. The fries came out cold. We sent them back. The next order came out slightly less cold. We gave up and ate them.
The service was completely disinterested. From the indifferent hosts, who were much more interested in chatting with one another than engaging with us, to the waitress, who, frankly, was the worst of our entire trip to Europe. We asked for water to start, it didn't come out until the meal was served. She was back to our table to take the order before delivering the water. No bread. No little amuses to thank us for dropping a huge amount of money for this underwhelming meal.
In a city where there are brilliant meals for this price, and excellent meals for half, why would I ever bother to come to this place again? Maybe it's under new ownership. Maybe being a spot for the well-heeled and fashionistas has gone to their head. But we not only are done with l'Avenue (and I've been there at least 20 times over the years), but we think you ought to skip it as well until they adjust their attitude. And take a little pride in the food. Terrible meal, complete waste of our money.