Eric P.
Yelp
Best dining experience ever. We celebrated my son's 11th birthday in a foreign country, with no idea what to expect, our experience with Yelp restaurant lookups shoddy, inaccurate, and risky. La Rapiere was an absolute stand-out, perfect, extraordinary experience.
We booked several months ago, and several email exchanges helped reassure me that the restaurant was real and the reservation would actually happen. The email communication was perfect. Note that our reservation was for the day after D-Day in Normandy.... so my expectation was that many other reservations would happen and ours might be forgotten or ignored.... nothing of the sort happened.
When we arrived, a crowd was already waiting outside the restaurant. However, when I stated that I had a reservation, they knew my name, they were expecting us. It was so meaningful to know that a restaurant was looking forward to our arrival and ready for us.
They had arranged a large table in the middle of a crowded and tiny dining area for us, the center of attention was perfect for my birthday boy. I made sure he sat at the head of the table, a prominent position to see everything and for everyone to see him. He was smiling from ear to ear and sat about as straight and high in his chair as I have ever seen him.
Every course of the meal was perfect, the little soup cup, the main courses, everything perfect. Ordering was easy, with help in English. Wine selections were all reasonably priced, and the most expensive wine was extremely delightful yet affordable.
Much to my surprise, the staff at the restaurant had prepared a birthday dessert and entered the room singing a loud Happy Birthday song to my son, and the entire restaurant, mostly english speaking, joined in singing the loud rendition for a few moments, followed by very loud clapping and happy birthdays from everyone.
I cannot thank La Rapiere staff enough for how friendly and hospitable they made our evening, and I cannot imagine a more perfect place for a nervous American family to spend their evening at dinner.