La Seine Café

Gael Greene Review: How to Make It in a Snob Restaurant

"Fronted by the imperious maître d’ Martin Decré, this haute dining room is a bastion of chic whose snobbery is part of its allure: the host can be warm and sympathetic yet also a highly trained despot who cultivates an exclusive clientele and metes out elegant snubs to preserve the restaurant’s cachet. Success here often depends less on money than on learning the social codes—loyalty, a house account, celebrity introductions or deftly cultivated connections—and on knowing how to play the game of reservations, arrival, and deference. For out-of-towners who trust the house, the staff will go out of their way, and those who win favor enjoy privileges and personalized attention; for everyone else, the experience can include chilly indifference masked as propriety." - Gael Greene