Bagatelle

Six of us had dinner at Bagatelle last night on La Cienega in Los Angeles. I had purchased several vouchers a couple of months ago which seemed like a great deal. For $49.00 (dinner for 2), you get to pick an appetizer to be shared, an entree each and a shared dessert.

When my brother found out we were to have dinner at Bagatelle, his response was: "OH NO!!!" He was just there last week with 2 other friends celebrating a birthday. I asked what was wrong...was the food bad....what do we do since the vouchers were already paid for.  The good news was it was not the food. It was the experience. I asked what went wrong and apparently it was the noise level plus they had to wait 30 minutes to be seated even with a reservation. The music was so loud that they couldn't hear each other and even the waiter could not hear what they were trying to order. The birthday celebrant left with a headache!

In view of this, I called the restaurant before and asked for the manager. I spoke to Sam who was very nice and understanding that he wanted to call my brother and apologize. I told him he can apologize in person since he was coming with us. I also mentioned how we were all looking forward to this dinner as we were all foodies and that I have a food blog.  He promised me that we would have a good time and he would take care of us. I asked him if he would be present Saturday evening and he said yes, and to ask for him when we get there.

We got to the restaurant and the first thing I did was ask for Sam. The lady in the reception area assured me she would send him to our table. The first thing we noticed was the loud music. We were there at 6:30 p.m. so it was not quite peak time. (My brother's reservation was at 8:30 p.m.)
The ambiance was very nice, white linen tablecloths on nice tables and beautiful chandeliers; very classy French restaurant. The blaring hip music did not go with the ambiance. We asked our waiter if he could do something about the volume and he said he would have them turn it down which they did. I have to tell you that it was still quite loud. My brother commented that we should count our blessings as at least we could hear each other when we talked loud. The manager never showed up so I asked the waiter again and he said he would send him over.  He later showed up and apologized. We mentioned the problem with the loud music and he just listened but didn't really do anything about it.

Well, we went ahead and looked at the menu and ordered. Sandi and I shared the beet salad with goat cheese and figs. This was the best thing we had. Gary and Cindy had the same thing and loved their beets. Poor Ana and Gonz had the endive salad with fresh strawberries. It looked too healthy for me. They didn't enjoy it as Gonz beautifully arranged the strawberries to one corner of the plate; they both agreed that strawberries didn't go with endive and bleu cheese.

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For our entrees, five of us ordered the filet mignon with mushrooms served with a Bordelaise sauce. Since they came with no sides, we ordered the Truffle pommes frites which went well with the sauce. The steak was very tender but it was nothing special. For the price we paid it was good but I don't think I would pay $36 which is the regular price. Gary had the scallops with uni. It was so very salty that they offered to get him another one. He later said it was still salty though a bit better.

For dessert, 2 couples had the chocolate souffle and Sandi and I had tarte tatin. The tarte tatin had a good flavor though it was too heavy and gooey. The souffles were "pretend" souffles. It only looked like a souffle but it didn't act and taste like a souffle. It had more of a brownie consistency. They sent us an extra dessert " peace offering" mainly for Gary returning. It was an impressive big glass with ice cream, marshmallows and some chocolate. This looked much better than it tasted. Even the ice cream was not good. We all had a bite or two and that was it.

None of us will be returning to this establishment. The loud music was perfect for dancing but it had no place for this fine dining French restaurant. Bagatelle will have to decide if they want to be known as a fine dining restaurant or a hip spot for the young ones to see and be seen. They want to cater the the young; well, I don't think the young will spend their money on expensive food. Maybe they should forget the dinner and just make it a club!  Just before we left we saw a couple that looked like they were having their waiter read their order from their phone as he could not hear them. We noticed an older couple near us didn't seem to mind the music.....Gary commented that they probably just turned off their hearing aids.

After our desserts, we asked for our check as we couldn't wait to leave. Gary invited us for drinks at the nearby Tres at the SLS Hotel.  There we were greeted by the supervisor, a charming young lady by the name of Tiffany. She took care of us and made sure our server did the same. At last, we were able to talk to one another. The ambiance, service and the drinks were perfect.  Perhaps, the manager from Bagatelle should call Tiffany and get a few pointers on service and management.