There were 3 wine drinkers in our party. We wanted to order red wine but was not sure which to order. We narrowed it down to 2 kinds. We asked if we could try (a sip or two). This is never a problem in the United States. They are always happy to oblige. In the Philippines, it is a different story. Believe it or not, they charge for this sip of wine (almost $3.00). We were all absolutely shocked especially since this was a classy French restaurant. We tasted 2 kinds and they were both bad. So for $5.00 or so we actually saved money as we didn't order any wine. I am positive that if we did order the wine and didn't like it, they would still charge for it unlike the United States. I guess we're not in Kansas anymore.
The restaurant is supposed to be famous for the Tomato-Cheese Fondue; Gruyere cheese fondue flavored with tomatoes. We did try it and it was indeed very good. What could have made it better was the bread. The bread that accompanied the fondue was too soft, so when you dipped it into the fondue, you would be lucky to see your bread again. They should have used French bread or something a bit more dense.
For entrees, three of us ordered the Specialty of the House; Potence. Grilled beef tenderloin hung on a metal gallow flambeed with brandy with a choice of 2 sides and served with 3 sauces: mushroom, cafe de Paris butter and garlic sauce. This had an flamboyant presentation. It reminded me of the olden days, like someone being hung and burned to death (lovely thought just before dinner). My mom had the Stuffed Prawns which was absolutely delicious. Someone else had the Ravioli which was covered with healthy vegetables. Another friend had the Spaghetti Gamberini ( I don't remember the proper name for it).
The steaks came with choices of sides. I chose the baked potato and Cauliflower Cheese Gratin. I asked what the baked potato came with. Our server informed me that it comes with sour cream and bacon which I could have already on it, or on the side. I told him I wanted everything on the potato plus maybe extra sour cream if I needed more. The steak was cooked medium but towards the middle, it was rare. To be fare, Sandi's steak was cooked to perfection. The potato had maybe half a teaspoon of sour cream and a few microscopic pieces of bacon. I asked for extra sour cream and they gave me a tiny sauce bowl with this liquid white stuff. It tasted more like sour milk (not creamy). The cauliflower was creamy and cheesy yet lacked flavor.
Dessert was better. Sandi had the Lemon-Rosemary Sorbet. I forgot to try it but she liked it as it was very refreshing. Two other people had the Creme Brulee which did not interest me because it looked too pale. I wanted to try 2 desserts so I ordered the Coffee Pie which they are known for and the Coffee Sans Rival. I liked both desserts. The sans rival was crunchy and chewy at the same time.
I did let the server know that I was not happy with how my steak was cooked. He apologized and later informed me that he would not charge me for 1 dessert and coffee.
Comparing this French restaurant to the one we went to last week, L' Aubergine had better food and service there was impeccable.
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