LA Note Restaurant Provencal, Berkeley

the service here is HORRIBLE. i went here this morning and this is by far the worst resturaunt i have ever been to. we were seated quickly but it took 30 minutes before a waitress even came to our table to order drinks...then i ordered a hot cocoa and didn't even get it until after our food came. we waited about an hour for our food, it was to the point were we were about to walk out. then to top it off one of the people i was with had a hair in their food and when we told the waitress she said, what kind of hair? (like it matters) she took the plate and walked off....she didn't even apologize and still charged for the plate. the food was okay but not worth the horrible service.

We went to this place on a thursday morning. We figured it was a breakfast place so we had friends go early to reserve seats. They went a half an hour before us and by the time we got there, we had to wait an additional half hour before we were seated. We understood the wait considering we had a party of nine. After the hour wait, the host seated us in the back in their garden area. To our surprise there wasn't ANYONE sitting in their back garden area and yet we still had to wait 1.5 hours. We were the first to be seated in the back. Since we had a party of nine, we were placed under a tree with a bench table, which we thought was the worst place to put people to eat considering that the leaves were falling into our drinks! They didn't take our order until they took everyone else's order who they seated after us. We waited for another hour until we received our food. By that time, the people who were seated after us were ALREADY DONE WITH THEIR FOOD, paid, and left! Our Waitress only showed her face to our table twice, once to take our order and the other was to bring out three plates of food an hour later. The other 6 plates were brought out by the hosts. When it was time to pay, the group all agreed that we were not going to leave a tip. However, it was their policy that we leave 15% for a party of 6 or more and 18% for a party of 10 or more. The waitress had the nerves to charge us 18% for tip considering we only had a party of nine. We brought this matter up to the manager and the waitress tried to fight it. The manager was nice enough to give us 30% off our total. I thought the food was average considering they only served eggs and potatoes. This was by far the worst breakfast experience I've ever had. Also, I have never written a review until now.

Okay, first off, I do love the food. They have some of the best breakfast, gingerbread pancakes with pears, the basket of breads, the lavendar honey, mmm good. But they have the worst service, the last time I attempted to eat there was on a Sunday about 11:00 and yes it was crowded so I decided to wait, it was an hour wait, I waited came back and then went in to check on my name. The hostessman said I was next and that table in the corner was going to be mine as soon as the couple left but in the mean time he sat down two other parties that were after me because they were parties of three and both tables were for three but what really did it was when I saw the table that he pointed out to me have the couple order more coffee and had no intention of leaving anytime soon. I had had it at that point and left. The back patio is also very beautiful, not like you are in berkeley but again the service sucks, when I have actually gotten to eat it takes forever to get your check, some of the waitresses are french and act like a stereotype french person, which is so sad! Good luck if you decide to brave it!

La Note-Parisian Style Restaurant: Everytime I visit La Note, I realize that once you enter their front door, you are not in Berkeley anymore. Note: Please have at least TWO HOURS while eating at this Parisian Style restaurant because the chefs cook everything fresh-no pre-fab meals made here! I had the Les oefs avec du jambon-awesome! So, if you are hungry for a Parisian meal, please go visit La Note!

I have visited La Note for both dinner and a Sunday Brunch. The food for dinner was always fabulous. I would highly recommend the ravioli. The service was very attentive and you were greeted with smiles. They also do not rush you, as we ended up staying for 3hours, even though it is only open from 6-10 for dinner. A warning about brunch. They do not take brunch reservations,and the wait is usually 75 minutes. The food is well worth the weight. Especially the ham and cheese omellete and the home-made fries.

their sandwiches are soooo good ...

This is a lovely place for a weekend brunch. They have an assortment of breakfast foods, like Oatmeal Rasberry pancakes. They have excellent french coffee, and a lovely patio in back for the sunnier days. Works well for groups as well, although they can be quite busy depending on the time of year.

Had dinner there once and Sunday brunch several of times. The place was very popular for Sunday brunch. They got a charming outdoor patio area. The ambiance inside is French country. There is only one long table to accomodate a party of 6 and most of the tables are small and if you have a bigger group, I highly recommend to make a reservation before attend so that they can prepare one for you.