Grand Colbert (Le), Paris

Food is very good; menu is exciting, and you'll find what you seek in a traditional and stereotypical French brasserie; the staff is superlative, kind, helpful and generous;

I took my Mom there to celebrate her 60th B-day. Their roasted chicken was the best chicken dish we have ever had. The whole experience was fantastic! We loved it!!!

We are very frequent visitors to Paris. Decided to try Grand Colbert because we liked the movie Something has to Give. As we discovered this is no reason to pick a restaurant. The food was horrible, it started with stale potato chips and finished with a Chateaubriand at a cost of 70 Euros which they said was a house specialty was absolutely terrible. Its obviously become a tourist trap. Turn and burn.

Frequent visitors to Paris we like to try alternative eating places to those favourites that we have found. We detest wasted eating experiences and Le Grand Colbert was one. A delightful setting near the Palais Royal and a delightful interior, but the food as dreadful. We decided on a simple lunch, a plat, a desert and a bottle of wine. Grilled kidneys. You cannot go wrong unless you burn them in the grilling and dress them with burnt streaky bacon, and a magret de canard which was pink, but, alas, the fat was flacid, not crisp, the whole was too slowly cooked. Discretion dictated no sweet for myself, but my wife persisted and chose the run baba. Simple, common and when well done delicious. So what did she get, a dry sponge phallus (my wife's description-accurate), a shot of spirit and a squirt of industrial cream. She left it and was inundated with staff offering alternatives, apologies etc. the most animated they had been. Oh and by the way though they show a bottle of pinot noir you can only have a carafe. Sadly disappointing.

MY favourite brasserie in 'la ville lumiere' (the city of Light)is undoubtedly Le Grand Colbert. I take the Metro to Bourse station (stock market) and stroll there. From the ambience to the service and decor this is as French as you'll ever get. Mostly locals come here, and some movie fans who like charming, craggy faced Jack (Something's gotta give) Nicholson. Yes, you are right, the pivotal scene was filmed right here with Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves. I like to sit there and dine on such delights as plump Gillardeau Oysters au naturel full of the blue steel flavours of the ocean, aromatic, gooey Goat Cheese and fleshy figs, fragrant Soupe a la oignon, tasty Calf's Liver and yummie Poulet (de Nicholson) which was created for the movie. Oh my God! I LOVE the La Bombe Alaska flambe at tableside with Rhum!!! Bring someone you love here and when dessert is served, sing to her...just like Edith Piaf "La mome"..."La vie en rose". The Moelleux is good too. That's what gastronomically challenged New Yorkers call ''chocolate meltdown". Do not leave Paris until you have dined here. I can't wait to visit soon...hungry for more delicious food, in excellent company with friends and loved ones... ENJOY! {:-)Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling GourmetTM is a renowned Travel, Food & Wine Writer/Editor.

The food and service were -- as expected-- excellent but it was the interaction with other diners that made our dining experience exceptional. We made friends of a Mother-Daughter from Montreal and a family of 3 from Pakistan. While our French is weak and their English somewhat less than perfect we enjoyed each other's company for 3 hours. Great wine and Grand Marnier didn't hurt our enjoyment but still...we shall certainly return on our next Paris trip. Jack and Marge Sydell Phoenix, Arizona

I recently eat in Le Grand Colbert on a trip through europe. Although like most places in Paris it was a little pricey (for me anyway) the food tasted great and the portions were ample. The staff were great, friendly and cracking jokes/laughing at my poor grasp of the Frnch language. I would reccomend eating there although because of the movie it may be a little touristy, I would also reccomend that if you do go there don't be a moaning/shout at the staff in american type tourist, cause if you do you'll get treated like one as you can see by some reviews.

My friend lives in Paris and knows the restaurant well. I was very impressed and loved the ambience, cleanliness and feeling of tranquility. The waiters were very helpful and quick. We both had different fish dishes which were cooked to perfection. Accompanied by unusual vegetables with delicious sauces. The creme brulee was mouth watering and enormous - we wish we had shared 1 portion. We went mid afteroon on a very hot day but it was not that busy. I also think it helped that my friend spoke fluent French. I have already recommended it to friends at home. Will definitely go again. My only dislike was the toilet facilities - only 1 with a waiting outside but which could be seen by parts of the restaurant.

What a disappointment.We booked dinner on the 5th April to celebrate my sisters birthday as we had celebrated all our birthdays over the last few years. The food was really second rate badly cooked and presented,our table was obstructed by a pillar, the staff were extremely rude.Our meal came to €100 each and included only 1 bottle of wine. It was also taken for granted that our €50 change was a tip and as we were trapped in a corner we could not get the waiters attention to ask for the money or the drinks and coffee that we ordered and paid for. In the end we cut our night very short and left dispondent. The restaurant can no longer rest on its laurels and needs to review every aspect of its service. Our trips to Le Grand Colbert have come to an end

My husband and 9 year old son visited Le Grand Colbert during a vacation to Paris Spring 2008. We were so excited, it was going to be the highlight of our trip. We had seen the movie "Somethings Got to Give" and wanted to see this famous restaurant and have a nice dinner there. I specifically told the waiter I was going to split the Filet of Beef with my son and asked them very clearly to cook the beef well done. I know restaurants don't like to cook beef well done, so I nicely requested please cook the beef well done for me and my son. I said, maybe just a tiny pink. He said ok like he clearly understood. When they brought our food, I cut into the steak and it was RED on the inside. Not well done, not a tiny bit pink, I would say it was cooked Rare. I asked the waiter nicely can you please have this cooked more? I was so confused as to why it came to me like this. After my husband was almost finished with his dinner, they finally brought it to me and my son. It looked like they didn't touch it. The beef was $32. I should have said, can I order something different now. But I was so upset, I did not want to make a scene in front of my son and ruin our night out. So my husband had a little pasta left from his dinner, and I ate that. My husband tried to eat a few bites of the filet but just sat it aside. My son ate the french fries that came with the meal. Not once did the waiter come back and say can I do anything to make your meal better, can I get you anything else. They purposely ignored us. They were very jolly to the locals who came in, but not us. They did offer us dessert and since I was a little hungry still we ordered dessert and coffee. They "forgot" our coffee and finally brought it to us long after we had finished our dessert. If you do go there, make sure you order something very simple or just drinks, or maybe just dessert and hopefully you can just enjoy the atmosphere. I was so upset over my sons dinner that I couldn't even enjoy the experience, and knowing that they purposely treated us second class hurt my feelings.So that was my experience.