Procope (Le), Paris

We were a group of 7 on a Saturday night with a reservation made weeks in advance. We were seated on the 3rd floor which looked like an attic with no ventilation. It took over an hour before we were able to place our order. The food arrived cold on hot plates. It was a very dissappointing experience. If you want to see it for the history, go for a coffee break.

Le Procope used to be a wonderful place to visit, for our American friends to enjoy the Franklin room, and other elements of French history that are so richly displayed there. However, it has now become a place where "service" is unknown, where a three-course meal takes 4 hours, and where one has to wait a VERY LONG time for everything, from water to wine to menus, to paying the bill (which in our case took 40 minutes). And the poor overworked staff (we had one waiter for 10 tables) have become understandably surly. A dreadful place, to be avoided like the guillotine.

Lovely place, flashy ornate, maybe over the top but there are so many 'designer' restaurants in Paris, nice to have something overwhelming. BUT...but the food. We know Paris well, we've lived there, and few places serve up such lousy food for so much. Tepid and indifferent, almost an insult. Easy to say it is tourist fodder: tourists are more discerning. A miserable steak, an overcooked fish, chips - yes, chips - thrown onto the table, obviously reheated, tired, flabby. The cheapest bistro does better. Don't go there, don't endure the silly posturing of the staff. Poor, poor, poor.