Barbette

01/25/09

French cafe?! Well, they have the rude part down!

by TwincitiesFood

I wish I would have read the reviews before visiting Barbette's. My brother and I decided to try Barbette's for brunch after seeing it mentioned in the Best of Twin Cities City Pages. It was a horrible experience from start to finish. As we walked in, we looked to the baristas/host for direction as to where to sit. No one made eye contact with us or talked to us for a good 5 minutes as we stood there next to them. Instead, they continued their conversation which included one barista referring to a customer as "the guy whose face looks like something I threw up this morning". A very educated staff -- I think not. That should have been our first clue to leave. Finally, a passing waitress motioned for us to just sit anywhere as she rolled her eyes (maybe a sign that read "please seat yourself" would have been appropriate?). After sitting in our ripped up and dirty seats for nearly 15 minutes, we were getting extremely frustrated. When the waitress finally made her way over to us, she helped a table next to us that had arrived about 5 minutes after us. When we finally ordered, the waitress was bothered by our question regarding meat in the quiche and failed to mention any specials etc. on the menu. When our food finally arrived, it was a pathetic attempt at French cuisine, reminding me much of any other granola restaurant that decided to call themselves French because they threw a crepe and some brie on the menu. Barbette?s was described as "romantic". If "romantic" means being treated horribly, insulted, and dining in a dirty lamp-lit garage, so as to hide that dirt -- then yes, Barbette's is romantic. In this market, a restaurant and its staff should be more than polite, especially when the food is such a disappointment. Do not waste your money here -- you will be sorry you did.

11/03/08

What a surprise

by brook88

Brunch this past Sunday was a pathetic experience. Food, service, bathroom, cost: not worth it. Have tried over and over to write a detailed and factual review, but it is always rejected here. Great honesty citysearch. Read the true review at City Pages regarding brunch on November 2.

10/22/08

High expectations with low results

by baglady22

My husband and I went here for our anniversary hearing that it was voted the 2008 Most Romantic restaurant. First of all, the entrance was not super obvious and once we finally found the correct door we were ignored for 10 minutes. We finally got a table next to some very obnoxious wine tasters, who obviously were not dumping their wine samples after the taste, and again were ignored for another 10 minutes. When the server finally came around to us she did not even attempt to explain the menu or any specials, even though I told her it was our first time there. She merely asked if we wanted drinks and then ran away without asking if we wanted an appetizer. We had to snatch her as she was running away to ask if it was "ok" if we put in an appetizer order because we were hungry. I had to ask the manager if she could describe the specials and suggest anything on the menu, and surprisingly she didn't even know the specials! We ordered seafood and it took at least an hour to make and when we got it we were very unimpressed. The fish special seemed overcooked and very blah, and the salmon was very blah as well, although it was incredibly fresh.

All in all, we were very disappointed and will never go there for a special dinner again!