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Diederik Muylwyk | Last Updated: April 27,2009 3:01:58 pm
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Scott thinks that Nouvelle Classique cuisine is a niche offshoot of Absurdist cuisine. What an oxymoron! -D.M.
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 AT A GLANCE
Fleur de Sel Brasserie
2015 4th Street SW, Calgary, AB
403-228-9764
French
Cliff Bungalow
Venue:
Restaurant
Hours:
Tue. to Fri.: 11:00am - 2:00pm Mon. to Sun.: 5:00pm - 11:00pm
Price Range:
$$$ (Within Reach)
Payment:
American Express, Master Card, VISA
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THE BUZZ
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IN THE AREA
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14 Reader Reviews | We have eaten at Fleur de Sel many times over the past ten years, and have enjoyed every single meal we have had the pleasure of eating while there [and so have our friends]. Once we arrived [on time] and our table had not been vacated yet; the staff asked us if we would mind sitting at the bar for a few minutes. We agreed, and, voila, a brace of complimentary cognacs appeared in front of us. They also treated us to their private bottle of pastis afterwards. Very nice. We shall be going there again for my birthday meal later this month.
1. Michael's Review :: October 13, 2009 Michael's Rating: 4 Stars |
I have never had a worse experience at any restaurant anywhere ever in my life. The service began as sub-par, and quickly disappeared all together when we informed the waiter that nobody in our party drank alcohol, so we would all be drinking water. The food was mediocre at best, and WAY over priced. After we had ordered, a party of six entered, was seated, ordered drinks, was served their drinks, ordered food, was served their food, and ate, all before the waiter returned to our table to ask if we wanted more water or crusty bread. This other party was leaving as our food finally was served, somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half after we ordered. The owner (or manager?) was like a caricature of a snooty Frenchman. His disposition was foul, and he even went so far as to utter expletives at a woman in our party after he bumped into her, tripped, and dropped a coffee cup on the ground. I've never seen anybody so rude in my entire life! I have been to Paris, and all over the south of France, and have experienced fine French dining the way it should be, and Fleur de Sel is about as far from that experience as you can possibly get. If you are looking for a nice French restaurant in Calgary, forget Fleur de Sel and try La Chaumiere. You will surely be disappointed if you don't.
2. Nick's Review :: June 16, 2009 Nick's Rating: 1 Stars |
I'm also one of the people involved in the aforementioned party of 8. I have a few things to add/clarify to Judy's review.
I was the one responsible for making the poor decision to choose this "restaurant" for dinner. It was a place on my internal list of places to try, only because I was interested in what the ingredient
"fleur de sel" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur_de_sel) really tasted like. It sounded fancy. Also, my sister and brother in law have been there and said it was pretty decent, so I thought it would be
a nice place to try. I also wanted to surprise my girlfriend with a fancy dinner with her friends.
WOW, I was so wrong.
Earlier this afternoon, I had a colorful conversation with the owner, Patrice, about the evening we had last Saturday. It was less of a conversation and more of a venting session for him. Here's a rough
account of what happened. I was trying to take notes while he was screaming at me:
Me: Hi there, it's Tim calling. You know, the person who made reservations for last Saturday when we had a horrible dining experience.
Patrice: What? (It was loud in the background I suppose, so I spoke up)
Me: It's Tim, I'm calling about last Saturday (I had to raise my voice a little bit)
Patrice: Oh right, I remember you. Hold on... What is your number?
Me: (My phone number here)
There was a slight pause as maybe he was writing something down
Patrice: Well, I admit. The beginning of the evening was very nice. Everybody was friendly and smiling. But soon that changed. Your party was one hour late and did not order for one and a half hours
after that! Because of that I had a table of 6 walk out the door because of you so I think that it is YOU WHO OWE ME AN APOLOGY! (Yes, by that point he was yelling at me) Do you know what I think? I
think you need to get an education! You have no class! (Sidenote: But... I graduated from Univerity...) One of your friends was wearing a baseball cap when there was a lady present! I had to ask his
girlfriend to get him to remove the hat and he did not do it! You really need to get a damn education! Also, the girl left her bag on the floor! That is so dangerous and I almost spilled coffee on your
friend! This is a classy establishment and you have no manners and no regard for safety! You owe me an apology! You have to give me an apology!
Me: You didn't have to pick up the purse and throw it a--
Patrice: IF YOU CALL ME AGAIN I WILL CALL THE POLICE ON YOU. YOU HAVE BEEN CALLING SO MANY TIMES THIS WEEK AND IT MAKES ME SICK!
Me: Well, I just wanted to ta--
Patrice: F*CK YOU! F*CK YOU! F*CK YOU! (Yes, this exact phrase, in three successions)
And then he hung up.
The initial reason I was calling was because I wanted to see if there was some sort of misunderstanding, and have a civil conversation about it. I also had a feeling that it would not go so well because
of a conversation that I had with our actual server on Sunday, Dale, who basically said he could only offer us a "small apology" regarding the incident on Saturday and refused to comment further. He also
asked that we provide them with an apology.
As you can see, the person who owns the place is not the nicest person you would meet. The server also has a special brand of smug arrogance about him, too.
The food was disappointingly subpar. My fries were a lovely dark brown, borderline burnt and very dry. My steak was also overdone, and surprisingly tiny for the price -- $38 for what seemed to be a 5-6oz
ribeye. It was also tasteless, although they claimed it was seasoned with fleur de sel. I had to use some of my girlfriend's wasabi beurre blanc to give it some kind of life. It's kind of ironic, I
thought fine dining would be a wonderful experience, maybe there would be a lot more communication between table and waiter(s), they would be a bit more charming. All I saw were two clumsy, rushed, and
careless waiters (one was the owner, yes) who would snatch up empty plates, glare at my friends at the table and provide one word responses whenever we asked a question, and not even have the courtesy to
inform us that our food was taking longer than anticipated. If any of my friends even knew that then we would be a bit more forgiving, but they did not even have the decency to communicate with us as if
we were human beings. The crazy owner also hovered a hot pot of coffee near my girlfriend's face and threatened that if he tripped on the purse, she would have been hit with hot coffee. That's not how
you treat somebody on their birthday. If this site allowed a zero rating, this place would have gotten one from me.
Anyways, there were many other problems that I could spend many hours typing up -- poor service, hasty waiters, restaurant staff who take pride in blaming their customers.
My suggestion is that if you do not meet the educational standards of Patrice, are faint of heart, slightly tardy/indecisive, or like to have a good time for dinner then FLEUR DE FAIL is not for you.
Do not waste your time even considering this restaurant, please.
Guys, if you want to impress your girlfriend/wife/spouse/significant other this isn't the place to take her. I've had better customer service at McDonalds.
3. Tim's Review :: June 12, 2009 Tim's Rating: 1 Stars |
We had a group of eight with us and chose this venue to celebrate a friend's birthday. It took an hour and a half to receive our meal. The meals themselves were average, overcooked, and did not meet expectations for what we felt french fine dining should have felt like. Plates were shoved in front of us and hastily removed the instant they saw an empty plate. The waiters were rude, gave very resentful looks at us, and gave no courtesy in saying "excuse me" or even "thank you", especially when grabbing (literally) our credit cards out of our hands. The Tables were set up in awkward fashion making it difficult for the waiter to move between tables. In fact, one of the waiters tripped over one of the girl's purses which was laid next to her seat, said "F*** You!" to the birthday girl, picked up the purse and threw it across the restaurant without a care for an apology. Later on we found out that waiter was the owner/manager of the restaurant. All in all, I have never regretted going to eat out as much as this night. I have never seen such disrespect for customer service. Please heed this message! For the traumatic experience that that poor birthday girl experienced, please don't go to this restaurant!
4. Judy's Review :: June 09, 2009 Judy's Rating: 1 Stars |
Absolutely hands-down the best place to eat in Calgary. Only for those who appreciate the art of good food, not for those who are looking for a franchise-dining experience. Real people, real food, real good time. Try the pate and then absolutely try the chocolate pate, you would miss out in life if you didn't.
5. Arlenio's Review :: April 24, 2009 Arlenio's Rating: 4 Stars |
I had a wonderful meal last night (September 28, 2008) at Fleur. My date and I enjoyed (read: devoured) a seafood platter from which we were hard-pressed to decide our favourite; the mussels, the unbeleivably fresh oysters, the seared tuna (encrusted in crushed wasabi peas) or the grilled shrimp. Each had its own distinct flavour, and yet, as a whole it went very well together.
As far as service etc. went, I can only say that our experience was outstanding. Attentive, courteous, and amusing - those words aptly described the staff. I'll be back.
6. Eleanor's Review :: September 29, 2008 Eleanor's Rating: 4 Stars |
Our waiter was very polite, but the owner (I think this is who it was -- when we asked him who he was he replied, "The dishwasher!") was rude and ridiculous. I have worked in the restaurant industry and know that a table of 7 can be hard to negotiate. However, it was a Sunday night at 8:30pm on a long weekend and we came in for drinks and dessert. The "dishwasher" galumphed up to our table and said so loudly that everyone in the restaurant could hear: "Do you mean to tell me that you reserved a table for 7 just to eat dessert!?" He then told us that we could stay, but just this one time. Of course we left, but not before the conversation degenerated into an embarrassing shouting match. I still don't know who this man is, but I will never eat at this restaurant again, nor will I ever recommend this restaurant to anyone. Just horrible.
7. Suzette's Review :: August 15, 2008 Suzette's Rating: 1 Stars |
Although the food at this restaurant was quite good the service was horrible. The arrogance and rudeness were inexcusable. I would not recommend this restaurant unless you enjoy being demeaned.
8. Anonymous's Review :: June 21, 2008 |
Although the food at this restaurant was quite good the service was horrible. The arrogance and rudeness were inexcusable. I would not recommend this restaurant unless you enjoy being demeaned.
9. Christopher's Review :: June 21, 2008 Christopher's Rating: 1 Stars |
Food was decent but overpriced and the service was terrible. Add a rude French owner who told us that we needed to leave as we were barely finishing desert to complete the package. Definitely not recommended...
10. Brett's Review :: June 21, 2008 Brett's Rating: 1 Stars |
This place is filthy, the food is grossly overpriced for what it is and the owner takes the stereotype of rude Frenchmen to a new low. I should have been tipped off by an empty restaurant at 12:30 on a Friday.
I was disgusted.
11. Arlene Doucette's Review :: May 04, 2008 Arlene Doucette's Rating: 1 Stars |
the place does remind me of a quaint restaurant in paris but the food was a little off. unimpressive and uninspiring.
12. Anonymous's Review :: January 22, 2008 |
the place does remind me of a quaint restaurant in paris but the food was a little off. unimpressive and uninspiring.
13. BT's Review :: January 22, 2008 BT's Rating: 1 Stars |
DM,, WTF, WTF, over. If you cannot articulate, save your keystrokes.
whatever.
14. Anonymous's Review :: November 18, 2007 |
| Click here to view all 11 reviews |
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2015 4th Street SW, Calgary, AB |
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MBO Calgary :: Calgary Restaurants & Dining Guide
