Polidor

We came across Polidor as my partner and I meandered around Paris and I am glad we did. We had the bouf bourguignon and the penne with a truffle sauce and it was very yummy. We dined outside on a sunny afternoon and it was delightful.

Merci pour le délicieux déjeuner.

I rarely write reviews, especially negative ones, but our recent experience at Polidor was so disappointing, especially as a pregnant guest hoping for a pleasant final night in Paris, I wanted to share it, so it’s going to be a long review.

From the moment we arrived, the service was inattentive and inconsiderate. Despite being visibly pregnant and the restaurant being far from full, we were seated outside on a chilly evening without any consideration for my condition. The staff made no effort to accommodate us inside, even though there were plenty of available tables.
It took an unreasonably long time for anyone to bring us menus—so long, in fact, that my husband eventually went inside and fetched them himself. Once we were ready to order, we had to wait yet again for someone to come to our table to take our order. Throughout our meal, it was clear that the staff were not attentive to the outside tables at all.

We ordered both starters and main courses. Our starters arrived relatively quickly, but my husband’s foie gras was a minuscule portion, served without bread and with only a few drops of jam—hardly what you’d expect, especially for the price. Bread, which is customary in French restaurants, was not provided at all.
The service was chaotic not just for us, but for other guests as well. A couple seated next to us, who arrived 30 minutes after we did, waited ages before their order was even taken. Shockingly, once they did order, their main dishes arrived almost immediately—dishes that, as we soon realized, were actually our mains. The staff served them their starters only after they had already started eating what should have been our food. This mix-up was never proactively addressed by the staff.

We sat outside growing colder, hungrier, and increasingly frustrated as we watched another table eat our food. The manager lady did eventually express surprise at the delay, but I refrained from explaining the situation in front of the other couple to avoid embarrassing them, it was not their fault.

After a long wait, and only after we had decided to leave, our main courses finally arrived lukewarm. My dish was bland and underseasoned, and by then I was so tired and cold that I just wanted to leave. The overall service to the outside tables was abysmal; we felt completely neglected throughout the meal.

This entire ordeal ruined our last night in Paris. We missed our plans to visit the Arc de Triomphe for the evening views due to the excessive delays. When it was time to pay, there was no offer of a discount for the poor service—just apologies and an offer of a complimentary dessert or drink, which we declined because we didn’t want to stay any longer. We were told the waiter responsible had been fired, as if that would make up for the experience, but the issues clearly ran deeper than a single staff member—the service overall was disorganized, inattentive and careless.
To make matters worse, I woke up the next day with a sore throat, congestion and cough, likely from having to sit outside in the cold for so long.
Polidor was overpriced, uncomfortable, and thoroughly disappointing. There are many better places in Paris that actually value their guests.

4 of us have visited Polidor on each trip to Paris and this time was also fantastic. We arrived without reservations at 7 on a Saturday and with a brief wait they accommodated us outside with a nice table. The food was fantastic and perfect after a long day walking. The waiter was very friendly. The price is always very fair and reasonable. In the last few years they have added a nice bar. We will definitely visit again. Sorry, I was so tired I forgot to take pictures!

Lovely restaurant with good service. Food was a hit and miss with same dishes good and some others so and so

Thank you for honoring our correctly done reservations. The host was excellent as well as the food. I can see why this is a top spot in Paris. It is also not super pricey. Thank goodness we had a recommended place that didn't bust the budget. See if you get the seat by the mirror if you are a couple.