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(Nice au Cœur de Beyrouth: Gastronomique Façon Shisha Restaurant for 500$ at Le Bristol Beyrouth: Cheap, Bad Food and Low Quality Entertainement! A Disaster, A Scam!)
If the founders of Le Bristol were alive, he would have committed suicide...
When you book a dinner for 110$ per person (Wine not included), and you read the description promising you perfection... "Nice" at the Bristol, “FRANCE most elite chefs” for an “unforgettable gastronomical experience.” The least you expect is decent music, round tables -not tiny and cheap rectangular ones-, no noise... let’s wait and eat before judging so fast.
First impression:
- The cheapest decoration, you won’t even find at a sidewalk restaurant in Paris.
- The worst music ever! And the music turned from bad to worse by the hour.
- Loud and annoying sound.
- A band was playing with a disturbing white background behind it! Loud and unpleasant music, making people scream to hear each other.
- Three fish plates on the same menu?
- Butter, whatever the brand is, plastic portions opened and served on a plate.
Dinner at Le Bristol, “Nice” comes to Beirut, organized by “Mon Liban Azur” and Le Bristol hôtel. A la carte:
- Grand Chef Étoile Christian Plumail.
- Grand Maitre Pâtissier Chocolatier Serge Sernai Sappa.
- L’éminent chef Jérôme Rigaut.
- Chef pâtissier sommité du macaron Bruno Laffargue.
On the menu:
- Pistou glacé de homard, petits légumes dans leur bouillon.
- Poulpe de roc grillé, crème de choux fleurs aux épices, légumes croquants et jeunes pousses.
- Loup de ligne aux condiments de la Riviera, petits artichauts violets, jus d’une bouillabaisse.
- Veau fermier cuit en basse température jus à la sauge, raviole aux champignons, petits oignons glacés.
- Assiette de fromage de chèvre aux fruits secs et figues fraîches.
- Le citron de Menton.
Dinner started with a speech; why do we have to listen to a lecture when booking a “gastronomical” dinner? Are we invited and we didn’t know it? And while the speech continues, Le Bristol decides to book two dinners at the same time that night making the hotel tremble from the drums and annoying din of the wedding next door. Again, nothing to do with a “gastronomical dinner”; what a deception!
Blue stones, cheap wedding table decor, white table cloth, three knives, a spoon, three forks, and dessert cutlery; Only one glass filled with water. The wine was not suggested until we asked for it — Lebanese wines -at a French dinner- with a selection that’s not up to standard.
Service:
- The only professional person is the head waiter: the rest know nothing about the industry.
- Untrained waiters were serving as if it was bistro dining.
- Plastic water bottles!!!! Glass should have been used.
- Bread: undercooked chewy and sticky bread.
- Wine service: in Arabic, I would say, “Ya 3ab el Choum”.
- The wine glasses: can’t be cheaper! Thick heavy glass street restaurants use.
- Men are served before women: lol.
We were booked at 08:30: the first plate arrived at 09:30, the second followed after 10:00. No garlic; nobody listened; the first two plates arrived with garlic until I shouted.
The bistro-style food:
- Pistou glacé de homard, petits légumes dans leur bouillon: a cold watery soup, -too cold in fact-, presented in a dirty cup, Filled with a certain mix of vegetables and a lobster leg. Good enough for a French bistro.
- Poulpe de roc grillé, crème de choux fleurs aux épices, légumes croquants et jeunes pousses: à plate served cold -too cold! Containing garlic, two dry octopus legs with a cream of cauliflower and a crunchy carrot. I didn’t enjoy it at all, a non-innovative cold plate my grandma would have done better. A lack of freshness, lack of seasoning... a shame!
- Loup de ligne aux condiments de la Riviera, petits artichauts violets, jus d’une bouillabaisse: tasteless boiled fish served with a tasteless artichoke. Bad! Very bad! Did the chefs train before preparing such a plate? Did they taste it?
We were halfway there:
- You could see on all the tables people adding salt and ordering bread to satisfy their hunger.
- The singer couldn’t stop shouting.
- Waiters tried to serve the way they know.
- I felt like running away...
- A painter came in for a show: instead of showing us a video of a giril walking in Nice, France, put a camera on her canvas for us to see what she is doing. Photographers blocked the view.
Let’s continue dinner:
- Veau fermier cuit en basse température jus à la sauge, raviole aux champignons, petits oignons glacés: received at 10;45pm, the plate arrived with a chunk of veal, two raviolis, and some vegetables. OMG! The meat is so chewy; it was hard to swallow. Acidic, the overall flavor leaves a taste in the mouth. On the other hand, the ravioli is cooked al-dente the way it should be with a tender heart.
And here comes a diva, who thinks has a beautiful voice, a guest like all others or probably a member of the "organization" -we didn't understand which, and started shouting loud and high a song for Ziad el Rahbani. I don’t know what to say! I really don’t know what to say! I though I was dreaming... people started dancing... and all this at a “gastronomic dinner.” Music got even louder, the organizer’s friends started belly dancing... what a disgrace for Michelin Starred chefs and French gastronomy.
The rest of the food:
- Assiette de Fromage de chèvre aux fruits secs et figues fraîches: plates coming out of the fridge, two kinds of white cheese with a walnut, fried prune and two slices of figs. Good enough like any French cheese.
- The cake, removed from the fridge on its plate; a sweet mousse of lemon with a crunchy biscuit at the bottom. Yeah, I’ve had a million times better. I expected a decorated plate from a Michelin chef, some aromas, some flavors and not this dessert you can buy of the counter at any pastry. No presentation and no mise-en-place, a plate removed from the fridge and prepared earlier.
- The Macarons feel empty; they’re not chewy, and that’s a good point, but they are not full-bodied and loaded like the ones Pierre Hermé creates. I expected better.
Conclusion:
- Dear singer, find another job. You screened a lot for one night! Wrong notes and high pitches... take an opinion other than your mum.
- Sound engineer: Please consider stopping what you're doing. You are harming people's ears.
- Dear Bristol: what a shame to have accepted such an event. Be less money-oriented and choose wisely next time. Start by training your waiters as of today or send them to the Petit Cafe or Rawche. From a food perspective, your local chefs cook better.
- Mon Liban Azur: when you want to organize private parties for your friends and staff, don’t allow people to pay for their tickets. Please stay away from the culinary industry; I’ve never attended such a disaster before in my entire life: cheap food, cheap entertainment, cheap decor, and very cheap organization. "3ayb".
Tonight, money was stolen from me! We were four, we paid 500$, taken for a big lie. This is the biggest scam of the year; this is called stealing! I expected better from an establishment like Le Bristol.
