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La Petite France,
3317 Bloor Street West |
La Petite France in Etobicoke
I hate pettiness
and I don't much care for petty people. I know, I know, a
restaurant could be one of the most difficult businesses to run and
the public, well, a difficult entity, especially when they're
hungry.
But that's no
excuse for pettiness. Recently we dined at what was almost a
charming little French Bistro in Toronto's west end with a real
French Chef and owner. It was a Monday night, midsummer, and we
decided to take the trip way out to Bloor and Islington for the
Monday night special at La Petite France. For $12.95 there was a
choice of steak or salmon and fresh handmade frites, quite the
bargain, no? Actually we would have preferred the fixed price at
only $18.95 but it was only offered between 5p.m. and
7p.m. hmm, are you starting to get the picture?
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I started with a glass of
house red and my companion ordered beer. Wine prices seemed modest; the
menu read $4.25 for a glass of house wine. How could I go wrong?
We ordered a couple of
starters, I the “Bastille Summer Salad” apples and cheese on a bed of
Boston lettuce but nothing special at $5.95 (actually the dressing was not
as smooth as I would have liked a little heavy on the vinegar), and my
friend had the “homemade” pate. Also $5.95. This was a
disappointment, I‘ve had better pate from Antoine.
For a main course I chose
the salmon and frites, (I can never resist handmade frites either in
Toronto or France, to heck with the calories) and my friend had the steak
and frites. Both of these were part of a Monday night special at
$12.95 Halfway through our appetizers our unsmiling waitress, (not French
herself), stopped by to ask me whether I would like Hollandaise sauce on
my fish. I shrugged. “Okay” was my response.
We can’t complain too
much about the quality of the steak which was tender and tasty, or the
salmon, and the frites were delicious and plentiful. I will admit that
the hollandaise sauce was a delightful addition to the fish and quite
obviously freshly prepared as it should be in every restaurant that
chooses to sell eggs benedict etc.
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Salmon
and frites |
My issue was with the
bill. Although not too high, I think dinner for two came to less that
$60.00 before the tip, I was a little surprised to find that the $4.25
wine was now $5.50 and instead of two dinners @ $12.95 totaling $25.90
before tax, the new number was $27.40.
I asked the unsmiling
waitress about this discrepancy and she informed me that I had the
large glass of wine at $5.50 not the small wine at $4.25. Actually, I
don’t have a problem with that, we put more money into the parking
meter outside, but I do like to be asked, (large size or small) or at
least informed in advance. And what about the extra $1.50 added to
the main courses? But of course! this was for that tasty hollandaise
sauce on the fish. Gee whiz, I didn’t think to ask if it was free when
the unsmiling waitress approached during the appetizer phase to ask me
if I would like some, nor was it on the menu, sort of like a la mode
at most eating spots. Sure you pay extra, but you know that in
advance.
It may have been for
this reason that a restaurant with fine food in a busy part of town
was close to empty even if the food is well priced and very fine. I
strongly believe that it’s the little “surprise and delight” aspects
at a restaurant that keep people coming back and recommending a spot
like this to their friends. Now you may think that I’m being petty,
but I just don’t feel good about a place when they do these kind of
things, no matter how tiny the price. Vous comprenez?
La Petite France
3317 Bloor Street West,
Etobicoke ON. M8X 1E7
Phone:
(416)234-8783
Rating 1 Stars
Ultimately, it's all about Expectations. Did
the last Restaurant exceed your Expectations, simply meet Expectations,
or were you Disappointed?
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