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26 Reviews
REVIEW #2
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Dave M.
Avg. Entree: Over $100
Rating: 
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August 25, 2008
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1 people found this review helpful
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Simply put, the food was incredible. A culinary masterpiece, sadly
tainted by a clear example of discrimination.
Disregarding the above issue (albeit a difficult thing to do), from
a service perspective, I was much more impressed with local San Francisco
gems such as Chapeau! and Gary Danko. French Laundry's service
was structured and formal, but far from personalized during our meal.
Below is my email exchange with the General Manager of French Laundry.
August 19, 2008
XXXXXXX, thank you for taking time to respond to my message. Personally,
I do appreciate the comments below, as well as the fact that you acknowledged
my concerns.
As you can imagine, with your restaurants reputation, many people
were eager to here about my experience (the meal itself), and then of
course more on this situation after hearing the details of the evening.
I shared the message I had written, as well as your reply today with the
folks who joined me for dinner that night, as well as several colleagues
at work. The reaction was a bit different.
Overall the feedback I received was this was a stock customer service
answer. More than one person mentioned that no attempt was made to address
my personnel satisfaction nor any effort made to make up for the experience.
As stated above, I appreciate the apology as I believe it to be sincere,
but thought this additional feedback might be more insightful as I
hadn't expected the strong reactions from others. I guess overall
expectations are quite high for your establishment, understandably
I believe.
Hope you find the additional feedback useful, and please note it is
not an attempt to further the issue. I do believe you were sincere in
your message as well as your efforts to improve.
Respectfully, XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX@gmail.com 415-###-####
August 18, 2008
Dear Mr. XXXXXX,
I appreciate you taking the time to express your thoughts. There is
always room for improvement and I appreciate your comments. Words
cannot express to you my apologies for the unfortunate experience
you encountered. The reservationist, host and captains are directed
to tell each guest that we require a jacket for gentlemen and do not allow
t-shirts, shorts, jeans or tennis shoes. It seems this was overlooked
on Tuesday night and I apologies for the uncomfortable situation that
occurred when you tried to take off your jacket.
This is not a representation of our customer service “ideals”
here at The French Laundry and I assure you I have done everything to
remedy the problems, which occurred. Though I am not happy that you
had a bad experience, I thank you for your honest comments and have shown
them to all those who were involved that night. It is through letters
like yours that we can stay in touch with our guests’ needs, and improve
on weaker aspects of our service so we can better handle such situations
in the future.
Although I understand nothing can make up for this embarrassing and
unfortunate experience, I do hope you’ll give us second chance in
the near future.
My sincerest apologies, XXXXXXX XXXXXXX | General Manager The French Laundry | 6640 Washington Street |Yountville, CA 94599
The Below Message sent via French Laundry website on Thursday Aug 14th.
This was followed up by a phone call on Monday, August 18th after receiving
no response. An email from the general manager was received the evening
of the 18th, as described above.
To who is may concern:
I just wanted to write a note to address my experience at your restaurant.
On Tuesday, August 12th, we had a 6:30pm reservation (under XXXXXXX
I believe, our final bill was charged to the credit card of XXXXXXXXX).
Firstly I wanted to say that the meal lived up to all the good reviews
we've read over the years, and we were very pleased with the overall
experience.
There was however one situation I did feel compelled to write you about.
I want to first say this did not greatly effect my overall enjoyment
of the evening, however after a couple days it did still leave me a bit
uneasy.
The issue involved the dress code. Our group was very well aware of the
dress code in place and we were dressed appropriately. As we settled
in to enjoy our first drink, I was looking around the room and noticed
one gentleman in a short sleeve polo shirt (no jacket present), and
two others with their jackets on the back of their chairs (one was a sport
coat, the other just a general outdoor jacket).
Knowing this was to be a long meal, I leaned over to my wife and asked her,
based on what we observed around us, if she thought it would be acceptable
for me to remove my coat and put it on the back of my chair. She validated
the same feeling I had that based on other guests, this seemed to be ok.
At the moment I removed my coat, one of our main servers (I apologize,
the name now escapes me) immediately approached me to tell me the matrede
requires the patrons to wear a jacket.
I stated I of course had no issue with the coat policy, and had looked
around the room prior to making that decision, so I felt like I was being
singled out a bit. The server agreed and commented 'that he obviously
had to have a couple more of the same conversations', assumingly,
with the other guests not wearing jackets.
Over the course of the next four hours of our dining experience, I could
not help but notice nothing was ever said to the other guests and they
completed their meals, sans compliance with the dress code. This of
course left me with the feeling of being singled out on this policy.
It was an unfortunate distraction throughout and otherwise wonderful
meal.
While I have no issues whatsoever with your stated dress policies,
I found it unsettling that the policy appeared to be applied both arbitrarily,
and unevenly across the patrons of the establishment.
I debated for several days whether this was something worth sharing
with you. However, after several discussions with friends and colleagues,
there was overwhelming consensus that this was not viewed as appropriate
and that I should share my experience with you.
Personally, my feeling was after spending over two thousands dollars
on dinner for six, I should not leave feeling anything but fully satisfied.
Instead, I have dealt with more of a festering feeling of being personally
discriminated against. I was also embarrassed a bit in front of my friends
for drawing the additional attention to our table.
As a business professional, and a long time patron of fine dining establishments
in San Francisco and around the world for that matter, perhaps I have
set my own expectations too high, but at the end of the day, I just couldn't
shake the negative feeling on the experience.
I very much appreciate your time in reading this message. I am sure it's
taken seriously as I know the French Laundry's reputation would
not be what it was if you did not.
If you would like any further details, my contact information is below.
Best regards, XXXXXXX 415-###-#### XXXXXX@gmail.com
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REVIEW #7
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kohler M.
Rating:
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March 8, 2004
0 of
0 people found this review helpful
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Regardless of the reservation policy this is by far an incredible
place to eat and be completely self indulgent. The food is creative
and fun. The tasting menu is exciting and the service is impressive.
This is our favorite place to dine. I won't even go into the
menu
because that's part of the suprise and it changes every day.
Presentation
is exceptional and be prepared to spend hours here.
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REVIEW #9
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Cori K.
Avg. Entree: Over $100
Rating:
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November 11, 2002
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0 people found this review helpful
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I just experienced a world class dining experience this last
Sat. (Nov. 9, 2002)at the French Laundry. There was a group of
6 of us (cannot have any more than 6 in the main dining area), and
we all were in awe over the quiet ambience, impeccable service,
and world class menu at our fingertips. The chef/owner Tom Keller
has definitely nailed down what the human palate enjoys! A good
way to describe the service was like a synchronized ballet among
the servers, even down to the placement of the plates upon the
table. There is no music, this place is very small, very simply
decorated, and the building itself is so simple you would never
know it was a chateau relais world class restaurant. It's its
simple elegance matched with food that is basically a "beautiful
orchestra" to your palate that make this restaurant, in my opinion,
number 1 in the bay area. Although pricey, (our bill came to $250.00/per
person by the end of the evening), it is definitely a dining experience
you don't want to miss in your lifetime. Highly recommend it!
Bon Appetit!
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REVIEW #10
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David R.
Rating:
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August 7, 2001
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0 people found this review helpful
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I had the amazing experience of eating at the French Laundry in
January of this year. The following is a description of it that
I sent a friend just after we went there:
Yes, it's true. We ate at The French Laundry on Sat. night. And
yes, it actually lived up to the hype. Check out this review from
Dec. 1999 in the Santa Rosa paper. This review actually does the
restaurant justice, which is hard to imagine.http://pressdemocrat.com/goingout/dine/yr99/dec05.html
Anyway, suffice it to say that the experience was not even close
to what you may have heard. It was way beyond that.
We were with another couple, and 3 of the 4 of us ordered the chef's
tasting menu, which Chef Keller has designed to highight his
best examples of his cuisine style and variety. The dinner was
served in 9 courses (yes, 9!) and each dish was presented by our
waiter with a brief description and in a very refined yet triumphant
manner. Imagine each course as being a mini-orgasm for your mouth,
and you might begin to get the idea.
The dishes started with a creamy salmon mousse with creme fraiche
wrapped in a crispy sesame (I think) cone and meant to look like
an ice cream cone. Then an oyster dish, then a pasta with a butternut
squash filling, then the most incredible lobster dish I have
ever tasted. It was served atop some kind of a green and delicately
laced with a deep red beet reduction sauce that didn't taste like
beets at all. The sauce actually enhanced the flavor of the lobster,
which was unbelievable.
Then, as if that wasn't enough, came the ultimate highlight of
the meal. It was a dish of braised beef short ribs served on polenta
that was simply beyond anything we had ever tasted before. We
all agreed that it was the best beef dish we had tasted in our lives.
The meat simply fell away as our knives cut through it like butter,
and it absolutely melted in my mouth like some fantastic dream.
I am not exaggerating.
Anyway, the rest of the dinner flowed from there, and while the
desserts were not quite as great as the main courses, they were
still wonderful.
I am still smiling as I recall every detail of the experience.
I hope this has made you hungry.
Oh yes, the cost. Suffice it to say that this was way, way, way,
way more than I have ever spent for a dinner but worth every penny.
I now have no desire to ever spend more on a meal because I can't
imagine anything being better.
Then again, it was not just a dinner, it was a special event. I highly
recommend you try to go there, but save up for a while first.
****I thought I would contribute this as one of my first reviews
on this site. I will also add that the service was fantastic - not
pretentious at all as you might expect from a restaurant of this
cost and reputation.
People who complain about the reservations policy here have
a point I guess, but wouldn't you expect a place considered to
be the best or one of the best destination restaurants in the entire
U.S. to be unbelieveably difficult to get into?? This is not just
a restaurant, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can
not be duplicated.(unless you go there again).
******A SECRET TIP ON HOW TO GET IN: STRAIGHT FROM THE MOUTH OF
THE MANAGER: GO THERE EARLY IN THE DAY IN PERSON AND ASK IF THEY
HAVE ANY CANCELLATIONS FOR THAT NIGHT. THEY OFTEN DO. THIS IS
MUCH BETTER THAN TRYING TO GET THROUGH ON THE PHONE, WHICH IS BASICALLY
IMPOSSIBLE.
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REVIEW #15
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Rating:
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February 11, 2000
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0 people found this review helpful
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My wife and I have eaten 3 times at the French Laundry and have always
enjoyed it. The food of Thomas Keller is sublime and I like the
idea of a prix fixe dinner to let the chef show his/her stuff. The
reservations policy is a bit odd, but with the restaurant winning
so many awards, they have to control the tables somehow. The food
is just like a Michelin 3 star restaurant in France...maybe better.
The tongue in cheek salad and the coffee and doughnut dessert
are fun and delicious. The one problem I do have is that even though
the restaurant is right in the middle of the Napa Valley, why is
the wine list so very expensive? And also they look down on people
bringing their own wine. We once brought a bottle of 1986 Ch. Cheval
Blanc. I understand the need for corkage, but we let the waiter
have some and let him take some back for the chef, and we bought
a bottle from the wine list, and yet were still charged for corkage.
I'm sure they make a very large profit from the wine list. Will
I return, yes I
think so, since the food is great, but I will be very selective
with my wine purchases.
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REVIEW #16
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Zarko D.
Rating: Unknown
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August 23, 1999
0 of
0 people found this review helpful
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REVIEW #17
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Rating: Unknown
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July 19, 1999
1 of
1 people found this review helpful
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To be fair to The French Laundry, 1) I haven't eaten there; 2)what I have to say may not apply to weekday dinners or tolunches. This review addresses its reservations policy.As I write, the policy is to allow reservations no more than twomonths in advance. I was hoping to reserve for my wife's birth-day, but I imprudently called only 61 days in advance and foundmyself shut out. I decided to try for the next weekend.They tell me that they begin to take reservations at 10 AM, so Istarted to call them about 9:58. I called 200 times and got 200busy signals before I gave up. I gather that this contentionfor reservations is normal.Many restaurants in this predicament would raise their prices.TFL may want to avoid doing so in order not to discourage peopleof relatively modest means, and that's fine. This way, however,they discourage people whose time is relatively valuable, andthey do so in a way that's strictly a waste for the restaurantand for its would-be customers. On balance, I can't understandwhy they don't allow reservations as far in advance as peoplewish to make them; they could require that reservers call backonce a year (say) to confirm that they're still alive. Asmatters stand, I have found this whole experience intenselyfrustrating, and I think I'd feel the same way even if I werepoor. I'll contribute to the solution by avoiding TFL from nowon.
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REVIEW #18
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Jennie T.
Avg. Entree: $60-80
Rating:
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May 9, 1998
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0 people found this review helpful
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5/13/97: Waited 1/2 hour for our table, so next time should make early
reservation. Gorgeous decor & garden, fresh flowers everywhere. Truly
a sublime meal--everything tasted as if it had been made from scratch
just minutes before.
Starter: egg custard bet. layers of dark truffle & light truffle
sauce, served in eggshell--to die for.Tray of warm homemade breads &
rolls. Appetizer: potato-filled agnolotti w/cream sauce, wonderful
fresh potato taste, heaven. Fish: crusted monkfish w/delicious oxtail
& parsnip sauce, but monkfish was too salty. Meat: rabbit & gnocchi
was perfectly cooked: crispy skin & succulent meat. Cheese: goat
cheese w/beet salad--my fault to order goat cheese, but beet salad was
good. Dessert: coffee (like a coffee mousse) &
doughnut--yummy. Post-dessert: chocolate truffle, mini creme brulee,
plate of cookies & mini chocolate eclair. French press coffee--yay!
Bountiful & knowledgeable waitstaff. Wonderful service. One of the
best meals I've ever had, quite possibly beating out Chez Panisse!
Try: tongue & cheek salad, vegetarian tasting menu. And remember, you
can stroll the gardens between courses!
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