L'Ami Jean 27 r. Malar, Paris

Two years ago we ate lunch in L'Ami Jean. The place was overcrowded and the meal rushed but the food was good. We decided to try it last week for dinner. It could not be that rushed and perhaps we could enjoy a good normal paced meal. Oh how wrong we were. There was no space between tables and the staff was rushed. It seemed like a track meet. This was the first time ever after many visits to Paris that a waitress tried to take my plate away from me before I had finished my food !!! The service was minimal at best and the choices confusing both in English and French even though we speak both languages. The waiter insisted in speaking English and of course completely got everything wrong even though we told him that we understood French. Part of the mixup was because he was so rushed and did not want to understand what we wanted. Unfortunately the food was not much better. The only good dish was a lentil soup. The dorade was ordinary with little flavor and the mashed potatoes were so lacking in flavor or structure that they seemed appropriate only for an old folks home or a nursery. A calamari starter was ordinary and the dish not as good as found in family restaurants in the US and UK. The main dish of 5 sea scallops in shells was tough and probably not thoroughly cooked. It was not good. The total price for all this was 100 Euros.!!!
Now if you want to go and get "ripped" off and have a poor meal with harried and rushed service in a crowded restaurant with barely passable food in order to get an experience of in eating in a Parisian restaurant then by all means dine at the L'Ami Jean. It was by far the poorest meal we had during our week in Paris which ended Oct. 12, 2009. It also was the worst value for a meal we have EVER had in our over 20 trips to Paris. Our advice is to stay away.

What restaurants did you like?

I can't comment on their food, a lot of people like it -- but, really, what did you expect when you go to some place mentioned in tons of guidebooks/websites, etc. known to foodies who talk about chefs by name, etc. It has always been crowded and busy, I don't know why you thought it couldn't be this time. Also, because they are so popular, they have two seatings and do expect people to leave before the second one. I imagine that's what you had, as if you were there at the end of the evening, there wouldn't have been a reason.

I don't know why people insist on going to super-popular, foodie restaurants mentioned everywhere and then complain about it being busy and crowded.

Avoid at all costs restaurants in Paris which do double service in an evening (7.30 pm and 9.30 pm, burk, nasty). There aren't that many, but l'Ami Jean is one of them. This is a new trend creeping into Parisian establishments that are very popular. Not worth it, feel like "renting" a seat!

Interesting, TPaxe, do you know which others are succumbing to this trend?

Yes, we knew there were two seatings and because we had an early appointment the next day we opted for the early seating. However, the restaurant was incredibly rushed even though almost half of the seats were empty while we were there. In fact people were seated in the middle of the first seating.

To answer the question of which restaurants we liked in this and our previous visit to Paris last year: [no particular order] Leo le Lion (7th); L'Os a moelle (15th); Le Clos des Gourmets (7th); Au Petit Marguery (13th) and Le Grand Vefour (1st).

L'Os et Moelle do this, double seating. Also a lot of the Costes places, Hotel Costes, Les Esplanade, etc.

Also Le Troquet, but they are a bit more flexible and don't make you feel you are "renting" a seat. Love Le Troquet and have been often, so maybe they are more flexible with me as I'm a regular, but they do double seating.

Lots of places have been ruined by the guidebooks. I have learned to avoid most restaurants recommended by guidebooks, especially the most popular guidebooks. (Fodor's, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Let's Go, etc. -- it's a shame, but the books mentioned tend to totally demolish anything that was good about the place before it became excessively popular.)

>I don't know why people insist on going to super-popular, foodie restaurants mentioned everywhere and then complain about it being busy and crowded.<

So what if it's crowded? A patron has every right to expect the cooking and service to be a certain standard, crowded or not. After all they don't do a discount when it's busy to make up for substandard food. Well said OP, maybe a few bad reviews is what they need to get them back on track.