MAP

It seems this tiny, family run restaurant has taken Trip Advisor by storm. People write about the delicious food in a modest, tiny establishment. I'd love to hear any of your personal experiences with La Cordonnerie. Merci beaucoup.

suze

I have no experience with this restaurant. But hopefully you understand the ranking system at Trip Advisor for both hotels and restaurants is simply a popularity contest among the people who choose to post reviews. There is no official judging system. If a hundred people decided to post good comments about a horrible restaurant, it would become #1.

Suzanne2

Gitte who posts on TA and on Ourparisforum has been there several times. She seems to be a little unhappy that one of her favorite places might suffer from all of this popularity.

Michel_Paris

I tried to find reviews from a french perspective. One I found mentioned that it has the lowest priced drinks in Paris 4E a pint, 2,50E happy hour, 3E for a coca. Also, free coucous on Thurs and Sat after 21h

Nice rustic interior. traditional food.

Good food, bit expensive. Busy, reservations.

Young local crowd, few tourists (so far). Music.

Seems strange that this would be enough for it to be #1 though.

I'd go, but it is probably now hard to get in.

avalon

I too am unhappy that TA has placed this so high in their rankings. I just called and spoke to Hugo , the owner-chef, to make a reservation and the noise level was terrible! I still made the reservation because it is a terrific little place and Hugo and Kad are so nice.I hope it'spopularity hasn't ruined it.

Christina

I don't think TA places things, it's just a computer algorithm and happens automatically, I believe.

MAP

Avalon, can you tell me if the lunch and dinner menus and prices are the same? Merci.

suze

Like I said in the first post Trip Advisor doesn't *place* anyone. The ratings are not from them. It's a popular vote from people who come and post restaurant reviews. Nothing to do with the opinion of TA.

Robert2533

I had an email exchange with a friend in Paris some years ago when I wondered why she hadn't written a review of a particular restaurant we discovered one afternoon while exploring the 14th. Her response was simply "some things you need to keep to yourself". And she was correct; popularity kills, although she did do a review a couple of years ago once the restaurant became a little better known on its own.

MAP

topping

klondike

Robert2533: Smart lady, your friend!

I've wondered about this topic myself...just never got to the neighborhood.

Robert2533

Indeed she is...she's been a top reviewer for the IHT for as long as I can remember, and knows her stuff.

One of the things I've found is that TA, like Zagat, is that it is difficult to trust the reviews when it comes to restaurants and hotels. We travel a lot and are very familiar with certain hotels and restaurants that have gotten bad reviews, which we have to discount as being ridiculous. They are often from someone with a grudge or someone who really needs to be under close supervision or a doctor’s care.

avalon

MAP , have only had dinner there. I don;t recall the exact pricing but it wasn't expensive. If you can wait , I'll post prices later as we're having dinner there on the 11th.

djkbooks

I agree with approaching restaurants often mentioned on TripAdvisor (and other forums and in all the tour guides) with apprehension. Things may change significantly by the time you get there.

I also agree with keeping some places to yourself. The better places are "popular" enough already. As one chef/owner lamented to me, "We have enough customers!" Once they hit the travel forums, a smaller, intimate, fine dining destination with linens and crystal, can turn into a room full of jeans, sneakers, backpacks, with the atmosphere of a middle school cafeteria.