Once Upon a Time in France

Review summary

1. D

   Dario

   San Francisco

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Disappointed with Reservation Handling at Once Upon a Time in France I was really looking forward to celebrating Valentine’s Day at Once Upon a Time in France, but unfortunately, my experience was deeply disappointing. Despite having a confirmed reservation, the restaurant claimed they couldn’t find it on the day of. This left my wife and me scrambling last minute to find another place to eat on one of the busiest nights of the year. I understand that mistakes happen, but the lack of accountability and resolution was frustrating. A simple confirmation process or better reservation management could have prevented this. Given the importance of special occasions, I hope they improve their booking system to avoid putting other customers in this position. Maybe a was a simple mistake but it sucks when your the customer that’s on the other end.
   

   Is this helpful?

2. E

   Ethan

   VIP

   Mobile

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   We made a reservation here for Valentine’s Day, excited about eating the coursed out prix fixe menu advertised. This was the worst meal we have had in a while. After being seated and waiting for almost an hour, we finally received our first course, an amuse bouche that was cold. Then we waited another half hour for our next course which was some tiny scallop dish that was also cold. When we finally received our main course, we had been there for two hours, having received a very minimal amount of cold food. The dinner entrees (a filet and grouper) were average at best. My grouper and side potatoes were cold, while my husband’s filet tasted burnt and was also cold. We asked for our check and told them to skip bringing our dessert because we had already been there over two hours. They did give us 20% off for the long wait and the cold food. The bright spot of this restaurant are their staff, who were so kind and accommodating, apologizing to everyone for their long wait times by saying “the chef is a perfectionist and won’t send any food out until it’s perfect”. There were several other couples waiting for tables (reservations) because there were no available seats due to the food taking so long. I truly felt sorry for the entire floor staff — they were great and were doing everything they could to manage the slow kitchen. It wasn’t their fault at all. We left a good tip for them, cut our losses and left without ever receiving our dessert course. Our bill for all of this was $300+ after the tip…we felt robbed. We went through the McDonald’s drive-thru on the way home and will not be going back to Once Upon a Time in France. They need to get their act together, especially if they’re going to advertise a prix fixe menu on a big holiday like valentines. This was bad.
   

   Is this helpful?

3. B

   Ben

   Nashville

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 31, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Always a great experience! One of our favorites. Authentic and scrumptious!
   

   • 

   1 person found this helpful

4. P

   Paula

   VIP

   Atlanta

   104 reviews

   5.0

   104 reviews

   Dined on December 29, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Fabulous food. The staff were friendly but very busy.
   

   1 person found this helpful

5. S

   Scott

   VIP

   Nashville

   84 reviews

   5.0

   84 reviews

   Dined on December 29, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   So glad that we finally tried this place. After a lot of "meh" meals in Nashville over the past 5 or so years (soooo many steak houses doing the same thing), it was refreshing to see a place getting it right. For us, this is exactly what dining should be: personable and fun with well executed food and good pricing. I wouldn't call it cheap, but you get what you pay for, which is all anyone should expect. They aren't trying to be gimmicky or too hip. They are just doing what they do well. This is in our rotation now, along with Lyra, Yolan, Carne Mare and Bella Napoli...all places that do what they do extremely well without trying to be everything to everyone.
   

   2 people found this helpful

6. R

   Rick

   VIP

   San Francisco

   15 reviews

   5.0

   15 reviews

   Dined on December 28, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The ambiance was cozy and friendly; we started with the escargot and French onion soup, which were better than most; we had the duck confit and trout, both of which were cooked to perfection; the cocktails were delicious; the wine menu had many price points; the crème brûlée was served perfect temperature and was so good! We will return as our experience was superb!
   

   1 person found this helpful

7. C

   Craig

   New York City

   8 reviews

   4.0

   8 reviews

   Dined on December 28, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   If French bistro is your thing, these people have it going on. It was great - both in terms of the food, the selections, the wine offerings, the super interesting cocktails, and the ambiance. It was fun and the food was very good - prepared properly, served in the correct order, served at temp, etc. It was not expensive and I'll certainly be returning as it's the closest thing I've found that is like wandering into a neighborhood bistro in one of the arrondissements around Paris.
   

   1 person found this helpful

8. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   VIP

   Nashville

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 27, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Food was ok not great, cups smelled awful. Cherry on top: The waiter refused to give us small plates to share desserts 😂 literally said “ you can just use the spoons”😂
   

   Is this helpful?

9. G

   Gabriel

   Nashville

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 21, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   En tant que Québécois qui habite Nashville depuis peu, je devais absolument aller à ce restaurant au moins une fois. Nous sommes allé, ma femme et moi, à ce restaurant et nous avons tout les deux adoré notre expérience! Nous avons pu avoir un accord de vin avec nos mets et ceci était vraiment abordables et parfait. La nourriture était exactement ce que nous voulions, ce n'est absolument pas la dernière fois que nous allons à Once upon a time in France! Notre serveuse était merveilleuse et j'ai pu parler français un peu plus enfin. Ma femme a eu l'occasion de pratiquer son français aussi. We'll suggest this restaurant to our friends and family.
   

   Once Upon a Time in FranceResponded on December 28, 2024

   Cher Gabriel, merci de votre visite! Nous sommes ravis que notre petit bistro familial vous ai plu et nous avons hâte de vous servir, votre épouse et vous-même à nouveau.
   

   1 person found this helpful

10. J

    John

    Key West

    5 reviews

    5.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on December 15, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4

    Greeted at the door by the chef, my wife and I were whisked away (cooking pun there…) to the back room of the restaurant. There we were seated and greeted by an attractive server and had our special menu explained to us. We had the choice of escargots, a brief interlude of boeuf bourguignon, and I had the steak frites while my wife enjoyed the confit of duck. We were finished off with a traditional cheese plate with a variety of cheeses from around Europe. All the food items were fabulous and the wine pairings were perfect! I will complain that the portions were oversized for me. We were nearly full from the escargots, and the boeuf was a full dinner portion in itself. The ribeye steak was as the chef explains it “what Americans expect”. I can’t fault him for giving his customers what they want, although I personally would prefer a more authentic experience with a smaller skirt or flank steak and about half the amount of fries. To summarize: go there. Eat. You will not regret a thing!
    

    Once Upon a Time in FranceResponded on December 28, 2024

    Bonjour John, and thank you for taking the time to write such a raving review on your experience with us! We're so glad you and your wife enjoyed our traditional French cuisine -and French wine pairings to boot!- and we can't wait to host your next dinner out. Merci et à bientôt!
    

    1 person found this helpful