I've been to 3 in Bristol

Rating - Overall: 3  Food: 3  Service: 4  Ambience: 5

ricki
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Mar 10
Rating: 0

7 Mar 2010

Here is my review of the 3 I've been to in Bristol in short.

Cabot = Amazing, steak and that garlic sauce is the 2nd best I've had in my life

Park Street = Again great, however I've known a few meals to go back to the kitchen.

The Mall Cribbs = God dam awful. It just seems the wrong type of place to put an open plan Cafe Rouge. I had a medium steak that, well to me hadn't seen a grill and was still breathing.

Cabot is thumbs up favourite

Visited: February 17, 2010
What I ate: Steak

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Not as nice as Cardiff

Rating - Overall: 2  Food: 3  Service: 2  Ambience: 2

Chloeve
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Feb 10
Rating: 0

15 Feb 2010

Had an amazing meal in Cardiff's branch of Cafe Rouge 2x with great welcoming service, Bristol in comparison was okay but nothing special.

The food was so so but not outstanding. The service was disjointed and at times verging on the edge of rude, where language differences possibly brought out the worst of the situation.

Though warm and nicely lit, no real ambiance. The food was alright.

All in all, a little disappointing. Will give it another shot with a two for one voucher but would rather go back to Cardiff's branch.

Visited: February 11, 2010
What I ate: Chicken and mushroom

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Average

Rating - Overall: 3  Food: 2  Service: 2  Ambience: 2

MrsB
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Sep 08
Rating: 2

16 Jan 2010

We visited here with a couple of friends and sadly found everything about Cafe Rouge to be average. Firstly the service : every member of staff seemed to be avoiding eye contact with us whilst we waited to be seated, we did eventually get seated and our waitress was pleasant enough although we did have to ask several times for various things. The food : was just warm, although quite tasty and wasn't really presented very well. It appeared to have been sat under a hot plate for some time as my friend's starter looked distinctly congealed. The cost : definitely overpriced. We could have probably gone to somewhere like Brasserie Blanc for the same amount that we paid here. The atmosphere : non existent. I don't think I'll be returning to a Cafe Rouge any time soon.

Visited: January 16, 2010
What I ate: Chicken liver pate, confit with orange sauce

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So So

Rating - Overall: 2  Food: 2  Service: 3  Ambience: 3

tfc10
Gastronome
Member since Jun 08
Rating: 0

19 Apr 2009

Went here with my partner and some friends for a nice relaxing lunch. The ambience and service was fairly good, nothing special.

We all decided to order from the special lunch time menu, 2 courses for £7.95 or 3 for £9.95. I appreciate that it was only lunch time and that it was quite cheap, however the portion sizes were very small, the mushroom starter, though quite flavoursome was ridculously small. I think i had 5 strips of mushroom, with hardly any sauce. The main course a creamy pasta dish was extremly dissapointing, very little sauce, and the sauce there was was very bland. The portion size again was very poor.

One of the only good things about our time there was the good selection of wine, good selection, reasonably priced.

Overall it was o.k, im pleased i only paid £7.95, i really wouldnt have paid any more. there are far better restaurants in Bristol, not worth a return visit.

Visited: April 16, 2009
What I ate: mushroom, creamy pasta, chianti

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Average

Rating - Overall: 2  Food: 3  Service: 2  Ambience: 2

hussey83
Foodie
Member since Dec 08
Rating: 1

19 Feb 2009

Not a lot to say about this place really. First time I've been there and expected more. It looks like a very grand cafe from the outside but it really is a standard cafe offering standard food. I had a chicken bag with chips and it was fine. Maybe a little over priced. I guess this is a nice place for 'ladies that lunch', although I can think of better places. Won't rush back but would visit again i guess. 4/10

Visited: February 7, 2009
What I ate: chicken baguette and chips

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horrible staff, below average

Rating - Overall: 1  Food: 2  Service: —  Ambience: 1

inwestbury
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Sep 08
Rating: 0

22 Jan 2009

I have visited twice - I have been unhappy with the food and service both times.

Firstly I had a group of friends for a joint birthday meal. 16 of us ate. The waiter was rude and took an age to even ask us what we wanted to drink and did not give us all menus. When we eventually ordered our meals the same waiter rolled his eyes, was disinterested and at times just plain rude. When the meals arrived 2 were missing and arrived 20 minutes after the others. There were elements of the meals that did appear missing [no french fries, no veg, no additional sauces etc etc]. Out of 5 ordered, 3 Bavette were tough and cold and inedible but were not replaced when requested by the ignorant waiter.

However, the chcken dish was delicate and beautifully cooked and the mussels were cooked to perfection. We skipped dessert and went elsewhere, returning 3 meals virtually untouched - what a shame!!

The 2nd visit was 4 mums with their 6 children for tea after a violin concert. The children behaved impeccably but again the staff did not. Only the children ate, while the mums had Cappucino. The same waiter that had served me 3 months previously served us again and I hoped that it was just a one off - sadly not. I took 2.5 hours to get served a 2 course children's as he turned his back on us each time we wanted to order further drinks or food or the bill. The fact that only the children ordered food seemed to annoy the waiter despite the fact that we had drinks and cake. We would have eaten more but couldn't get served despite the fact that the place was empty [at 6.30!!]

Visited: August 24, 2008
What I ate: fillet steak

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Excellent Service

Rating - Overall: 4  Food: 4  Service: 5  Ambience: 4

dandelion
Foodie
Member since Jan 09
Rating: 2

3 Jan 2009

Have been a couple of times now to Cafe Rouge and on both occasions have been impressed with the quality of both the food and the service. Ingredients have a certain freshness and the flavours in both of our dishes blended particularly well. Attentive (but not overly so) service, and a pleasant, informal atmosphere. The only criticism would be that for main courses, the portions were rather small and we finished lunch still feeling peckish.

Visited: January 3, 2009
What I ate: Seafood Casserole, Prawn and Squid Salad (Salad de la mer)

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Another Quality French Meal

Rating - Overall: 4  Food: 4  Service: 4  Ambience: 5

foodraver
Foodie
Member since Dec 08
Rating: 0

18 Dec 2008

This was a pre-theatre visit to Cafe Rouge and i was with 3 friends. I have been to several other Cafe Rouge restaurants and always found my visit to be an enjoyable one. Cabot Circus was no different.

I had the Pate to start served with fresh frech bread and a caramelised onion chutney which was delicious. Following that i had the Poulet Breton which was a chicken, leek and mushroom mixture served with a garlic and herb mash.

Visited: December 13, 2008
What I ate: Pate starter and Poulet Breton Main Course.

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When is rare not rare?

Rating - Overall: 3  Food: 3  Service: 3  Ambience: 3

smeeds
Foodie
Member since Oct 08
Rating: 1

26 Nov 2008

We have eaten at various Café Rouge locations on several occasions. We are usually very happy with the food and service. To be honest this wasn't very different but it was marked out by two significant problems.

Our waitress was very pleasant and friendly, if sometimes slightly difficult to understand - the accent wasn't French, but that doesn't matter. I chose the Bavette. To quote the menu "BAVETTE 8oz* traditional French cut of steak, best enjoyed rare", so I naturally ordered it rare. Maybe slightly against my better judgement I also ordered a Roquefort Sauce. When it arrived the sauce was actually quite pleasant, but even my partner, who likes her steak well done judged that mine was at least medium-well. It was still pleasant, but not what I'd ordered. It was late evening and we needed to get away, so I have to admit I didn't complain.

When we had finished our meal we obviously wanted to pay. Granted, it was the end of the evening, and they were starting to pack up around us, but our waitress was now nowhere to be seen, and it took several minutes to attract the attention of someone to bring the bill. Maybe they wanted to pack up, but getting us out of the door quickly would have helped them as well as us.

This was not our best Café Rouge experience

Visited: November 12, 2008
What I ate: Bavette

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