La Petite Auberge

I have to say, once i said no, i said no.

I've said in January that it would be the last time i would come to this horrible place.

Well, last week my friends booked their party at la petite auberge so i had to go....Scared and not really motivated to go i made the effort.

Well, having said that, i realized few changes in this tiny restaurant.

The place was packed, we waited 10 minutes to get seated but overall it was ok.

By my biggest surprise, things were a bit different. We didn t have to wait for our food, it was nicely presented and tasted good, yes it did. My rib-eye was amazing .( yes i know it is only a steak but the quality was there and the diane sauce fantastic).

On top of that, the new manager is finally a FRENCHMAN..... well sounds obvious but it makes the whole difference.

Well educated, interesting, passionate about his food and wine and also very professional, he totally made our night and birthday party a night to remember.

keep it that way and we may come back
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Jay Reeves
7 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Saturday, December 10, 2011

Don't often write reviews, but so saddened by the decline of this lovely little north London staple that I had to say something.

My husband and I have been eating here for nine years (he's been eating there for more like 17) and we were so hoping the reviews were wrong, but microwaved potatoes and frozen fish were just too sad. The wine is still great and the service was all good, but I really want to know where that chef has gone to, as we'll quite happily follow. Such a shame!
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Paula
6 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Dear, dear, dear, what good is there to say about this place. To celebrate my 37 birthday with 4 other friends I booked a table at le Petite Auberge, As I have a pallet that suits all tastes and types of cuisine I thought I'd try something a little different from the norm ( Indian/Chinese/Turkish/Thai).

The table booked for 7.30p.m - surroundings were nice and cosy, dime lights and candles on the tables, we were happy with our house Red which tasted more special than the cheapest bottle of red on the menu. Then time for the starters, asparagus with hollandaise sauce WHAT SAUCE - on a very large plate four fat asparagus tips with a tiny dollop of crust on the side with burnt bread crumbs on top to hide the crust. Camembert with raspberry sauce - the cheese was swimming in a plate of sweet sticky sauce that was far, far too much for the amount of cheese given. Onion soup - Like someone had flung a slice of Hovest white on top of a tasteless tiny bowl of pale soup which had gone soggy in the bowl of slop. Worst to come was my friends starters which was marinated veg with a cheese fondue,..... Fondue !!!!!! To my horror my friend was able to hold the cold sheet once hot cheese up to her face and swing it like a dusty old matt!!!!!

On telling the waitress of the dusty old matt that was served instead of the luscious soft gooey cheese that should have been received all she did was shrugged her shoulders then walked way. Starting to feel a little disheartened we ordered our mains - Steak came with frozen chips, no salad or veg those you have to pay for separately, Crepes it said on the menu, it was 'A' crepe with semi warm salmon and tomato sauce, mine was supposed to be a crepe with ham and mushrooms hoping it would be just as good as the ones I had in Kos (Greece) well I never did get my crepe , the waiter came with an asparagus crepe while breathing closely over it insisted that's what I ordered only for it to come back 5 minutes later with the original waitress doing just the same as him - I am certainly not a veggie so I know I would have never had ordered this. After much persuasion with them both off they went to get me my correct dish - Well I thought they did...... CHICKEN and Ham is what arrived after the 3rd time of trying to order my main, although I didn't mind this, it wasn't what I I ordered!!!!! At this point the manager came over noticing how upset I was at the table with eager customers waiting to try the food staring at me. He offered me another main but with caution with what could probably happen to my food at the back by this point I refused and asked for him to take it off the bill, the salad that we ordered to go with our mains which was actually lovely and fresh was whisked away also without anyone asking if we had finished . The manager apologised profusely but i didn't feel it was genuine, all he could offer was a free dessert next time i visited. I have eaten in many many restaurants of all sorts of price ranges but felt I really had to share how bad my experience was i have never had anything so bad and sooooo not worth the money- I urge anyone wanting to eat here to think seriously about the money they would be wasting. The biggest let down ever, please don't waste your time and money eating here upper street has plenty of other quality places for you to visit and enjoy.
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Simone Knight
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Sunday, October 02, 2011

very friendly service, and polite, but the food is rubbish. stale chips and cold mussels were too much to bear. i thought it was better before, but definitely not going back any more.
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tracey
5 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Sunday, July 03, 2011

lovely and cozy place inspire me to go back on Valentine's day with my girlfriend, last tuesday we were looking for place to have a chat and dine. Meet up in Upper st we decided to walk in to this french place.Worderful atmosphere,lovely service,

tasty food,reasonable prices.Definately go back.

PS hope my girlfriend will like it
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Peter Bullock
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, February 11, 2011

Due to Le Mercury being full I dined here last night with my boyfriend. I shall not be returning...

We were "greeted" by a surly waitress whose temperament did not improve throughout the course of the evening.

To start we had l'escargots, which were swimming in a hefty layer of fat and water, and frogs legs in tasteless tarragon water with a touch of cream.

Next we had rib steaks - tough to chew and quite unpalatable. Anyone who has had the gross misfortune to eat at an Aberdeen Angus Steakhouse will know the distress caused by attempting to eat a half frozen slab of meat. Le Petit Auberge is no different.

The offer of dessert was laughable.

Saying this, previous reviews of Le Petite Auberge on this website are markedly positive, so I can only conclude that a recent change of chef and staff led to the utterly ghastly experience of last night.
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Syracuse Rising - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 0
Thursday, February 03, 2011

My girlfriend and I dined here last Monday. The restaurant was quite busy for a Monday night, which I feel is indicative of it's popularity. We were both very impressed with all aspects of this lovely restaurant.

The lighting is very subtle and the various items adorning the walls / ceilings I feel add to the character.

If I am being hyper critical then I'd say the venison terrine starter was slightly lacking in flavour, however the roast quail main was excellent, as was the chocolate mouse dessert.

I also rate the service very highly - the staff were very friendly and attentive.

£80 all in with a £30ish bottle of (very nice) Sancerre. We even received two complimentary cognacs at the end of our meal. They've won me over and I'll certainly be dining here again!

An older review below makes reference to tatty menus and the possibility of the chef taking Monday off (which may well have been the case at that time, as a lot of restaurants are closed on Monday's), however they have evidently replaced their menus and I could not fault the food.

Highly recommended.
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Phil - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 17, 2011

What a wonderful experience we had in La Petite Auberge. What a find!! Being new to the area, it was a delight to enjoy some great food and drink set in a pleasant rustic surrounding. The food was beautifully cooked and presented with a friendly style. We enjoyed our time so much; we look forward to coming back again – especially to sample the delicious rabbit casserole – delicious!!
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, December 13, 2010

La Petite Auberge is such a brilliant place. Great ambiance. We went there with my wife and a friend, the food and service both excellent, the portions were huge too. Three of us could not find a fault. We will definately go back. Well done.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, November 04, 2010

Couple days ago went to this place, it was quite busy evening. I had a wonderful evening out with my partner, excellent service,very friendly waitresses all the time ready to help.Nice atmosphere,especially I liked mezzanine floor.I had a duck salad and rabbit casserole which was delicious,portions were generous and for good value.For sure would be back
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Michael
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, May 05, 2010