The French Market and Tavern

Reviews 4

LH

lhall8086

Visit on 12/6/2015 * Reservations made on 11/9/2015 for 1:30 Brunch.* Party of 15 (final count 12). OMGoodness...it just pains me to write this review, as I loved this restaurant. It has always been my favorite getaway from it all spot. I would much rather speak with people to resolve issues, however this was the only way to address this horrible experience. I have frequented this restaurant many times. The quality of the food while not always consistent, has never been so inconsistent that I would not return. However, this last visit was really poor and to make matters worse, I convinced a whole group of people to come all the way out to Locust Grove. Traveling from areas as far away as Vinings, Decatur, Stone Mtn. to only experience a horrible meal. From our on time arrival things were off as we had to wait 20 min before we were seated. Not too bad, but we did have reservations. We were told that there were other large parties ahead of us. Once seated, we were served our beverages in small water glasses. The server apologized and said that they would switch out the glasses as soon as the regular beverage glasses were available. Never happened even after we asked a couple of times. They decided to place one small bottle on the table with tea, which was for their convenience, not ours. The wait for our food was extremely long. When the food finally came out, only half of the orders were served. The rest of the group had to wait while the others contended with their orders. There were soooo many mistakes on the food: poached eggs were actually hard boiled, cold waffles, breading falling off chicken tenders; shrimp and grits were minus the grits, two turkey gouda sandwiches ordered - one was over-browned and the other - browned only on the edges. An omelet was actually browned more than one of the turkey sandwiches. Ill just stop here, as Im sure you will get the point. This was such a bad experience for such a lovely place. I tried to contact the owner, Lauren, whom I have had the pleasure of conversing with on several occasions, but was contacted by a "manager". This is where insult to injury was added as he didnt think enough of my concern to speak with me at a time that he could focus on the conversation. The entire time he was on the phone with me, I would be speaking only to realize that he was carrying on a conversation with someone else. How RUDE!!!!. I dont believe he even heard my complaints entirely. He just said that they were very busy and couldnt handle the number of people in the restaurant on the day that my group was there "Im sorry that happened" was all he could say. After hearing that seven households were dissatisfied with your food, I would think that an "Im sorry" would be the least that you would do or say. Being busy is a plus for operating a restaurant I believe. Not being satisfied with this phone conversation, I called back to again speak with Lauren, who to this day has not returned my call. Im shocked that this how their business is functioning, Im not certain that they will remain in business if they continue in this vein, both with the food, customer service and management. It will just be a beautiful building, with a wonderful atmosphere, and no guests.

ME

Melissa Alessi

This review is long overdue…. The south side of Atlanta has been yearning for a restaurant like The French Market & Tavern for a very long time! And now that they are here, my husband and I feel there is no need to drive all the way into Atlanta/Buckhead for dinner anymore. We have been to this fine eatery many times and Chef Jeffery Bell’s food is always fresh & fabulous! The servers are professional & friendly and the atmosphere makes you feel like you just walked in off Bourbon Street, New Orleans. I appreciate that Rick and Lauren restored an old vacant building and used a lot of the reclaimed wood in their restaurant to make tables or to finish walls. Rick is pretty handy with a hammer (I witnessed him doing a lot of the work himself on several occasions) and let me tell ya he is serious about New Orleans Cajun/Creole authenticity. Just recently, Rick took his chef to New Orleans for 2-3 days and made him eat nothing but po’boys! Rick’s better half, Lauren shows off her amazing style/taste with the unique items she has available in the gift/boutique area and makes everyone drool over her delicious homemade cupcakes. Sunday brunch is to die for and they always have talented musicians Friday-Sunday. I love the newest addition available for private parties and dinning on the new quaint outdoor patio (complete with fireplace and a water feature). The French Market is a wonderful supporter of the local economy (buying their fresh produce from Henry co. farmers market/pouring local Jailhouse beer brewed in Hampton, GA etc.). Rick and Lauren (in my opinion) have the best restaurant on the South side of Atlanta and would have been some fierce competition for any of the Atlanta/Buckhead restaurants if they chose to open there. Give them a try and soon you will feel like we do … a part of the French Market & Tavern family! Thanks, Rick and Lauren for giving (and continuing to give) us a first class restaurant experience on the south side of Atlanta! - Melissa Alessi

EL

Elizabeth C

I took my two little girls out to lunch, as I usually do about 3-4 times per month. The little store is cute and quaint. We were shortly greeted and were shown to our table. The server was nice and quick to take our drink orders. I was surprised at the kids menu and main menu. There were a lot of choices however the prices were ridiculous for lunch. I wanted the Cobb salad, I get this everywhere that has a Cobb, and a sweet tea but decided against this because the cost just for me wouldve been $16. The kids meals were only entrees and not including a drink. Meals were $6-$8 plus $2 per drink. I normally wouldve ordered juice. I decided we would all get water instead. I also wanted to get a regular entre for them since neither girls eat much at all. I picked one for $11 but then noticed at the bottom of the menu, they charge a $4 sharing fee! So they had to order from the kids menu. One got the "too cheesy Mac&cheese" in a small container with a pinch of fries, okay for her as she ate it all and was fine. My other daughter ordered chicken strips, which were about the size of two of my fingers! Very small and a pinch of fries. This however was not enough for my other daughter and remained hungry. I had ordered a house salad which was a small bundle of greens, a few strips of purple onion and three orange cherry tomatoes. We still ended up spending over $25+tip on very subpar food! If we had ordered as we normally do for a little lunch out, we wouldve spent about $40! When we go out to lunch (usually Cheddars, Sonnys, Genji, etc) we never spend more than $20 for myself and two little girls and none of us are hungry when we leave! We wont be back.

RO

Rosemary Murphy

The French Market was a disappointment. I had heard very good things about it and looked forward to eating there. We went with a large group and had let the management know the size of the group. While 23 other ladies were served and ate their lunch the last lady who asked for a simple hamburger received the first one under cooked and the second one when everyone else had finished eating and were ready to check out. When the woman complained, managements response was that the customer was a problem. Most restaurants would automatically do something to lessen the fact you have had a very unsatisfactory experience. When the women said she wouldnt pay for the bill, management said they would call the police on her. The food was good but not so good to make up for such callous treatment of a customer. I had intended to by a piece of cake to go and look for a present for a family member for Easter. I decided not to contribute to the bottom line of a restaurant that can treat customers who they have not served well so poorly. And the owner made if very clear that she didnt care about my spend any money there. I intend never to go back there again. You can find good food any where. And you can definitely find owners who have more regard for their customers.