Chateau France Restaurant

In reading all of the reviews, my husband and I were very skeptical about what we would experience at this restaurant. We had passed it many times and always wanted to stop in. This time we did before attending a performance at the Mahaffey Theatre and we are so glad we did! My husband had the escargot in puff pastry and sea bass with crab meat. He thought it was absolutely the best he has ever had! I had the shrimp, scallop and crab dish that was cooked to perfection. We both had salads that were works of art, light and flavorful too. We finished the meal with Chocolate Souffles that were to die for. The service was professional and attentive. We can't wait to go back again! I would highly recommend this restaurant for a romantic dinner. Pros: Wonderfully prepared food, beautiful presentation! more

My wife recently turned 55 and I wanted to treat her to a romantic dinner at an upscale French restaurant in the Tampa Bay area. Both of us have enjoyed cooking for many years. I consider myself a very good cook, especially for a man. But my wife is in another league and an outstanding chef, as attested to by everyone I know who has experienced her cooking. Consequently, I wanted to find the best French restaurant possible. Pros: Everything was delicious and the service was the best Cons: Need a reasonably priced champagne on wine list more

Is realy the best restaurante that I have been. Pros: Best food in the world Cons: To far from my country more

Fine dining on my anniversary is a given. For 4 out of 5 anniversaries, we have spent our romantic dinner at a well-renowned bistro in Holmes Beach. Two years ago, we opted for a change and landed at the Vinoy. Having read the reviews of Chateu France, I made reservations. Pros: Possible Ghost Tour itinerary Cons: Our experience is just plain inexplicable more

Where do you take your girlfriend for dinner on her birthday when you've been dating for two months? Depends on the relationship. I offered up three suggestions and my boyfriend and I both wanted to try Chateau France. We chose it before I read the scathing reviews of the restaurant on this site, and decided to stick with our decision so we could judge for ourselves. We went June 23, a Monday. We were greeted warmly as we pulled up to the valet area by our server, and inside, by the owner. The place was empty. One other couple was seated upstairs; we passed them on the way to our table. Hmmmm, I thought, is that a bad sign? Happily, not in our case. Once we ordered champagne and water and they had been served, privacy descended upon us. However, our server would appear just when we needed him. We began with escargot in puff pastry, which was delicious. (We passed on the salad.) I had the sea bass entree and my BF had the duck. His was good; mine was phenomenal. The fish was cooked exactly right - delicate and moist - and the sauce was flavorful, but not overpowering. For dessert, we both had souffles - mine with chocolate sauce and my boyfriend's with Grand Marnier. Again, his was good, and mine was phenomenal. (His opinion as well as mine.) Closer to the end of the meal, my BF, being an easygoing, friendly guy, struck up a conversation with our server, who told us that not long ago, a waiter who worked at Chateau France for one month quit after falling down the flight of stairs. The server said the restaurant was haunted, and that the former employee didn't fall, but was pushed by a ghost. He told this story with a grave face. Whether he honestly believed what he was saying or it was BS, didn't seem to matter, because he was very convincing - and entertaining. Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves immensely and will return to Chateau France. I highly recommend it for couples. Pros: Wonderful food, excellent service, good background music, scenic neighborhood Cons: Nearly empty. I missed the buzz of other people. more

Had a wonderful with my family and friends! I recommend to anyone who wants to dine at a place that will guarantee excellent service and superb food everytime! more

We were a group of 8. Arrived at about 6:30, placed our orders soon after. Once the orders were placed, the waitress was nowhere to be found, two hours later, we had had the appetizers but no food had yet arrived. Despite numerous inquires no information was provided, no apologies, only ""its coming"". Water and wine glasses remained empty, with only very sporadic visits by the very unpleasant waitress. We requested the maitre d', but he/she never came. We left at 9:30 without eating desserts. The restaurant was mostly empty (middle of the week) so kitchen overload was definitely not the reason. Never again will I set foot in this restaurant! Pros: Food, when it finally arrived, was very good Cons: Service was horrendous more

Romantic, candlelight, wonderful service, delicious food, incredible wine list...... even the bathrooms were cute!! Pros: romantic, cute, great service......EXCELLENT food.... more

I'm still so fumed about my horrible experience at this restaurant that I take every chance I get to write about it again. I took my wife there for Valentines Day 2008 and got so thoroughly ripped off that I'm still furious about it. The food is actually okay, but the restaurant itself is dirty and the staff is incredibly rude and condescending. The chairs are old rattan, the tables are small and rickety and the silverware and settings are old and beat up. When they brought me my bill which was over $400 for two of us, I was totally blown away. With soo many great restaurants in St. Pete steer clear of this one! Pros: If you like throwing money away, this dump is for you! Cons: Rude staff and dirty restaurant more

Our server was distracted, condescending, and ineloquent in his delivery of the menu. He was too forceful in his recommendations of things we were clearly uninterested in. The table was beautifully arranged but my setting was missing two forks and my wine glass had a previous patron's lipstick on it. Lights were dimmed too low, perhaps the disguise the food quality mentioned below. Listed below are description of our selections: -Fromage: Chef's selection of 4 cheeses with honey and a few berries. The cheeses were fair and were not creatively paired with complimentary flavors like nuts, olives, a good selection of fruits or the appropriate serving utensils. Neither the menu nor the server offered any names or descriptions for the cheeses which were as unimpressive as the ones available in the grocery store. -Wild Sea Bass, La Mode: The worst fish I have EVER been served at ANY restaurant. The texture was so poor that it was impossible to eat without a knife. The flavor was so fishy that even the rose wine sauce could not cover it up. It was spoiled and the server made no attempt to find out why I had eaten no more than a bite and had coldly refused when he offered to box it up. -Gruyere Potatoes: One of the best dishes of the evening. Rich in flavor, great texture. -Vegetable Pastry Boxes: Pastry was soggy, vegetables were a bland mixture of carrots and snow peas which claimed to be organic but clearly were not -Squash: Strangely sweet shredded squash. Very odd. -Prime Filet Mignon Rouge, rare: The flavor was unremarkable, the texture was terrible, again, requiring a sharp knife. The Camembert cheese sauce, however, was delicious. -Souffle au Chocolat: Excellent texture and flavor. Rich, smooth, and generously portioned. -Souffle au Grand Marnier: Even better. Overall, the food was inconsistent, and the service poor. Better meals, service, and ambiance can be found elsewhere and with less damage to the wallet. Pros: Souffles, Sauces, Presentation Cons: Service, Questionable Ingredients, Inconsistency more

My wife and I just returned from dinner at ""Chateau France"". We read the reviews on ""City Search"" and some were so nasty we had to see for ourselves. We have been investors in a couple of fine dining establishments and know it isn't always easy to satisfy, but some of these reviews are over the top. more

The service was horrible. The food was substandard and the ambiance was phony. more

My husband and I went to eat at the Tampa location last week and everything was great. I was very hesitant at first as I read the reviews but friends recommended the place and I decided to take my husband there. The food was great, and it wasn't our first French restaurant (my husband's French). Only the wine by the glass seemed expensive eventhough it tastes very good (but we asked to see the bottles, and thay are good French wine bottles). If you are thinking about eating there just try it and be surprised like us. more

Oh chateau France, where do I start.... Not only is this restaurant a rip off in price and quality, its want to be French owner is FAR from French he's Portuguese. More importantly he is crazy, he ruins many dinning experiences by yelling, screaming at wait staff, and acts unprofessional in front of guest by causing such unpleasant scenes. He claims the restaurant is 100% organic, but its actually far from it, the Kobe beef isn?t really Kobe, the prime isn?t really prime, it?s actually all us choice, from sams club, where Antoine Lauro is a member and buys most of his products on his menu. If you want a miserable dinner experience due to the owner and his rip off cuisine go here! Pros: Good service from wait staff only Cons: CRazy owner Antoine Lauro, Menu lies on what cuisine REALLY is and from more

Wonderful food, gorgeous ambiance, no issues with service. I had lunch there and was very impressed by how meticulous everything was - from the interior design, to settings, to food presentation and taste (had a gorgeous, organic house salad and crepes). I was surprised to read about the last two bad reviews about the service...maybe the Tampa location is still to new to be consistent. We, however, experienced no problems - the staff was accommodating and responsive with being overly fawning. We definitely intend to return. Pros: Food, ambiance Cons: A little pricy - but well worth it more

We dined at their Dale Mabry site in Tampa. A quick review is great food, ruined by terrible service. After being seated, we had to wait 15 minutes before anyone came over and gave us a menu. The lighting is by very small kerosine lamps. It was so dark that people were using the lights from their cell phones to read the menu. Our first course was a lobster bisque. It took over 20 minutes to arrive. We had to ask that the water glasses be filled and when I asked what a particular plate was in front of me, I was told that it was a bread plate. I then said could we have some bread, so I could use the plate! The main course was great, if you like eating in the dark. The poor service was so stressful that we could not enjoy the meal, one which was not cheap. We were so disgusted that we skipped dessert. After paying the bill, we left. No one thanked us or even said good-bye. If they paid as much attention to the customer as they did in the preparation of the food, they would have a great place to eat. Dining out should be a pleasant experience from the moment you arrive to the time you leave. This was not! There are too many equally as good places to get a great meal that I would not recommend this place. Life is too short to have a bad dining experience. Pros: Food Cons: Service, Ambience more

I wish that I had read the good doctor's review before dining at Chateau France last Saturday night. My friends and I had a disappointingly similar experience. There were several warning signs before we began our meal: the terrible service (the poor waitresses were simply out of their league -- ""This is a sorbet to cleans [sic] the palate,"" they both repeated verbatim at different times); the endless wait for our meal ( I grew up in France, so I'm not expecting McDonald's-type service when I go out to eat); and the grossly over-priced wine list (our wine selection at $89 turned out to be a bottle you can buy for $10:99 at Total Wines, we have since discovered). When our food finally came, it was mediocre at best. My Chateaubriand was unidentifiable as such (it was so dark in the restaurant, they could have been serving me any old cut, and it certainly tasted like that). My husband didn't fair so well. His duck was completely inedible. When I complained, the waitress informed me that duck should be rare. Again, growing up in the Perigord region of France, I am aware how duck should be served. It is, however, important for the meat to come into contact with some kind of heat -- there is a difference between rare and raw, after all. The only member of our party who was satisfied ordered cassoulet, which was apparently excellent. Still, even she could not justify the $400 bill we ended up with (we were not charged for the duck fiasco). I've spent this much on a meal before, but not one as pitiful as this, and certainly not one for which I felt completely ripped off. This is not just a second-rate restaurant that is over-priced, in my opinion it is a conscious scam on the part of the management to swindle their customers. more

Overall, the dining experience at Chateau France is at best, specious. The ambiance is inviting and the menu looks appealing, but not enough to justify the cost. For 8oz of beef tenderloin with foie gras and demi glace (filet Rossini), the market price is $65. The price of a 6oz Australian lobster tail is the same. The meat quality is mediocre, sauces are inconsistent, and the service is generally very slow, cold, and unprofessional. For a party of 2, the pricetag is well over $300 with a modest bottle of wine. Additionally, to a discriminating palate, the food quality is not outstanding. Combined with the service, dining at this establishment is just risky. Its potentially romantic and promising allure is quickly negated by overpriced, mediocre quality, poorly served food. In addition, the number of patrons (even on Saturdays) is generally sparse-not a good sign. more

This was a romantic birthday that I will never forget. Just know going in it is going to be a ""budget splurge"", but well worth it. This was the best meal I have ever had. I had always loved this building since it was a tea house, Chateau has luckily retained all of the charm. I had the Tournedos Paris, a few slices of sliced tenderloin, it was the most tender piece of steak I have ever had, more than fork tender, it literally fell apart in my mouth. The lobster bisque was a heavenly starter, and don't get me started on the desserts! The sorbet was a nice touch (to cleanse the pallete in between courses). The owner was present and made us feel as if we were regular VIP's even though it was our first time. They have a nice wine selection and the service was first rate. Pros: Service, Food, Pure Beauty more

My fiance ordered the Filet Mignon au Poivre Noir ($32) and I had the Kobe Filet Mignon ($85). And we finished the evening off with Soufflee Grand Mariner ($15 per person). It was worth every penny. The presentation was amazing and the service was unbeatable. We especially liked the Raspberry Sorbe between the salad and entree. We will definitely be back next time we're in Florida. If you haven't been there before, make sure to take the tour. Pros: Great Service, Great Food, Romantic more