Though dressed appropriately, and having arrived sufficiently early (6:00 pm) to a nearly empty dining room, we had a less-than-friendly reception from one of the waiters. He stalked off upon learning that we had (god forbid at that hour), not made a reservation. I would be hard pressed to say whether it was our welcome, the noisy, cartoonish manner in which we were seated by the maitre'd, or the surly looks cast our way by the previously mentioned waiter,that made for more unease within our first few minutes. We found comedy in some serious gaffes by the assistants- An unfinished appetizer plate was snatched quickly and wordlessly from the table, only to be returned with apologies. Ultimately, we did have a pleasant waitress and a decent, if uninspired dinner. Overall, I found L'Etoile to be a caricature of itself- trapped in the 80's with regards to attitude, decor, and cuisine.
Pros: soft butter
Cons: attitude
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