05/11/09

Tres Horrible

by blacklist23

The got the firtes right but the steak was the opposite of fresh. How can you serve an old piece of spoiled steak? It so obviously past its date that only a completely dysfunctional kitchen could put out food like that. Never going back.

02/28/09

Credit Card Fraud Abounds

by bouncingsoul66

We went to Moutarde one night for dinner on a week night. The place was dead, but the food was phenomenal. We decided to go back on a Saturday night, and the place was packed. The food was significantly different from what we had the previous night?apparently, Moutarde is not capable of juggling many orders at once, and the food suffers for it. Regardless, the food was still pretty decent. My big problem was the service. It took us 10 minutes to get drinks, and 30 minutes to get our appetizers. Our waitress didn't check on us once, and after waiting nearly an hour for our entrees (an hour after we waited a half hour for our appetizers, if you're keeping track) I flagged her down and asked her what the deal was. She was surprised to hear that we hadn't gotten our meals, which further demonstrates her lack of attention to us.

Because the service was so bad, we left a 10% tip, only to find in our credit card statement that the inept staff at Moutarde is also keen to dabble in a little credit card fraud. They had added money to the check, bringing the tip up to 20% rather than the 10% we left that the waitress, quite frankly, didn't deserve.

Even with the good food and atmosphere, the terrible service and CRIMINAL activity will prevent me from ever going back.

Dine at your own risk?and pay with cash.

• Pros: food, atmosphere
• Cons: terrible service, credit card fraud

09/17/08

incredible food and service

by marly41

I come here often with my husband and am always pleased by the extraordinary service, not to mention the delicious food. The burgers at brunch are to die for and I strongly recommend the pan served salmon and goat cheese pillows with the gratin potatoes as a side for dinner. The wines by the glass are not bad but I suggest ordering a french martini or even a bloody mary (very chunky and spicy!) The service is always attentive, but not aggressive. The waitress that we usually have is so warm and genuinely seems to care about our dining experience. Mustard is now my new favorite condiment!!!!!

07/14/08

Lunch only

by emcee201

Lunch only because the noise level (all hard services) must be horrendous during dinner and I'm also no fan of banquette seating.

If you go for lunch, remember that it's cash only (charge cards for dinner OK).

Since I went on Bastille Day, I expected some sort of celebrative atmosphere, but no.

Service was friendly and the kitchen fast (of course, I was one of three diners). My croque monsieur was a bit dry, and pretty tasty (where was that mustard "textured zest" mentioned in the review?) but the included mesclun salad flavorful and generous in portion size. Since clafoutis is something you don't always find on the dessert menu in French bistros, I decided to order it and it was ready --and very tasty-- in a flash. BUT!!! $7 for a small desert (baked in a creme bluelee dish gives you an idea of the size) while my croque was $10. C'mon Moustarde, get real. Where are the values (monetary and moral) here?

Anyway, it was an OK experience, but I wouldn't go back, even for lunch.

I'll give Moustarde 2 stars out of 4 (I don't believe in 5 star inflation).

• Pros: croque monsier with salad, clafoutis
• Cons: dessert prices, potential noise level, banquette seating

05/31/08

Unbelievably average

by kmgorman

Maybe I just don't dig french bistros, but I was not overly impressed with Cafe Moutarde. The food was mediocre, the service was a bit better than mediocre, and the restaurant is extremely overpriced. Again, I may just be biased against this type of restaurant.

• Pros: Good location, nice atmosphere
• Cons: Overpriced

05/18/08

unapologetically bad service

by sna2008

It could have been a bad night, or they were down a person, but the place wasn't close to full and we waited for everything. Waited for attention of any kind -- drinks order, arrival of drinks, food order (taken hastily and without explanation and with a little annoyance at questions that might slow the process down) arrival of food, arrival of any kind of extras like mayonnaise (forgotten twice). No correlation to the order in which you were seated and the order in which you were served. And the attitude was cold and unapologetic. Our waitress had perfected the art of avoiding eye contact with inquiring patrons. Food... mediocre. Too bad, as the manager or owner started working the floor, and he appears to care, but couldn't make up for the overall incompetence and lack of caring on the part of his team.

• Pros: we were not impacted by a meteor
• Cons: service

08/18/07

fantastic food and service

by andrea11215

This is my favorite neighborhood restaurant. The staff is extremely friendly and courteous, and the food is fantastic. We frequently go for an early dinner with our sons, who love the pan served shrimp and the roast chicken. My husband and I also go on our own for a later "date night". Their wine list is wonderful, and the food is always fresh and beautifully prepared. The staff never makes you feel rushed (as they often do at al di la across the street) and they bend over backwards to make our family feel at home.

• Pros: great wines by the glas, fantastic hanger steak
• Cons: rest rooms not handicapped accessible

05/18/07

Last Poster Wrong

by 2babies

I go there quite often for brunch. The staff have all worked there for a long time and are extremely friendly .... I was there on Mother's Day and it was very busy. So I'm assuming that is why you weren't attended to as you had wished.... but it is just a neighborhood corner bistro. Sounds like you yourself could have had a stiffer Bloody Mary, instead of assuming the staff is drunk - how rude! FYI ... the servers don't serve the food there.... pay attention! You give Park Slopers a bad name!! I love this place ... if you don't go back ..... more chocolate croissants for me!!

05/17/07

Mediocre food, embarassingly awful service

by parkj8

I came in to Cafe Moutarde with my parents on Mother's Day for late brunch. If you can bear the fake French bistro thing, the place has kind of nice charm and is in a good location in park slope. The experience started out kind of weirdly as a waiter glanced up at us when we walked in, held up three fingers to ask "party of 3?", put menus down on the table, and walked away (no eye contact, no recognition that we were actually human).

The ditzy blonde waitress who came to take our orders appeared to not really understand the menu and not care too much as long as she could go back to the bar and chat away with the bartender. In fact she was basically so incoherent I wondered whether she was under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. Every item that was brought to the table including drinks were dropped from several inches and made a nice loud clattering as it smacked down on the table. Her depth perception seemed incredibly compromised and every item we ordered required repetition and clarification.

The most embarrasing moment in the meal though came when the entrees we ordered were delivered, not by our waitress but by another waiter, a male who basically brought our dishes and proceeded to set them down on the table, ignorant of which one belonged to which person. As he did so, we corrected him since he didn't seem to care, and he began exchanging them, but in an incredibly casual and frenetic manner that I was surprised the plates didn't tip over as they slammed down on the table. The whole time he had a scowl on his face and he looked disgusted to have to serve us food.This happened very quickly and once the plates were on the table he abruptly walked away.

I can overlook the obnoxious accordian music and pretty bad food, but for the prices you pay even at brunch and the nightmarish service, I would stay away. I was so embarassed for my parents and had to apologize to them profusely afterwards. Save yourself the trouble. Stay away from this place.

• Pros: in a good location
• Cons: horrible service, bad food

05/14/07

Delicious brunch, with a wait

by silverfaze

I came here with my family for brunch and we were very pleased with the food. It is so pretty inside and I highly recommend the Omelette w/ Wild Mushrooms & Goat cheese and the Banana Pancakes. Our food did not all come out at the same time which was very unfortunate but somewhat understandable as we were a party of 9. Another thing I'd like to mention is that I called a week in advance to see how busy it would be at 11:00 on the following Sunday and I was told by the manager that it would be very quiet and we wouldn't have to wait. I reminded him that we were planning on coming on Mother's Day and he assured me that we would not have to wait if we came at 11. Well, he was completely wrong because when I arrived with my party at 11 the restaurant was COMPLETELY full. Luckily, we had to wait 20 min which wasn't that bad, but it was unfortunate due to the fact that I was with my 80 year old Grandma. I really wish they took reservations... aside from that we had a pleasant experience.

• Pros: brunch food, pretty/bright restaurant
• Cons: dishonest manager