For a restaurant that requires reservations almost a week in advance, we expected a good dining experience. Our first appetizer, a steamed Boston lobster and crab meat salad served with green asparagus, mesclun and tarragon dressing was light and refreshing.
However, the dining experience took a nose-dive when we dug into our Le Cassoulet de canard—traditional cassoulet with duck leg confit, homemade sausage, lamb shoulder and smoked bacon in stewed white lingot beans. The duck was scrumptious but when we proceeded to dig around the stew of lingot beans for the lamb shoulder, it wasn’t there. We brought this up to the wait staff, and they told us that they were out of lamb shoulder and therefore did not include it in the dish. One would think that a restaurant as esteemed as Au Petit Salut would have the decency to inform its guest that a key ingredient was not available before they ordered.
We also had to ask the waiter three times for our Earl Grey teas and waited almost 10 minutes for the bill. And what a big bill it was too. Though the menu is interesting and the ambiance cozy, Au Petit Salut needs to work at maintaining higher standards.
