La Maison French Restaurant

This is by far not the best place I have eaten. While the food was decent, the service was less so., and the attjtude of the owner was very French, (insert snotty.) \r If there is such a thing as Karma and good karma begets good and bad begets bad, then this restaurant is leaning to the bad karma side. \r There are other places in the Austin area, with better food and far superior service, more

I have lived in Georgetown for over 20 years. I knew this restaurant prior to this owner. The atmosphere isn't what I would call ""French"". I have been in France and have eaten there. I took a girlfriend that lived in a nearby city. The waitress didn't know how to pronounce the menu, I told her what the word meant, the menu, the pronunciation. Then I found out later that the oriental man was the owner with a french name, I am not sure if he is a chef or not but was working in the kitchen, he apologized and took back the salads we had ordered for lunch, Salade du Berger, with goat cheese, carrots, squash, raisins, etc..well we got the lettuce, finally the dressing, I had to ask for raisins, since nothing else, I do believe there was goats cheese somewhere in there, but when I asked for the raisins since carrots, squash and the rest of the salad wasn't there he mentioned the online menu and changing it, but he hasn't done that and I paid full price for the salads even after him going back twice and still the salad wasn't finished. For the high price of the salad I didn't find it worth it and he didn't adjust for not having over half of the ingredients on the salad. Which he said he would have to go in and change the online menu. The cheese plate wasn't that great, no fruit, crackers to serve with it, just sliced Brie and not sure what the other cheese was. I may go back to see if it has improved, but too many nice restaurants around the square to enjoy first. I wasn't satisfied and embarrassed that I took a friend to lunch at this restaurant since I had taken her to the restaurant under different ownership and it was fantastic. We both where not impressed with the food, service, too little for too much money. The waitresses where very young, inexperienced and not well versed on the menu, how to pronounce or tell what each item was. This restaurant had been opened for quiet some time so everything should have been flowing really nicely especially to be advertising reservations for Christmas (and this was the week of Christmas which showed it wasn't that popular to still have reservations 4 days prior to Christmas as well as room for New Year's Eve. To be off the square you need to really have great food to bring customers in, I found it overpriced for the service, and especially for the food, I can overlook some bad service if the food is great...in this case, neither was. more

I went to LaMaison after a reccomendation from neighbors. My wife and I really enjoy good French fare. Three of us dined at LaMaison this past Monday night. We started with a nice bottle of wine and added the duck pate and escargot. The pate was quite nice, however it was served with a salad and 3 small cocktail onions and 1 gerhkin. No cheese sticks or crostini to eat the pate with. My two companions ordered the rack of lamb and I ordered the beef bourguignon. The beef they served me was terrible. It was dried out stew meat with little sauce and less flavor. Sides of potatoes and broccoli and califlower was room temperature at best, and again, no flavor. I sent it back immediately by just looking at it. My companions were presented the duck, even though they ordered lamb. An apology was given and when the lamb rack came out, it was not a rack. It was 4 lamb chops, obviously grilled, not baked in an oven. It was advertised to be flavored with dried fruits and nuts. It was a complete savory sauce with onions, celery and tomatoes. There were a few almonds in there, to be truthful. When asked what I wanted instead of the beef, I thought I would try one of the duck plates that came to us by mistake. The duck, sauce and morel mushrooms was tasty and quite good. However, the same potatoes and veggies still not good. It seemed as if the plate was just brought out without any type of reheating. We ordered the apple tar tatan for dessert. It was described as an upside down apple tart and what we got was a wedge of dough with carmelized apple slices with whipped cream and ice cream. The dough itself appeared white and limp and definately uncooked. After the meal I asked to speak with the manager and was told that it would be at least 10 to 15 minutes. I said I would wait. I finally got a visit from the Sous Chef / Part Owner and I expressed my disappointment with the meal. He seemed very unwilling or unable to accomodate us in any way. Just to let everyone know, I paid the bill as it was presented and tipped the server and did not ask for anything, just was interested in seeing what he might do. That plan accomplished NOTHING. I was then told by him that the Chef was out on holiday and was not sure when he might return. Chef, be careful when you go on holiday or you might return to no business! In all, the surroundings were pleasant, wait staff adequate and some of the food was good, just good, not great. If you go to LaMaison, make sure the Chef is there that night. more

I am orriginally from France, and i know french food, our date on saturday night was awsome, wonderful food, great company, had the best time i've had in years....Francois and Nicholas came and talked with us at our table and they were great people, i WILL be going back there many times more...Delicious food, cannot wait until cooking class starts, and CANNOT WAIT UNTIL PASTRY MACHINE COMES IN!!!! francois merci encore pour une magnifique soiree, tres tres bon. et le vin de fig, oh mon dieu!!! a biento et merci encore pour finallement a manger de la vraie cuisine francaise!!! bravo!!... Priscilla and Robert... more

My husband is from Paris. A couple of friend informed us that there is a small french restaurant in... more

My husband is from Paris. A couple of friend informed us that there is a small french restaurant in Georgetown so we decided to explore. One chef ... more

We scheduled our Valentines dinner the following Wednesday, because we don't like the zoo experience. But the preceding Saturday, we went in for lunch as a preliminary reconnaissance. The Saturday meal was delightful, my wife actually got tears in her eyes because the croque monsieur was so authentic. I had the charcuterie plate, and it was great. Chef makes his own pates (including a duck pate) and even a duck mousse. Wednesday we came in and the excellent server, Ben, told us what a disaster Valentines day had been - being a new business, they made a mistake and overbooked, and at least one table got mad and left, would not accept comps and coupons, and then went and wrote nasty and dishonest reviews as soon as they got home. One wonders if they would have been happier at Applebee's on Valentine's Day. Anyway, our Wednesday meal was memorable. Escargots were the best I have had in recent memory. The cheese plate had cheeses I only dream of finding at, say, Central Market in Austin. brie was perfect. Roquefort that melted in the mouth. The Steak ""Magnifique"" with parbroiled marrow and mushroom sauce was all I had hoped for. My wife's French Caribbean Prawns in Curry Coconut Sauce was fantastic, and perfectly cooked. I overheard other customers raving over the rack of lamb. The Chocolate Mousse was amazing, one side was white chocolate mousse, the other was darker mousse, and a home-built dark chocolate sauce lined sparingly over the top of both. Amazing! The thing that sealed this as an excellent bistro, in the true French meaning (and yes we have dined in many bistros, cafes, and restaurants in France) was that it was genuine. Everything that could be, including much of the charcuterie excepting the artisinal salamis and hams (which take many months to produce), was done there. The sauces and such were all from scratch. Best of all, I am a confirmed carnivore, but I just LOVED the vegetables here! Attention to detail, and to seasoning. Bottom line, we have been twice, and are going back tomorrow because the chef (who is of Asian ancestry, but a native of Paris, and who owned a Bistro in France) is doing Paella this weekend. And Cassolet is coming, as soon as he can get his hands on some proper (in the French sense) duck or confite du canard. Nouvelle cuisine it is not, thank goodness. Authentic, classic, and real, it is. Some day soon the Georgetown liquor licensing rigamarole will be done (that is how new they are) and they will have a great wine list too. For now, we brought our own 05 Bordeaux. And the genuine French bread ovens will arrive soon, and then the patisserie will be running! And my wife and I will continue to return, just as often as possible. Bottom line: Arrogant Americans of the Applebee's variety may be disappointed if they do not plan properly. Others, especially those who enjoy forming a personal relationship with cooking professionals and servers, will embrace this jewel. Pros: Authentic French cuisine Cons: New business, getting rough edges smoothed. more