I reserved a table for two at Patou for Valentine's day. When my boyfriend and I arrived, the whole restaurant was packed and crowded. The hostess was very friendly and asked us to wait at the bar. At the bar (again, friendly bartender), there was no place to sit so we had to stand up against the back wall for 45 minutes. I felt disappointed that on Valentine's day with a prix fixe menu, they could not have accurately estimated the amount of customers so that the wait would be minimised - or atleast offered those of us who were waiting with reservations a free drink. The food was good but our service was disappointing. I have worked in a restaurant setting in the past and am typically forgiving when a restaurant has a busy night- but I felt that service was subpar. The truffle soup was delicious but luke warm. The oysters were fresh but our waiter/busser forgot to bring us silverware. We sat near the cooking line and I watched our food sit for 10 minutes. My steak, which I had ordered rare, was very well-done. The waiter apologized, but by the time my meal came out (15 minutes later), my boyfriend had already finished his halibut (which was great). Then he had to wait while I ate.... The whole experience took nearly three hours. Under other circumstances, it might have been relaxing to sit over the meal and not be pushed to leave - but in this case, it felt as if we were just forgotten half of the time!
Pros: great atmosphere, good food, superb location in philly
Cons: cost, service was not great
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