Paris Restaurants & Food » Paris Restaurants & Food » A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
http://www.ourparisforum.com/index.cgi?board=restaurants&action=display&thread=409
A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by les on Jul 5, 2007, 9:44pm
"Berk" = the french "blech"
I don't go to brasseries often. But I wanted my mom to have a brasserie experience. Most of my french friends were useless in helping me, as they are not inclined to go to brasseries either. So I did a bit of research and asking around and decided on Bofinger. I had been there before, but it had been eons. It has a nice dome, so I decided the decor might be worth the trip.
We got our table immediately since we had a reservation (I've decided to start using a French alias when making reservations...starting next trip).
Got our menus quickly and a nice waitress.
The menu had a lot on it, but if you ordered off the prix fixe it was pretty darn pricey. The fixed price menu was about 30 euros or so, but it only offered 3 choices for each course. My mother, her friend and my friend who came with us all ordered off the fixed menu. I wanted profiteroles like there's no tomorrow, so I ordered off the menu.
We placed our orders quickly. I asked for a bottle of wine and a carafe of water. The wine came almost immediately, but the water took a while. We got our first courses. I had soupe a l'oignon. It was really bad. Really. I don't know how it was so bad, but it was. Salty salty salty, and incredibly watery. So again I asked for water. It never came. AGain I asked, it never came. Finally it came about 10 minutes after I finished the salty soup.
These dishes remained in front of us for about 15 minutes after we were all finished with the entrees. They just sat there. After a while I wondered if they would ever be cleared. They were.
And then we sat. And sat. And sat. For about 15 more minutes we sat. And finally our main courses arrived.
I had the "duo de poissons" which was basically salmon and a white fish with really overcooked and mushy vegetables around it. It was swimming in this thick and sweet sauce, with way too many whole peppercorns around it. And a "garnish" of dill which was drowning in this overly sweet sauce. The salmon was dry...dry dry dry. I choked it down. The white fish was moist though. But the sauce and yucky vegetables made the whole thing just hard to eat. I ate it, I think out of obligation because this was a meal I really wanted to enjoy....
The guy who filled our glasses with wine and who brought our carafe d'eau was very robotic. He had no smile, no real emotion on his face whatsoever. He was like botox man. He was not at all enjoyable. Our waitress was nice, but we rarely saw her and when we did she was running full sprint.
Then we ordered dessert. I got the profiteroles. They were the best part of the meal (and they also required a very long wait)...but put Valrhona chocolate on anything and it's enjoyable. They weren't the best profiteroles I've ever had, but they were at least flavorful.
The bill came and I couldn't believe how much money I was spending on a rather mediocre dinner. The experience was just not at all there for me....not the service, not the atmosphere, not the food, nothing. I felt bad for having chosen to bring everyone there.
I probably won't be back...
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by shoesy on Jul 5, 2007, 9:52pm
Oh well........at least you know where you won't be going next time, les. 
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by les on Jul 5, 2007, 10:07pm
Exactly. Live and learn.
Some people would say "give them another chance' but in paris there are too many opportunities to eat really well to take a chance on something that might not be good again...
Bofinger will survive without me, I'm sure! 
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by dep0515 on Jul 6, 2007, 2:23pm
Thanks for the review, Les. Sorry you had such a bad experience. 
Guess I'll be taking Bofinger off my list of restaurants to try out!
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by gittek on Jul 6, 2007, 2:38pm
Those big touristy places seem not to attract very customer-friendly staff. I have heard the same about those MUST-ABSOLUTELY-GO-TO famous places in St.Germain.
BTW - how do you pronounce the name ?? Not like the Bond-movie "Gold-finger" I suppose ?
DON'T tell me it is pronounced in French "beau-finsjé" ??
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by les on Jul 6, 2007, 7:18pm
Yes, that's it GitteK! It sounds kinda weird...
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by anne266 on Jul 7, 2007, 2:53am
Gitte, you pronounce it "beau-finger" like for Goldfinger indeed .
You pronounce it that way because it is in fact an Alsacian name .
Actually, the Parisian brasseries were founded at the end of the 19th century by Alsacians who fled from Alsace after it had been annexed by Prussia .
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by anneparis on Jul 7, 2007, 4:25am
Really Anne ??
I have always pronounced it "beaufinjé" !! Not "beaufinngueur". But I guess you are right, as you are une alsacienne !!
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by anne266 on Jul 7, 2007, 4:42am
Well then, maybe Parisians pronouce it "à la Française" and it is only we Alsacians who pronounce it the German way ?
In that case, I suppose that you should stick to the Parisian way while in Paris ...
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by admin on Jul 7, 2007, 9:48am
Since we're here, shall we phone them as see how they pronounce the name when they answer the phone??
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by shoesy on Jul 7, 2007, 10:50am
I think Truffaut's above post was just to show off because he is in Paris - LOL.
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by les on Jul 7, 2007, 11:03am
When we went a Parisian friend was with us...he called it beau finje (accent on e). Maybe it's like our fun pronunciation of Target (Tar-je)!!
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by goldenmama on Jul 8, 2007, 5:06am
We just ate at Bofinger on our first night of our trip. We didn't have a bad experience, but it certainly didn't knock our socks off like the other meals we had during the week.
We were so jet-lagged and trying to get our bearings, so we thought this would be a safe choice for night #1. At least it was easy to find, unlike most of the other restaurants we searched out.
We wouldn't bother going back to Bofinger again. Actually, our least favorite restaurant of the week was Maceo.
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by admin on Jul 9, 2007, 7:51am
And the answer is.....
Lucky just called Bofinger and they answered "Bo finjay, bonjour".
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by anneparis on Jul 9, 2007, 7:55am
Yeah !! So what did I win ?? A free meal at Bo finjé ?? No thanks ! 
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by happygoin on Jul 9, 2007, 8:23am
Luc! Don't you have better things to do in Paris than make prank phone calls!!??
Re: A big "berk" goes to Bofinger
Post by anne266 on Jul 9, 2007, 9:31am
Truffaut, that only proves that none of the current staff is from Alsace anymore, and mind you, this may just be the reason why the place has gone downhill !