Brasserie La Provence, Albuquerque, New Mexico Restaurant Details

Food:

Arrived at 12:20 this afternoon to use a gift card some friends gave us, we stood in the entry way for 5 min waiting for SOMEONE to seat us. To discover the guy was outside smoking looking through the window at us the whole time. We start to leave and I assume he is just someone that knows the area so I ask him if he knows if we seat ourselves, he stomps out his cig and finally seats us! Our waitress comes by, takes our drink orders and tells us about specials, but never comes back! Sipping on our water we look at our watches because hey, we only got an hour lunch together, but since arriving at 12:20 it was now 12:55 and the guy and our waitress walked through the main room behind the bar at least 3 times and I MADE eye contact with them with our menus flat on the table and closed.

Needless to say, we just got up and left, having never been served and my fiance suggested in europe its a very european thing to sit and eat over a long period. I call BS because neither of those two were european, maybe the chef is a top star chef from France, but we wouldn't know. We just went to pizza hut/taco bell to salvage the 20 min we had remaining. Might come back for Sunday brunch which I hear is what they are well known for, but then again, if its super busy, why come back and risk shabby service yet again?

Food:

I ordered the special sea scallops accompanied with lobster risotto. While the prices on the regular menu were anywhere from the $14-20 range & reasonable, my meal (the special) was double & very overpriced for the quality. The scallops weren't bad, but I was pretty unimpressed with the risotto which was kinda soupy & reminiscent of a processed, grocery store bought box rice mix . It was edible but unremarkable in flavor & worsened by the lobster which was clearly not fresh, gamey, & fishy in taste. My husband ordered the mussels & pomme frites which were quite delicious as was his French onion soup. Our waiter was very professional & attentive and the portions were generous. Will I be back? Perhaps, but it was nothing special.

Food:

This used to be a great place to eat, which I enjoyed about once a month. I don't know what happened, but this last time was the last time I will ever eat here. We waited twenty minutes to be served water. After thirty minutes, I had to ask twice for some bread before receiving any. I ordered the Cordon Bleu. What arrived on my plate was unmistakenly a packaged frozen meal which had been microwaved and then served to me. Real Cordon Bleu does not taste like Stouffers, nor does it arrive in a perfectly cylindrical shape. The accompanying rice was from a box, it was highly reminiscent of Uncle Ben's. Unbelievable that the food has gone from fine French cuisine, to microwaved Walmart-quality fare. After complaining, nothing was removed from the bill. Disgusting at best. Avoid at all costs.

Food:

Made a reservation, for a Sunday @ 1, and specifically told the lady on the phone it was for a Groupon, for $70. She acknowledged that, but didn't inform me of "brunch"only being served at this time. Showed up, decided to eat and save our Groupon for the next weekend later in the day. Food wasn't Very good, very unseasoned, and a small selection. We actually went to Two Fools Tavern immediately afterwards. Second trip we only got 1/2 of our Groupon value, while still valid, because it wasn't during "dinner" hours. Again, reservationist said nothing when we made reservations. Food was better, but a streak ordered medium rare arrived well done, and the waiter stated it was one of several this day. Food range worth the price, ended up paying $40 PLUS our Groupon. Won't visit again. Decor is old, crumbling, and dirty.

Food:

Service was great. Food was excellent. Nice atmosphere. Reasonably priced.