Clown Bar

Colin Kwan★★★★★★★★★★3.04 months ago

My second visit after I had been back in 2017 when I was blown away with sotas food. However this time I was underwhelmed, it feels like the food is stuck between trying to be really understated and light and have Asian influences but then also have the classic sota dishes on the menu. The beef tartare and the duck breast dishes were really ordinary and lacking innovation, and not done well enough to get away with just being classic. Portions were really really small, I'm Asian and honestly wasn't super full at all at the end. The best dish was still the old triple chocolate dessert that is still on the menu, which again feels strange given how long it has been since sota departed. Service was great and the vibe remains the same old awesome clown bar.

Yuval Ben- David★★★★★★★★★★5.0a month ago

Fantastic dining experience with incredible flavors and a few notes for foodies I’m giving 5 stars because the overall experience was truly wonderful, the service was spot on, and the atmosphere was great. While I have some constructive culinary feedback, it didn't take away from a very successful evening. The Highlights: • Wine: The waitress made an excellent recommendation. The wine was superb and complemented the meal perfectly. • Matured Amberjack: This was more than excellent. A very meticulous dish with a complex, harmonious flavor profile. A must-order. • Rosemary Panisses: The chickpea fries with satay mayonnaise were a brilliant way to start the meal – absolutely delicious. Constructive Feedback on Starters: • Beef Tartare: The base of rice crackers and nori is a stroke of genius, providing a great crunch. The beef was cut precisely, but I felt the dish lacked a bit of fat/richness to balance the lean fillet and the lime. Also, I personally couldn't detect the Korean sauce flavor profile. • Beef Tortellini: The pasta itself was excellent. However, the tomato coulis could be improved; it felt a bit too much like plain tomato paste and lacked that deep "umami" punch. The Mains: • Turbot: The fish was cooked perfectly, but for a €45 dish, it felt a bit "thin." It lacked richness and body, and a small side of starch or a more substantial accompaniment would have elevated the value and the experience. Dessert: • Très Chocolat: This was the only part of the meal that didn't quite work for me. The flavors didn't fully connect, and I personally prefer a stable, chilled mousse over a warm texture. Bottom line: The small technical details I mentioned are just for the culinary-obsessed – the vibe and the quality of ingredients are undeniable. Highly recommended!

Daniel Maros★★★★★★★★★★4.04 months ago

There are so many reviews about mean or uncaring staff. That’s complete nonsense. Nobody at the restaurant including us seemed less than pleased. The food review is a bit difficult. Honestly the food was good to pretty good. Defenitly enjoyable but it is an expensive place and my friend hyped it up for a year as the best meal in Paris. As a whole it defenitly wasn’t, however the pigeon foie pie may have been the single best item I had in Paris even though it was one of the most expensive items we ordered the entire trip. It was a faultless dish and just was an instant wow! It evens out. So I recommend it as a whole if you have money to burn. Or just come order the pie🥧 The desert was incredibly cute as well!

Олександра Горелік★★★★★★★★★★5.02 months ago

Outstanding service and by far the best restaurant I visited during my stay in Paris. It’s an amazing place with fantastic local appetizers and main dishes!! everything was truly delicious. I highly recommend everyone to visit this spot. A special mention goes to Thibault an exceptional, high-class sommelier who perfectly paired wines with each dish and catered to every taste.

Kelly-Tiegan Scott★★★★★★★★★★1.02 months ago

They call it Clown Bar. We thought it was charming. Turns out, it's truth in advertising. If you enjoy being shuffled around like a circus act, served wrong orders, forgotten by staff, and charged €318 for the privilege, this is your venue. The joke's on you, and you paid for the ticket. THE PRE-SHOW CHAOS Arrived early for our 9:30 PM reservation. Refused bar seating, forced to spend money elsewhere. When we returned: seated inside, then moved outside, then made to wait 30+ minutes with no wine list, no service, no acknowledgment. Final table: worst corner in the restaurant after maximum inconvenience. THE DISAPPEARING MENU Menu advertised 4 mains. Two were unavailable (pie, sweetbreads). 50% of the menu: sold out. Our choice: pigeon or fish. That's it. For €318, you get a coin flip. THE WINE CIRCUS Service so slow we had to ask neighboring table for their wine list. Ordered wine, staff refused to serve it (wrong temperature, problem they created). Served in wrong glasses, staff insisted they were correct when questioned (factually incorrect). Classic gaslighting. WRONG ORDER Ordered: Fish tartare + Scallop tartare Received: Beef tartare + Scallop tartare With half a menu and two dishes, they still got it wrong. THE BREAD ILLUSION Brought elaborate butter course with no bread. When requested: "We only serve bread with starters." Starters hadn't arrived (their delay). Meanwhile, neighboring table got butter + bread simultaneously. KITCHEN FAILURES After 90 minutes of chaos, the food, the ONLY thing that could redeem this…failed completely: Pigeon (€38): Very raw, red, bloody. Improperly cooked for gamey meat. John Dory (€36): Served with overpowering pickle. Fish buried under acidic assault. Underseasoned. THE FORGOTTEN CHEESE Ordered cheese course. Waitress forgot entirely. Staff began cleaning/packing dishes around us, loud, disruptive. Eventually: "Oh sorry, I forgot your cheese." Arrived as last customers in restaurant, eating while they shut down around us. Neighboring table had to walk to bar to physically remind staff to bring their bill. THE FINAL TALLY €318 for two people. The most expensive AND worst meal of our entire Paris trip. THE MORAL Clown Bar. The name is not ironic. It's not whimsical. It's a WARNING. You walk in expecting French bistro charm. You leave having starred in a comedy of errors you didn't audition for. The 4.2/5 rating? Either outdated or skewed. Our experience was comprehensively incompetent across service, kitchen, and basic operations. Ask yourself: Do I enjoy being the punchline? If no, walk 2 minutes in any direction and pick literally any other restaurant in the 11th arrondissement. Paris has hundreds of world-class options. Le Clown Bar is not one of them.