steak out! (Buffalo Grill)

Member Name: juicy_lucy

Product:	Buffalo Grill
Date:	29/04/06 (1219 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lively atmoshere

Disadvantages: Slow service

Buffalo Grill

One of the advantages of being off site when we went to Euro Disney was that we could try out some of the local restaurants. On our first night, there seemed to be very few places open, apart from this restaurant, which, as soon as we went into the car park, we realized that it was packed.

The restaurant is near Bussy St Georges, close to a Formula One Hotel, so I should imagine that there is a lot of passing trade. There is a large car park, which is just as well, considering the number of cars which were parked there…I suppose it was a Saturday evening at 8.30pm, so I should have expected nothing else.

We entered through the double glass doors, into a corridor, and were immediately met by the queue of people waiting for a table. There is a waiter who walks along the queue asking how many people the table is for, and whether you prefer smoking or non smoking, so at least you know that your preference and needs have been noted. As we waited, it was quite interesting for us, because we could see the other diners whose tables were right next to the glass partition, but it must have been a tad disconcerting for them having people standing watching them eat.

Once through the corridor, you enter the main restaurant which goes in two directions, left and right, and then also upstairs. Upstairs was quite interesting, and very geared towards children. There were those sit and ride machines, pinball machines, car driving games etc. In fact, there was everything needed to keep a group of children amused whilst the adults continued their post meal conversation; this is assuming the adults were prepared to keep putting their hands in their pockets to subsidise the games. However, the children seemed to be having good fun running amok upstairs- a pointer here- not the place to go for a quiet romantic meal. I would also suggest that whilst this is a good idea in some ways, it isn’t a place for young children- perhaps from about 8 or 9 years old is a better age, otherwise they will get knocked over!

The whole place has artefacts and bits and pieces from the cowboy era, although some of the pictures were a bit disturbing. For example, we were sitting directly under a picture of some horses shot down and obviously dead. Not good to whet the appetite.

THE MENU

The whole menu is in French, with no clues at all as to what each dish is. Fair enough, we don’t write menus in this country in every language! There is a wide range of dishes, most of them centring around beef- cowboy style! The starters range from £.90 Euros for the onion rings to 9.50 euros for the Pacific Salad, containing, not surprisingly, sea food.There are 3 fish dishes and then we go on to the grills in every style, steaks and hamburgers. Prices are quite reasonable with steak costing 8.10 Euros and burgers costing about 9 Euros. All of these include fries and salad and the portions are big.

There are several desserts including apple crumble at 4.90 Euros and ice creams costing 4.20 Euros.

Coffees are usual coffee prices…1.90 Euros for an espresso and 3 Euros for a Cappuccino.

On the back of the menu there are games and activities for children and although we tried our best, the crossword was strictly off limits. A good idea, although they should perhaps bring crayons for the children, otherwise, without a supply of pens, they could be merely sitting looking at the activity card.



THE FOOD AND SERVICE
We did get a table within about half an hour, which, considering how full the place was, was quite incredible. From that moment, though, the service seemed to get slower. We placed our order only after haranguing the waiter until he decided that we did need food. Along came the drinks, all correct apart from the whisky and coke which came in two separate glasses. This always makes me smile because this is what seems to happen whenever we are abroad. The waiter brought a salad along whilst we waited for our main course, which consisted in some limp lettuce, kidney beans, and lashings and lashings of dressing; not being a fan of vinegar, I wished they had left out the dressing and allowed us to drizzle it over our own salad had we chosen to do so.


Eventually, after a wait of about 30 minutes, our steaks arrived, along with the meal for Little Miss- chicken nuggets and chips. What else? This meal seems to transcend all language barriers. The steaks were not the best I had ever tasted and well done/medium/rare all seemed to have one end result- rare. They came with some chips and that was it, and whilst not brilliantly presented, I was beginning to get the impression that this was a sit down version of a fast food restaurant without the service being especially fast.

However, the chicken nuggets and chips were quite a different story, and were, in my opinion, inedible. When they arrived at the table, they were absolutely stone cold, as were the chips. Not the kind of cold it takes to get from kitchen to table but the kind of “we were cooked an hour ago” cold. We did sent them back and the next meal came back hot, and with ketchup. This meant, however, that we had two choices- either to let our food go cold and wait for little miss food to arrive or eat and let her sit watching us. Not a pleasant choice for anyone; I chose the former and himself the latter. When the fresh nuggets and chips were brought to us, they were nice and hot but it wasn’t a good sign when a restaurant can’t get the easiest of foods brought to the table hot and freshly cooked.



WHAT I THOUGHT

As a fast food type food, if not service restaurant, it’s probably ok, especially if, as we were, you are particularly hungry, and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere else close by to eat. However, I don’t see any other situation whereby I would actually chose to eat here. This is not such a ridiculous statement as it seems, as it appears to be a franchise, with restaurants in several different places, so it’s likely that when traveling, you could come across one of these restaurants.

I don’t think the poor service was particularly down to the caliber of the staff, but rather to the fact that they did seem to be very short staffed considering the number of people in the restaurant; on this basis, there was no way that a good, efficient service could be offered. The staff themselves, as individuals, were very pleasant, and helped a as much as they were able given the shortage of staff; they certainly weren’t silver service trained but neither were they unpleasant.

The menu is quite adequate if you like steaks but certainly not one for any vegetarians. There were a couple of chicken dishes- still not good for vegetarians but an option if you didn’t want steak.

The whole place was clean enough although not of the highest standard, and it’s definitely a place to go if you have older children and want a late night out without worrying about the children being bored.

We found out that the first Buffalo Grill was “born” just outside of Paris and that there are now 280 restaurants across Europe. They must be doing something right! I think what they do right is reasonably priced filling food in a lively and fun environment. Not particularly French but a good place to fill up fast!

Thanks for reading

Daniela xx
Website…www.buffalogrill.com

Summary: Not for a romantic quiet, good meal