BISTROT POPULAIRE

Great location but the food and service very disappointing.
When my wife and I arrived at 8pm the restaurant was almost empty. Despite this the waitress (who has missed her vocation as a school mistress or sergeant major) refused to let us sit where we wanted, offering us one of two tiny table right up against the only other customers, dashing all hope of a romantic intimate evening.
The cooking was like the tasteless fare you have at the home of a friend who works from a recipe book with no understanding of the ingredients. With two significant differences: you’re paying a (fairly high) price for the privilege; and instead of homely generosity you are served very meagre portions as though the chef is holding back in case a busload of tourists arrives. Nothing felt fresh. There was no finesse to the cooking. Everything was saturated with oil.
To add insult to injury, about half an hour after we started eating another couple stroll bye (still empty) restaurant and are offered to sit wherever they want in the restaurant. And when as we pay our bill I mention this to the waitress she replies “what do you expect. You can’t have everything you want”.
So no doubt a tourist trap, lacking in generosity and serving poor quality food, but also a place where you can be taught a lesson: when you look like a tourist and can afford to eat here, to expect to be treated politely and kindly (whether as a fellow human or as a customer) is asking too much. Here no doubt, it’s for you to thank them rather than the other way round.
Avoid.