Kong

Please read this review and take heed of my advice. Let me first say that what I have written here is a complete and honest account of my experience at Kong in Paris. My girlfriend and I have travelled the world and have experienced culinary delights from all walks of life. We have dined in 3* Michelin restaurants as well as family run eateries known only by local tradesman. I would say that I have a well rounded view on what makes for a worthy restaurant…. And by worthy what I mean is worthy of existence!

I was expecting a trendy spot serving haute cuisine with expert service. Unfortunately I received a somewhat overly tacky cafeteria style restaurant with sub standard food and terrible service.

The décor of the main restaurant was gauche. It failed miserably to reach the level of style it was aiming for. Actually being in the glass walled room made it feel incredibly cheap which, given the prices on the menu was its first serious failing. I was particularly surprised by the fact that the view out the windows was relatively poor (part of the bridge and river, the rest was roads and non-descript buildings). The dining room is small, probably can seat no more than 50 covers. I would imagine that the glass walls were a way to make the room feel larger than it was and distract you from the fact that you are almost in the lap of the diner on the next table.

Secondly what surprised me was the size of the menu, there were over a hundred dishes to choose from. If you are a fan of Anthony Bourdain you will know that a big indicator as to the quality of the restaurant is the size of the menu. A large menu indicates many ingredients, as fresh ingredients are expensive for restaurants those with large menu’s will re-use as much as possible or go for cheaper quality. I would argue that Kong’ management have opted for the latter.

The wine list was adequate albeit expensive for the quality you get. I actually knew some of the wines on the menu and had visited the vineyards personally. The mark up on the wines that I knew were almost unbelievable, I am talking margins of 1000% in some cases!

I started with the soft shell crab whilst my girlfriend had the fois gras with celeriac puree. The soft shell crabs were fine, possibly a little greasy. The fois gras was bland, poorly prepared and presented. Given that the starters were in the region of £20 each I was expecting something far better than that which we received. I have had much better for far less in many other establishments.

For the main course I selected the fillet steak whilst my girlfriend opted for the tuna steak. We were asked as to our preference for the cooking time of our respective steaks. I asked for the fillet to be rare whilst the tuna was to be seared. When we were finally presented with our main dishes I was extremely disappointed to see that the Tuna had taken on the dull, canned, brown colour which was further compounded when cutting through the middle to find no trace of red whatsoever. The phrase seared was clearly not understood by the waiter, or acknowledged. The fillet similarly had been over cooked. I asked for rare and received medium to well. Again we are talking of main course around £35 and would expect a lot more bang for my buck. When we called the waiter over we indicated as to the problem, he apologised and took our plates away. Within a few minutes another waiter who I was informed was called Marc (or Mark) told me that although the tuna was over done, he had consulted the chef to tell me that the fillet was cooked rare. I literally couldn’t believe what I was being told, supposedly in a fine restaurant in Paris the gastronomic centre of the world I was actually being told that a steak which was clearly not cooked rare was in fact rare, and what was worse was that the chef has refused to cook another one!

Regardless of your thoughts on whether a steak should be cooked as to the liking of the chef or the diner, I was so shocked that the waiter / manager was treating me so badly that I told him to take the steak away and take it off the bill. Whilst still regaling my girlfriend with the preposterousness of what had just happened, the waiter / manager (Marc / Mark) returned to the table asking us to leave, but not before we had paid €90 for the bottle of wine and two starters.

We were then shown the door and I couldn’t have been happier to leave. I almost want to tell people to go there and see what it is like just so that they can experience what I am talking about. The type of people frequenting this restaurant are utter morons, I don’t mean that rudely either. I read another review on this page talking about how this restaurant is featured in sex and the city… for me that sums it all up!

Now that I think about it… don’t go to this restaurant!
Comment on this reader review

Daniel G
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Monday, May 11, 2009

Do not be enticed by the romantic, Sex in the City, story when considering Kong. As you enter the restaurant/bar through the lift doors you are greeted by 5 women who appear to be better placed on the set of the Devil Wears Prada rather than playing hostesses. After booking in advance and informing the robots that you have arrived, expect to sit at the bar and wait and wait and wait. You will sit at the bar and not have a clue what is going on. Nobody will inform you when to sit down. In fact you will have to attempt to engage with the rude, obnoxious and simply stupid waiters in order to get seated. You will then be sat at a bad table and will feel awkward sitting in this over-priced, over-hyped place.

Seriously, you are much better off spending the money elsewhere. Kong is not enchanting. Its not as cool and quirky as the website suggests. We actually left before eating and so cannot comment on the food. However, if you are looking for a romantic/cool meal at an exclusive restaurant with great views....ignore Kong and consider something like Bateaux Parisiens (classic, elegant French cusine at its best). I hope this helps. Please take the above seriously to avoid a disaster of an evening.
Comment on this reader review

King Kong
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, February 22, 2009

Went to Kong this weekend. Made our reservation a couple months prior and even showed up 1/2 an hour early to enjoy the very hip bar. Ordered a martini and a caprioska. The caprioska was great. The martini looked sad as the glass looked 1/3 full, and it was warm....yuck! We sent the drink back and another one of the bartenders remedied the martini. We had checked in with the hostess 3 or 4 times to let them know we were all there and were ready to be seated as it was now going on 45 minutes past our scheduled reservation. It was getting obvious that they had grossly overbooked the restaurant and were incompetent at digging themselves out of their hole. So an hour past our reserved time, we were led up to a table. Imagine our horror when we saw that our table was about the size of child's tea party table. Definitely not made for three adults. One of us had to seat side saddle throughout the meal. The waiter was unwilling to allow us to be moved. Other than that the service was efficient, the food was pretty good and the music was lively and fun. Would we go back.......NO! This restaurant/bar needs to really pull themselves together.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Monday, February 09, 2009

The service was very good. Sadly it couldn't make up for what was a very bland & very expensive meal.

The cocktail I started with was no better sadly.

I would never recommend it, & I'd never go back. Nice view though.
Comment on this reader review

C Kempeneer
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Sunday, October 05, 2008

Food is WAY too expensive for what you get. Our orders were incorrect - twice - and the service was scrappy at best. The dtark interior is the highlight of this restaurant, but unfortunately you can't eat his chairs. Very average food, and very overpriced.
Comment on this reader review

Sunday, July 20, 2008

During our stay in Paris, we really enjoyed all the restaurants and bistro's all over the town. Nice service, nice quality of food, no problem at all! For our last night we decided to visit Kong, after a friend's recommendation. We were there on time, and the young ladies in the bar told us to wait for a couple of minutes before we continue upstairs to the restaurant. Eventually we had to wait 50 minutes - drinking but when we asked what is going on with our table - they replied laughing with a poor sense of humour that in a few minutes the table would be ready. (Of course the young lady was joking) we felt really bad about it - because after waiting again for a couple of minutes there was no table for us!

We decided to leave the place. Thanks Kong for ruining our nice impression regarding restaurants in Paris. Fake stuff, so un-organized ,and it is obvious that they do double bookings on the restaurant and for those that they are not so lucky they just push them to the bar in order to get drinks! That is so lame!
Comment on this reader review

Apostolopoulos Paris
Sunday, May 25, 2008

We went to this restaurant expecting a nice atmosphere but were apprehensive about the food. However, not only was the food excellent, the service was some of the most attentive i have ever recieved, without being intrusive.

I had the fillet steak, excellent value at €29, with a choice of sides. It was cooked and presented perfectly, and was a very nicely sized portion. My friend had the roasted lamb with thyme, which was also delicious.

Wine list was relatively good, wine around €30/40

We went on a sunday night, and booked a few hours in advance (luckily, as the restaurant was full when we left). The atmosphere was excellent, and the patrons were mosly french (i think locals). For such an excellent restaurant in paris the value is exceptional. Definitely a must.
Comment on this reader review

Tom Lowes
Tuesday, September 11, 2007