I’d heard so many good things about Piaf and was really looking forward to eating there. But, unfortunately, the reality was a complete let down.
We started with bread (with oil and balsamic) and chips with aioli. The chips were definitely the high point of the meal. They were fantastic! I love a good fry and these were golden and super crunchy with beautiful creamy aioli. The bread, however, was nothing special, nor was the oil and balsamic. And the rest of the meal, blah…
I had steak with Béarnaise sauce served with a potato bake for my main course. The steak was gristly in places and chewy in others. It was also unevenly cooked. I ordered medium-rare, and when it came out one end of it was overcooked and the other end rare. One very fatty bit of the steak was covered with Béarnaise sauce to disguise it. This is a pet hate of mine. There’s no excuse for using poor ingredients and trying to serve them up as something that they’re not.
The potato bake was also unevenly cooked, some bits being hard, others soggy and the top brown. The Béarnaise sauce tasted good but was starting to split.
For dessert I opted for a French classic, crème brûlée. The sugar crust had a slight burnt flavour to it, which is far from ideal. The custard underneath was not the right consistency. It was slightly overcooked and starting to curdle. Even though it tasted OK, the texture was not good.
Overall, I have never been so disappointed in a meal. Sure, I understand that restaurants can have off nights but, for me, this ranks as one of the worst meals ever.