Tournesol

Doesn't Recommend

sk101484

Joined 3 years ago

Makes the French look bad!. My bf and I were really looking forward to trying this quiant looking little "french restaurant". We are no strangers to French cuisine upscale or romantic little spots. First, dont know whether this guy was the manager or host but he was dancing in the middle of the place to house music and then started doing karate kicks with one a waitress, is this a restaurant or playground? Ridiculously unprofessional. The inside of the restaurant was swarming with flies, we didnt even really wanna eat after being surrounded by them. They even fell in our water, ugh. What does the kitchen look like with all those flies? Bathroom was filthy and right next to kitchen. Food was okay, nothing to swoon over. Our waitress had no clue about wine list...hmmmm. My fish was good but way too much garnish and took away from the fish. Our Terrine foie gras was okay, had better in the city. Dessert was pretty decent. In short, not returning, was really disappointed in whole experience. If you want great French and affordable try Gascogne in the city, Great atmosphere, food, service and NO BUGS inside or out eventhough they have a gorgeous outside that makes you feel as if you are in France.

Recommends

ViaMari

Joined 4 years ago

Good Place in LIC. The place is convenient to reach (7 train) and provides great food.

Doesn't Recommend

eetoutnyc

Joined 5 years ago

Annoying host..... stick to seating and serving. Uhrg....the food wasn't bad, but seriously, the service?!?! I have been twice with my girlfriend and both times, the host was flirting with her so inappropriately it really annoyed the hell out of me and made the meal uncomfortable. He would stand there and stare at her across the restaurant thinking he was being cool and subtle but it came off as being totally offensive. She wasn't impressed either.

Take my advice Tournesol, be charming to both people in a couple becuase generally it's the guy who is paying for the meal.

Doesn't Recommend

LKYoung

Joined 5 years ago

Good Food, Terrible Customer Service. Arrived half an hour early with my daughter as part of a party of 14 with a reservation for 8:00 PM. The tables that we would occupy were empty and they were not reseating waiting for our party. It was Friday evening, the end of a long day and a long week. Had been in my pumps since 7:00 AM. I asked if I could sit. "No." They would not seat me until all 14 had arrived. The tiny restaurant had two seats at the bar, both occupied. I promised the owner that my daughter and I would eat, even if the other 12 never showed up. He laughed. I'm sure that he thought that he was being charming. It was 8:20 by the time the entire party was assembled. Over those 50 minutes, I asked a total of three times to be allowed to sit down, and was refused three times. Again, for the entire 50 minutes, I was standing next to the empty tables which they had indicated would be for our party. The owner and waiters ignored me, but could not help jostling me as they went about their work, as the restaurant is tiny with no separate space to wait. The evening was cool, and I was unfamiliar with the neighborhood, so I waited. At 8:20, angry, exhausted and humiliated I was allowed to sit. The food was very good, but it sat like a rock in my churning stomach. This man should be a caterer and never allowed near living, breathing customers.

Recommends

paulkunkel

Joined 5 years ago

incroyable.... Tournesol offers everything a bistro diner could want in an unlikely location (atop the Vernon Street number 7 subway station in LOC across the screen from an abandoned ruined industrial hulk. What can you expect?: fine (and large selection of) wine by the glass or bottle (I tried white burgundy, my dining companion drank merlot), excellent appetizers (I tried the foie gras which was wonderful, we shared a winter salad and we also tried the onion soup ... bubbly in a crock, rich and bracing, just like one would expect at an upscale restaurant in France or maybe the Quebec countryside), too many entrees to choose from (the dorado was fine, the lamb shank was even better, the steak frites at a nearby table looked 9 out of 10), and the desert was equally good (bread pudding in a thick pool of creme d'anglais ... I wanted to try the oeufs a la neige as well, but after all the above ... I was done). Remarkable food. Excellent ambiance. The restaurant was nearly full, but we were seated right away. And perhaps best of all, fair prices. I will try again (maybe I should phone ahead, cause I know it will be steak frites followed by those oeufs a la neige).

Need I say more?

Recommends

robynyc

Joined 6 years ago

Good experience in queens. First time I was going to Queens and a friend of mine brought me in this French restaurant . I am french and I know mostly all french bistro in manhattan. First I was surprised that we had to wait 15 minutes at the bar a wednesday night. The place was packed .After I understood why when they brought the food. Everything is homemade "except the bread" the waiter proudly told us. There is a big selection of wines.

And I don't want to talk about the desserts....Highly recommended. I will be back

Doesn't Recommend

velvetrose108

Joined 6 years ago

:( Not a happy date. As soon as my date and I walked in we were greeted and seated. This was the only good thing. The waitress was totally annoying. She asked what kind of water we wanted and I said tap for me. Well, I got water and it was not drinkable. The water was HOT and I had to ask for ice. My glass was never re-filled either. No one came around to see if we were okay or needed anything. Ordered the food and as soon as it came so did the annoying fly. To make a long story short there is nothing special about this place other than the ambiance.The food and service is nothing to brag about. There are other resturants in the area where you really get your monies worth. Oh, by the way they only take American Express!!! Really who are we kidding.

Doesn't Recommend

ddonato159

Joined 6 years ago

Tournesol. Recently I had dinner celebrating my parents (yes - both parents birthdays, born two days apart) with my son (8 years old - not a wild kid, but rather charming and kind). When I made the reservation, I told them we would be 4 people, 3 adults and one child, but not a baby.

When we arrived she wanted my son to sit in the inside chairs, therefore avoiding any hot dishes. He didn't want to sit in the inside, rather on the outside next to his grandfather. I told her he would be fine sitting on the outside. She seemed to have a attitude from the start.

It is clear that the restaurant is not a kid friendly restaurant. Major problem if they expect to accommodate the ever growing L.I.C. community - which seems to be increasing with children.

The service was below average. The service was slow. The waiter took my Dad's drink order and never asked the rest of us what we wanted to drink. He was finished with his drink before the waiter took our drink order.

The appetizers were delicious. The main meals were average.

But this was the ultimate "FRENCH ATTITUDE" - we were celebrating two birthday's. We brought a birthday cake. We were told by the waiter, that they could not allow that, but then she changed her mind, but saying she would have to charge us $3.00 per person to serve the cake. How dare they suggest such a thing. I have never experienced this treatment in any restaurant in New York City. And I have been to the best restaurants in the city.

Don't think I will be going back any time soon.

Recommends

shazred

Joined 6 years ago

Don't Bring a Date on the Weekend. The reviews are mostly correct: The food is spot on, the atmospere is cozy and warm, the waitstaff are wonderful...but the wait for your table is ridiculous. Unless you stand in their face, they will seat others before you even if you have a reservation and politely protest. They have made me wait for a table for over an hour and a half on three seperate occassions - until finally I gave up and took my friends to the other lovely LIC restaurants. Be careful if they try to send you to their wine bar next door - you'll never get seated. They will happily forget about you at the wine bar and collect their money from you there. The food is wonderful, everything is great - if only they would have the same integrity toward their reservations as they do toward their food.

Recommends

reisb

Joined 6 years ago

One of the best French restaurants. I went to Tournesol for the fist time on my birthday. The food was amazingly delicious and well cooked. I ordered steak-frites, a dish of steak and homemade fries. The fries were crisp and the steak was not to chewy, fatty, or crisp. The dessert choices are good but it's better to get dessert outside of the restaurant. The food can get quite expensive. The ambience was great and i give this restaurant two thumbs up.