Petite Abeille

09/21/09

Mussel Madness

by Goldie223

You can't go wrong with all-you-can-eat mussels, especially when there are 5 different sauces to choose from and your meal comes with a Stella as well as a never ending bowl of frites.

Surprisingly enough on my last visit (last Wednesday) I noticed 2 changes to the menu. The price for this deal is now up to $23.95 and 2 of their sauces have been replaced with new creations. They have added a lobster sauce (otherwise known as "snob") - and no there where no actual pieces of lobster... and a ratatouille-like sauce, which I must say is quite delicious and filled with fresh veggies (i.e. onions, zucchini, tomatos, etc.)

Con: Our waiter was a bit rude and quiet stand-offish, espcially after I asked him why they changed the menu out of curiousity.

Suggested Plan of Attack:

- Order the flavor you wish to have the most of first ( you get a bigger bowl to start and a half of each after that)

-Make sure you dont fill up on bread between orders

- Don't forget to order one last bowl, eat a few mussels, and get the rest to go for lunch tomorrow hee hee (I tell you there is nothing like being the one with the gourmet mussel lunch to catch everyone's attention at the microwave ;)

• Pros: All You Can Eat Mussels (Wednesday)
• Cons: Waiter

05/03/09

Never Again

by estafish

I live behind Petite Abeille. I have been there many times. I have never written a review, but I've had enough. Since it is located so close to where I live, everytime I go in there I hope for a good experience and I am always disappointed. Without exception the service is very poor. The wait staff is either slow or has an attitude. On Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. they ran out of the daily special. I ordered salmon. It tasted like someone poured a salt shaker on the fish. It was inedible. As much as I hate doing this, and only sent food back once before in my life, I had to send it back. It was inedible. It took one-half hour for me to get a new dish. I finally had to confront the waitress and she forgot. Now my fish was cold. I ate the salad around it. Unbelieveable. Never again.

• Pros: Nothing
• Cons: Food and Service

11/18/08

Excellent Brunch

by tulip45

My favorite place to go to for weekend brunch. Their belgian waffles with fruit and whipped cream are amazing. Their omlettes are also really good and I love the special potatoes that come with them. They are very reasonably priced and a great place to bring visitors.

• Pros: Waffles, Omlettes, Prices
• Cons: None

10/30/08

With so many other mediocre restaurants in the city, I see no reason to return here

by yippee

First off, the atmosphere isn't particularly "warm" here. Not particularly intimate or anything.

I got their salade nicoise for $16. Thought it was a bit overpriced, especially considering that instead of using italian tuna (or tuna packed in olive oil), they used white/albacore tuna. (I thought a true nicoise salade always had italian tuna?)

Anyway, this place had no redeeming qualities that would make me want to return.

And by the way, their menu is absolutely impossible to read, not so much because of the type size, but the font they use, and the background color. I couldn't read any descriptions of the dishes.... and it's not like I always have difficulty reading restaurant menus...

10/17/08

Wow, what a dissapointment!

by blexplore

This was such a welcome addition to the neighborhood but has gone downhill quickly. Last evening I went there at 8:30 and loud Euro dance music was blasting (I thought this was a restaurant) so loud I had to ask a waitress to have it turned down, she agreed saying she had to shout at her tables and could not take orders...seems the manager was creating his own party there. The bartender was terrible..we ordered mussels to share but he did not give us plates. Also with our meals he did not give us bread, or water, or silverware, or salt, or ketchup....he was too busy chatting with his friends. As we finshed our meal the manager was behind the bar doing shots with all his friends.

To the owners....you are letting this one get away from you!

• Pros: good mussels
• Cons: staff, price, music

02/11/08

It could be better

by sistamoe

sure the seating was prompt on a saturday afternoon, but the food took forever to come!! i ordered a monsieur croque and was surprised at how small the sandwich was. you might as well go to pastis instead--its so much better! My husband ordered the fruit waffle, which was alright..nothing special. I did think my caffe mocha was really good tho.

• Pros: coffee, cute place
• Cons: long wait for the food; not much selections on the menu

01/02/08

Awful Food, terrible management

by jdc203

I went to Petite abeille on a Tuesday night with my parents to grab a quick dinner. I ordered the salmon and when it came out, I could smell a fishy smell from my seat. It was so strong that my mom leaned over slightly and got a whiff and sent it back to the kitchen. I hadn't even taken one bite. We informed my waiter of the situation and he offered to get me something else but I wasn't really hungry at that point anyway. When we got our check the salmon was still there so we asked our waiter why it wasn't taken off of the check, to which he respnded with "The manager didn't take it off of the check because he didn't think there was anything wrong with the salmon." We immediately asked to speak with him but when the waiter came back out he told us that he told the manager he smelled the fish and it did smell bad so the manager agreed to remove it from the check. I could understand if the manager smelled, or even looked at my plate, or if I ate half of the plate then sent it back, but to tell us there was nothing wrong with it and leave it on the check is appalling. I will never go back to this restaurant again because the food was bad and the management was worse. Our waiter was great. I hope the owners of this restaurant read this review and have a serious talk with their managers about how to run a restaurant!

• Pros: tintin everywhere
• Cons: terrible food, terrible management, long wait for food

03/01/07

Good atmosphere

by trlyclsk

Very cute place, lighting is slightly too dark in the evening. Frog legs were excellent, as well as the fries and Grilled tuna. Mussels in the curry was very good, seeing as how this was my first time eating them ever! Waitstaff was great. Only downfall--the Apple Tarte Tatin.. awfulx100. It was apple mush, oversized, too sweet, vanilla ice creams too sweet. Atleast have a balance to make it edible. Couldn't even eat half of it, and I was sharing with someone too. So, Do Not get the tarte tatin. please! :)

• Pros: Food, waitstaff, seated asap, ambience
• Cons: apple tarte tatin

12/29/06

Belgian Delights

by b00pi3flak3s

With the new prices on their updated menu, the rating goes down a slight notch but that doesn't take away that this place is a great option to enjoy the comfort of good food amongst friends/family. Service has been decent each time and its interesting to see how they're taking orders with handheld electronic devices. The food has been spectacular from the all-you-can-eat oysters, to the fries, croquets, and good entrees such as the Vol au Vent or the Macaroni Jambon Fromage au Gratin. The Belgian beers are good, though somewhat pricey. Most definitely recommend for the all-you-can-eat oysters and pre-fixe options ($16.95 from 5PM-7PM). It also helps to come with someone who is a French speaker :)

• Pros: Food, Beer, Crowded
• Cons: Busy, Crowded

11/16/06

Amazing Jamaican mussels and fries

by lulum

Love the Jamaican mussels, and the fries are irresistable. Can't beat the selection of beers, but they even make a decent mojito, too. Sometimes they have climate control and crowding issues, but it's still a great place and worth a trip for a fun weeknight dinner.

• Pros: Rare treat in the East 20s