I've lived in France for several years and in other parts of Europe. Over the years I developed a love of French and Belgium cooking. Rue Cler's menu, while not extensive, has some excellent French dishes. There Moules and Frites are some of the best I've had. My wife and I particularily enjoy going there for lunch.\r
Now the problem. The management appears arrogant and/or incompetent. Their web site says no reservations. Last year, this time-on Valentines Day, we arrived for dinner and was told that reservations were required. I referenced their no reservation policy and indicated that I had driven from Raleigh, and pleaded. We were given a seat in the bakery. We enjoyed our meal. Last Friday we ate lunch at Rue Cler. As usual, the food was good. There was no mention, at the restaurant, to make reservations for this years Valentines Day. I did call over the weekend and left a voicemail requesting a reservation. I left two calls requesting a reservation for 4 people at 7PM. No calls were returned. I continued calling, and on Tuesday finally the phone was answered. I was informed that they had a poor message service ( voicemail?????) and that the message was never relayed to them. Reservations were required and that they would not be able to accomodate me.\r
Rue Cler has the potential for being a great rerasonably prices restaurant. There menu could be expanded and their management needs to be a lot more attuned to their customers. Running ""their business"" should be tending to customers instead of sitting at the bar and working on a PC. Greeting customers as guests would also be a novel idea. A consistent policy on reservations is a must and responding to email and voicemail is not only a courtesy but is good business.\r
Rue Cler management can run their business any way they want - obviously, but I don't intend to subject myself to this type of treatment regardless of how much I enjoy their food.
Pros: good food reasonable price
Cons: arrogant management, inconsistent policies, poor communication
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