We decided to book Christmas lunch at Le Parisien as we have dined here before and enjoyed the meals. Considering it was Christmas Day one would expect something a little special. Upon arrival we found the ambience quite ordinary without even a Christmas decoration let alone a Christmas tree. The Service was very ordinary: We were offered a drink without the drink menu before we even sat down and we were not offered another drink until desert by the young inexperienced waiters who lacked communication skills as they dropped the plates on our table and snuck away as if to elude any eye contact and service (clearly cheap labour hire for the day). We selected the prawn cocktail for the entree which was bland and not de-veined. The ham and turkey of the main course was too salty and not very tender. More than one piece of the potato and pumpkin would have been appreciated. For $130.00 per head on Christmas Day without even a glass of champagne or a coffee included, was unacceptable. On a previous Christmas Lunch we journeyed to the 'Sky High' in Mt Dandenong. It was well worth the drive and our expectations were exceeded on a memorable occasion with a full smorgasbord that was mouthwatering which even came at a better price per head. Le Parisien you have 'Cashed In For Christmas'. We will not be back.

I have been dining here for over a decade. Today the food was up to scratch but the overall experience was a let down because of a few simple things.

I read a recent review of Le Parisien where the customer complained about the high prices and that in Melbourne you can expect more for your money. I don't have a problem with the prices here. However, if you charge a premium price there, you expect a certain minimum of service.

I ordered a bottle of mineral water which arrived but without a glass. I ended up using a wine glass. I don't mind pouring my own drinks but these are the subtle things that set a premium restaurant apart.

The amuse-bouche was nice.

A side plate with a butter knife suggest to me the possibility of bread, or at least the offer of bread. Otherwise they are just taking up space on the table. Although there are bread dishes such as garlic bread and bruschetta available from the menu, I generally expect a selection of fresh local breads to be brought around to choose from.

Oysters were lovely and fresh.

Calamari salad was very nice.

The local mussels in the moules marinières were yummy, but on the service side, a soup spoon and some crusty bread would not have gone astray (except they did). I could have asked for them if the staff had been more attentive. Here is where you expect the waiter to unobtrusively enquire "Is everything to your satisfaction?" rather than trying to elicit a yes from a "I hope everything was to your satisfaction" after your meal is well and truly finished and they have been nowhere in sight for half an hour.

Once the waiter has established that you dont want coffee or dessert and that you dont want anything else. I expect the bill to arrive. Not have to wait 30 mins to then be asked if I would like the bill. I told the waiter that had been waiting for the bill anyway, it was then brought out. I promptly provided my card only to be ignored again. The waiter came out again five minutes after I had provided my card and served someone else and failed to check if my card was ready to collect. The guy was polite enough but just seemed to lack experience, which I am sure he will soon pick up - along with a bit of French.

If you are going to list all the dishes in French first, the waiter should be able to recognise your order if you ask for it the way the restaurant presents it.

The senior staff were professional as always.

You cant fault the location (see photos)

Couple of our friends recommended that we give Le Parisien a try with great outcomes we will be returning and becoming regulars. When we arrived it only took second for staff to respond considering that the Restaurant was a very close to 100% capacity.
A young male waiter greeted us and took us to our table in the corner overlooking the bay he offered us drinks and came back with the menus and he arranged a mixed bread plate. After we had put our menus down and talked for a little bit our breads came out and a young female waiter took our orders repeating back the order after we had finished which is a very nice change and reassuring. Our mains came out pretty quickly considering how busy the Restaurant was the young male waiter offered to pour the bottle of wine we had brought from the bar which was nice and relaxing having people service you without lifting a finger. We ordered the Duck and Sirloin steak which both tasted delicious. After we had finished the young male waiter cleared our table and was pretty quick to get back to us with desert menus and an offer off more wine. We ordered the Crème Brule and Crepes Normandi which both were really good and came out very quickly as well. The whole night was a great experience despite some of the other customer on a table next to us being very disruptive. Lovely Polite staff and great food would recommend and take family and friends.

The 2012 Geelong Sprints have come and gone, and it looks like the event was some sort of success. I hope so, it's the sort of classic car showcase/raceday that Australia needs more of.

Anyway, it's a cold, cold Sunday for December, there are thousands of people milling about the Corio foreshore, unrestricted engines are screaming as cars are launched down the track, and I'm desperate for a decent feed.

All dining options down here appear to be bursting at the seams, with punters queuing for tables, until we stumble on a dining room that is almost empty. It looks good, everyone in our group is keen, so we give it a go.

It quickly becomes apparent why the place is empty - we've obviously lobbed into Geelong's most expensive restaurant. But, what the hell, we're hungry and tired and the restaurant is totally immune from the mayhem outside. It's really quiet, and our table has a great view across the bay.

The upshot is that this place is a mile in front before we even get going. I'm sitting down for the first time in five hours, I've got an ice-cold beer in the claw, and everything doesn't stink of racing fuel - This is as good as it's going to get in Geelong today.

So, on with the show. There were six of us dining, and I think that everyone was pretty satisfied with the outcome. Although the food was bog-standard French bistro fare, it was well executed. My duck was nicely cooked, although the much touted "Grand Marnier" sauce was more like "Grand Minimal" (both in quantity and in its grand marnierishness). Fantastic French Fries, however, saved the day, as these always generate a few extra brownie points from me.

The service was OK, although there was really not much of a challenge here for the staff, given the very small number of diners.

The atmosphere, however, was perfect (especially given the circumstances described in the preamble), and our group had a truly relaxing couple of hours at Le Parisien.

So . . . where's the downside here? All said, I suppose it's only the price, but in this case it's a fatal flaw. These guys are charging too much for the food that's on offer, and they are seriously out of step with the mark-up on their wines. They don't have a bad little wine list, but they are screwing the punters blind on price.

At the end of the day, Le Parisien is let down by the value equation. Maybe they have a semi-captive audience in Geelong and can get away with it, but the fact is that for these prices you would expect much, much more, just an hour up the road, in Melbourne.

So, the best I can stump up for Le Parisien is a 3 rating, even though we had a very pleasant and relaxing Sunday lunch here. Pity.