L’Ami Louis

Reviews

• Jeremiah C.

  star star star star star 25 May 2026

  One of my favorite restaurants in the world. The portions are huge, the food cooked superbly, fresh ingredients, with local passion. The servers take pride in their job, once they warm up to you, you feel like family. They can seem arrogant, but I promise, they will go out of their way to make sure you have a great meal.
  
  I recommend the Salad, that's all it's called is "the Salad".. It's fresh, lightly dressed, and tasty. I love the escargot, my hubby likes the Foi Gras, we both like the frogs legs, when available. The lamb chops are superb, and the chicken can be delicious, just ask them to not over cook it.. I always think restaurants over cook chicken though..  The mixed fruit platter is also ALWAYS amazing and delicious, with a huge variety of fresh fruits.  The chocolate cake, not to be missed.
  
  I hope you visit, and enjoy.  Make a reservation!

• Gil L.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 24 May 2026

  I'll start by saying we went in 100% knowing it was egregiously overpriced, but we figured it would be special; wow what an expensive disappointment. We LOVE spending a lot of money on good food, so this isn't a typical "overpriced" review you'll see on here; this is a overall bad quality and terrible value review.
  We spent over 100€ on a chicken that was slightly better than average. Yes, it was juicy throughout, but you can spend $5 at your local Costco and get a better roasted chicken. It was bland, lacked flavor, and again, was definitely NOT worth the money or the hype. I understand it was cooked in a very old, very unique oven, but we were hoping for something special. We even ordered a special, off-the-menu potato dish that just ended up being roasted potatoes with some crushed garlic and parsley... for 35€.
  I was really hoping for a special, classic, unique Parisian meal, but man was it a massive disappointment.
  1 star.

• BeBe H.

  star star star star star 23 May 2026

  The best sizzling Escargot you will ever eat & the sauce is worth dipping the French bread into! Everything from beginning to end was out of this world. The late, chicken, and mini strawberries (any fruit from the stand in the back) should not be missed. The restaurant is historic and small so make a reservation and enjoy one of the best culinary experiences in a warm, friendly and relaxed environment.

• Gabriella S.

  star star star star star 17 May 2026

  Rarely do I get the opportunity to go to a restaurant that has it's own wikipedia page... Let me tell you this, if you somehow manage to get a reservation, MAKE SURE YOU CONFIRM IT because if you don't they will not seat you. Do they not like Americans? Lies... I went two nights in a row and the place was poppin off with Americans & everyone was being treated with the utmost respect. If you expect amazing service with a smile, don't go to France....
  
  This is my dad's favorite restaurant in Paris and we went with 6 people and he ordered family style for the table. We started off with the Foie Gras and the escargot. The Foie Gras is extremely decadent, pro tip: it's refrigerated so wait like five minutes before lathering it onto your deliciously toasty french baguette that they give you endless amounts of. The escargot are amazing! I had never tried it before and to me it just tasted like a mushroom with the best sauce of all time. I was mostly in it for the sauce if i'm being real.
  
  For our mains my dad ordered the veal in cream sauce, cote de beouf (sp?) and the famous chicken. I was shook when all the food came because we legit did not have enough room on the table for it all. Everything was f-ing ICONIC but the most amazing dish in my opinion was the veal. When we went back the second night, something I would not recommend, I got the veal again it was that good. The cote de beouf was also amazing but fair warning, it comes out extremely rare, see pics. The chicken was not the best chicken I've ever had but that's because I make an amazing chicken at home, if you're a chicken lover you will not be disappointed.
  
  For dessert we got the seasonal berries with tableside whipped cream, an absolute treat. Also, we finished four bottles of wine and had some armanac sooo it's safe to say this was one of the most epic dining experiences of my life. Was surrounded by family and the best of friends. Loved my experience and Louis himself gave me A BIG FAT KISS on my way out... how's that for not liking Americans?

• Adam B.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 6 May 2026

  This was my worst restaurant experience of the year. I absolutely wanted to love this restaurant. Let me start out by saying that I did read the famous review which called it 'the worst restaurant in the world'. I didn't want to believe that review ... maybe the author had a grudge to bear, a bad night or whatever. However, I am in agreement with almost 100% of that review. Restaurants don't get much worse than this.
  
  I will admit that I was suckered in by the exclusivity of the restaurant ... it's hard to get a reservation here for dinner. Even lunch is a hard one to score though they have added tables beyond the original 12. Our concierge at a 5 star hotel in Paris begged us to reconsider and let him recommend a better restaurant when I asked him to make the reservation for dinner. 'Just because I can get you this reservation, doesn't mean that I should. This restaurant is for the tourists!', he said. Why didn't I listen?
  
  The wait staff treat you with the same amount of distain they would if they found you fingering their cat. To say they are arrogant and rude is an understatement ... the best you could hope for is to be utterly ignored by the staff. There is one very heavy waiter who slithers around the dining room looking for people to belittle. You'd really have to go out of your way to be as rude as he is to fellow human beings. My guess is that he feels so badly about himself he has to put others down in order to attempt to make them feel as badly about themselves as he does his own self. By exerting this control and rule over others, he is attempting to use the power he has in l'ami louis to mask the power he does not have to feel happy with himself. Classic psychological displacement of negativity but a restaurant where people go to escape and have fun is not the place to do this. If you run into this creature, he will make sure that your dining experience is a bad one. At first I was angry at him ... now I just feel sad for him.The rest of the staff bring you food, slap it down in front of you and don't make eye contact, tell you to enjoy or acknowledge your existence (until the check comes ...) which us almost equally as bad.
  
  First of all, the restaurant inside lacks any of the romance you'd expect. Several pendent lights are on full blast at all times which makes it feel like a tiny, dirty gymnasium ... add to the fact that the floodlights from the sign outside shine through the window like a spotlight, so inside it feels like daylight, even at 9 or 10 p.m. There are little wine bottles with candles on the table which are never lit ... they are just props. The fact that it looks like your uncle and aunt's cluttered garage in the back of the restaurant also is quite unsettling. You expect to see forgotten 1950's woven strip beach chairs and an old Sears and Robuck green metal push mower in the corner along with some spider webs. There is vintage chic decor and there is an episode of hoarders and Chez l'ami resembles more of the latter.
  
  The food is absolutely average. The famous $120 chicken tastes as though it has been soaking in liquid chicken fat for a few hours. The skin is soggy and not crisp and it tastes like chicken broth more than it does chicken. It comes to the table carved as a breast followed by a leg ... not sure where all the other pieces go. The $35 green salad is a chopped head of lettuce in a clear bowl which is wet with some oil and vinegar. The Escargot are perfectly good and worth their $48 price. For dessert, a carton of 4 euro raspberries from a fruit stand is overturned onto a plate and a scoop of fresh whipped cream is slapped on ... for $32. I am not one to complain about prices for a meal that is great ... but to pay $350 for average food in a dump and be treated like an outcast is just piss poor.
  
  Know that you will have average food at prices 3-4 times what even fine dining would cost you in most metropolitan cities. My night in Paris was ruined by this restaurant at the cost of $350. You might go and have a better experience ... but what if you don't? Is it worth the gamble to ignore what basically everyone says about this restaurant? Your choice ...
  
  This is more than anything a private club where outsiders are barely tolerated. Maybe the high prices visitors pay subsidize lower costs of the regulars ... or the high prices take the place of dues at a country club. The regulars are seated near the kitchen in one section which the waiters are happy and convivial. The front of the restaurant is where the pesky outsiders are placed, perhaps paying the price for making the fat waiters have to walk an extra few steps outside of their fun zone and into the annex. To be a stranger and an outsider in a private club is how one who has never stepped into l'Ami Louis will feel on a visit. Forget about being welcome.