S B

Septime came highly recommended as a must try when in Paris, and perhaps we felt let down as the expectations were set too high. There are loads of exceptional restaurants in Paris with better food and service at much more reasonable price points.

Note: Lunch bookings are five courses vs seven for dinner service.

Reservation process: We had to stalk the page ~three weeks out to even try to book a spot, and finally managed to eek a booking in during a lunch midweek for four people.

Service: Calling this out first as it was not the greatest. When you enter the restaurant, you are greeted as if you’ve stepped into the wrong restaurant and you don’t have a reservation. But once it’s clear a reservation was made, we were seated quickly, though at a family style table which we ended up sharing with three others. Food was meant to be staggered, but ours was a little too staggered with large gaps of time in between, particularly when compared to the three folks that were seated well after our third course. They caught up to our fourth course quickly.

Food: Some of the dishes were interesting and delicious – the bread roll to start and the tempura dish. And they were certainly pretty to photograph, but nothing was extraordinary/blow your socks off.

Atmosphere: For some reason, the place came off cold and unfriendly. Perhaps it was the rigidity of the wait staff, or the general unfriendliness.

Overall: If we had to do all over again, we’d pass on this and spend far less for far more in taste and service elsewhere. Again, not terrible, just did not live up to the hype. Set your expectations accordingly.

This review is for Terminal 1, United. Check-in was pain-free. Lack of signage is an issue at this airport, but take out your liquids (in clear bags) and electronics like laptops, tablets, etc. for the x-ray machines and clearing security. Passport control is immediately after and you can see this was not set up to handle the amount of travelers they receive.

Terminal 1, A Gates – There were other airlines as part of that terminal in addition to United, and clearly not the right amount of services for those gates or travelers. This airport had the space, but no one has decided to use it wisely.

Food: 1/10 – Abysmal. One cafeteria style eatery that had well over 40 people in line, which took 45 minutes (I timed a guy in the queue). Food options looked decent for breakfast - fried eggs, bacon, croissants, with coffee, juices, etc. - but staff were unable to handle the influx of travelers and manage moving the line. The lack of signage also meant 90% of travelers did not bus their own table (seriously, shame on humans for thinking someone else exists to clean up after them) and most tables were a mess.

Shopping: 2/10 – The world’s smallest WH Smith and one sad duty free store.

Restrooms: 4/10 – Needed a good clean, particularly the family restroom.

Disappointing for an international airport of this size. Plan your departure accordingly.