Silver Cock

Have you noticed how in many cases the service doesn't actually get better in expensive restaurants, it gets worse? It always intrigues me. You go into a very cheap restaurant and aren't surprised if the waiting staff don't have a clue about how to wait, or are not very friendly. There are some honourable exceptions to that, yes, but the point is that it is not a surprise.

Then, you go into a mid-range restaurant and the service is a lot better. It is attentive but not pushy, and the staff are polite and friendly. Again, not always that way but frequently the case.

One could be forgiven for expecting that this quality continues into the most expensive restaurants, but I am struck by how often the opposite is true. The staff, apparently trying to test whether or not you are worth their time first, show none of the good manners and only give attention grudgingly. This was the case today in the Coq d'Argent, a fantastic place but with a really lousy waiter (and not for the first time). One of those places where the staff, if they are coming the opposite direction to you, won't hold back for you to pass but will push forward expecting you to wait for them (and not acknowledge that you've done so either). It always makes me smile inside to wonder what must be going through their obnoxious gallic minds as they sneer and tut.

I am not a vindictive man, but when the waiter has behaved like that, I always take great pleasure in asking them to remove the service charge. Then again, I'm sure he took great pleasure in spitting in my food...