New Top Rated Restaurant in Ajijic - Pierrot Au Lac ???????

I prefer John's Restaurant Guide...   

CanuckBob wrote:...Personally I don't give a Rat's Patoohey about reviews on Trip Advisor or any other site for that matter....

Admirable, Bob. But the fact remains that they exert a great deal of influence and are too easily manipulated.

It really doesn't matter what YOU think - it is what your potential customers think that matters. And - for better or worse - TA is a force to be reckoned with.

Axixic:

You are absolutely correct in saying that they are influential in the marketplace but they have made improvements to reduce the opportunities for manipulation. Not perfect by any means but it is just one of many tools we use when planning trips to Mexico.

Trip advisor can be useful if you go to a city you do not know but as a rule we do not read it either especially if we want to go out in Ajijc...
I have heard people I respect say it was good so we will try it when we get back and judge for ouselves.

The only guide Itrust for restaurants is Michelin in France on French food. Most of the other guides can be manipulated too easily. Zagat is another gui I have no use for.

I do look up hotels sometimes on trip advisor but always take he reviews with a grain of salt.
This said if I were in the business and have a hotel, or a restauant I would pay atention as many people do follow the ecommendations.

Agreed.

Long gone are the days when one had expert restaurant reviewers in every major city who dined anonymously, usually multiple times, before writing a review, and against whose informed opinions one could calibrate one's own preferences over time.

Instead we have the likes of TripAdvisor and Yelp, which are not only subject to manipulation but where anyone can post regardless of their knowledge or motivation. Zagat at its best wasn't a whole lot better. Guide Michelin is indeed useful, but I don't think they're gonna be dining at Pierrot du Lac anytime soon.

We've heard only good things about this restaurant from discriminating, well-traveled friends and look forward to eating there the next time we have a special occasion.

I don't see much point in posting on TripAdvisor about restaurants locally for quite other reasons: with the exception of Gossip's and, on occasion, Tabarka the best cooking going on at Lakeside is in places that aren't really restaurants by gringo standards: great guisados at gordita and taco stands and the flour tortilla/burrito place on the carretera, posole at Cenduria Elba, carne en su jugo at El Zapote, etc.

[quote="brigitte"]Trip advisor can be useful if you go to a city you do not know but as a rule we do not read it either especially if we want to go out in Ajijc...
I have heard people I respect say it was good so we will try it when we get back and judge for ouselves.

The only guide I trust for restaurants is Michelin in France on French food.  Most of the other guides can be manipulated too easily. Zagat is another gui I have no use for.

I do look up hotels sometimes on trip advisor but always take he reviews with a grain of salt.
This said if I were in the business and have a hotel, or a restauant I would pay atention as many people do follow the ecommendations.
[/quote]


In essence, what you,  Brigitte,  are saying is that: It's not that I' am French  But, .........Only French establishments .......... lol.

Any Restaurant - worldwide - that gets  THE  well deserved  &  very difficult Honor of achieving & receiving a Michelin star, whether it's a 1, 2,
or 3  is most amazing and well deserved and, unfortunately, French restaurants are no longer the creme de la creme. Sad but, true.

OK I ate there a month or so  ago . Yes very good restaurant. Good service. Good Food. Lovely grounds with the trees with lights in them.  But not worth the money in my opinion. Not as good value as the old French restaurant next to LCS which is gone. My wife agrees with me and  she went for lunch with friends once and it was all fixed price with 95P drinks. Well to be fair and I want to make sure this is understood. It is a very good restaurant just out of my price range and I prefer Ninette for the money. I would like to have a French restaurant succeed in Ajijic but not sure this is the one at least for me.Others may disagree but I really think prices have to come down but hey if you got the money knock yourself out and enjoy.  My only complaint is price everything else is fine.  Very pleasant grounds and music to enjoy while eating.

Z

They heard you wanted a reservation for two Neil and that's all it took (you know how the French are about surrendering).....  

Thanks Kevin - didn't know I had that much power! Without commenting on food quality or service since we have never been there, there is still no question in my mind that they were manipulating their ratings.

Yes, part of Alain´s rants on TOB was that he had made the restaurant #1 in Ajijic in just three months. He clearly left in a snit.

Jajaja! Was that what that was all about??? Oh my.

"Alain" certainly did some serious drive-by damage. I never got a chance to eat there, alas.

I have to take back and apologize for casting aspersions on cheenagringo's conspiracy theory re that restaurant and its reviews on TripAdvisor. Virtual PUBLICISTS exist! Evidently you were right, I was wrong, and I stand corrected. Thanks.

Lady Otter Latté wrote:Yes, part of Alain´s rants on TOB was that he had made the restaurant #1 in Ajijic in just three months. He clearly left in a snit.

What a little bitch that Alain guy is.Owner of Mexico's largest "French speaking newspaper",who knew newspapers could speak...

He certainly did himself no favors by the way he came across on TOB.

viajero wrote:

Lady Otter Latté wrote:Yes, part of Alain´s rants on TOB was that he had made the restaurant #1 in Ajijic in just three months. He clearly left in a snit.

What a little bitch that Alain guy is.Owner of Mexico's largest "French speaking newspaper",who knew newspapers could speak...

She was pretty pretentious even "sumidos" for a French food merchant. Eh

Trip Advisor Reviewers Blackmail Hotels

Axixic:

Thanks for the link! No question this is a two way street with some hotels or restaurants encouraging customer to write positive reviews and some travelers attempting to get the upper hand for their own benefit! Not trying to place myself on a pedestal but I can honestly say that I have never been encouraged to write a review nor have I written a positive review in the hopes of reaping some benefit. With 201 reviews, I will stand behind the integrity of everything I have written: http://www.tripadvisor.com/members-reviews/324neilc

Sometimes trip advisor is handy. If we would have looked at it we would have known that the Tango like restaurant we ate at in San Cristobal was a tourist rip off but on the other hand we might not have gone to the middle eastern restaurant which we really liked for veggie food as it did have some bad reviews. So what does one do when traveling in Mexico to separate the duds other than traveling friends opinions?

Z

Certainly not foolproof but I put a good deal of weight on the profile of restaurant reviewers. If one holds their cursor over the member name, a box will appear that gives an overview. I look at the age, the relative level of travel experience and most of all the graphic which shows a "review distribution" of the number of reviews in each rating category. Also look at where the member is from as member reviewers from certain States in the US seem to generate more negative reviews. When one does this, you can identify those who believe everything to be excellent because they are on vacation or the ones who tend to be negative. We usually run through the ratings before we visit a new area and then make a point of trying to go by to check out the restaurant and the menu before we make up our minds.

As for, hotel reviews, my process is a bit different. Since we know someone who makes a living taking staged hotel photos and hearing his tricks, I put greater weight on visitor photos since they are taken by other travelers. For booking Mexico hotels, I often use Booking.com and I also read the reviews on that site. Probably our most critical points on hotels would be comfort of beds and noise. From there I look for details on parking, proximity to a variety of restaurants, availability of a spot outdoors to sit and relax and comments on cleanliness. We tend to ignore amenities like spas, swimming pools, room service, etc since we are always on the go and rarely utilize these extras.

It is reopening at Casa 3 Leones on Thursday , under a different name.

St. Remy du Lac

Thanks, I received an e-ail from them and I deleted it and forgot the name...

Casa Leones is in Upper ajijic for those not familiar and is a B and B. So anybody eaten at the old restaurant location at the replacement restaurant?

Z

I have not eaten at the replacement restaurant in the old location. Then again, I never ate at the new restaurant at its old location. I am more likely to try the replacement restaurant at the old location than the new restaurant at the new location. Although, I assume it too will quickly be the best restaurant in Ajicic on Trip Adviser. Just a feeling I have.   

Dolce Vita
I like and cook Middle Easern food and Thai food on a daily basis and I rarely eat French food any more
. I usually do not go to French restaurants as I am retired. Once in a while I go to check someone out but as a rule I do not even bother.

I have eaten in most 3 stars in France and know many of the chefs as it was part of my job to go and eat there and I had a nice expense account I had some incredible experiences in these places but you can have equally great experiences in a little place somewhere in Hong Kong or Thailand or many other places. It is just different and a lot easier for your system.
I personnally love very spicy food so French is not what I chose to eat but the do have some fabulous dishes as well..The top is what you like not what the reviews say.