Let’s start like that: sometimes is really nice dressing up a bit and have a poshy night. And also it is really admirable they changed the setting of the former Coco Mango Sofitel  bar, as in the last occasions we have been there it was really painful having a pleasant evening without feeling a bit too stressed (people surrounding your table, long queues at the bar just in front of the entrance, temperature moving from Luxembourg to Sahara desert after half hour there..). So this is a nice beginning.

Moreover: Ciceron Events are always extremely funny, Livio is a great host, cool people, old school music, business as usual, as we always say.

Now. The new L’Observatoire should have taken the good things about Coco Mango and changed those bad.

It was not exactly like that. The setting of the space changed, we said, yes. Now the bar is looking over the valley (remember, we are at the 8th floor and without fog you have the best view in Luxembourg probably) and it moved a bit farer from the entrance, so people queuing for getting their cocktails are not blocking those just arrived. The colors are always a bit flashy (and trashy) but this is a choice, and it is not bad definitely.

What definitely was bad was the service and the attitude of the night: the event was supposed to start at 6 pm (well, it is called “afterworks”) and have finger food from 7 pm to 9.30 pm – based on FB event description. We got there are 6.20 and we were rudely blocked in the elevator as the bar was not yet ready “and the event starts at 7 pm”. When we tried to say “well, the FB invitation was saying something else” we were replied pretty boorishly, again, and we were asked to wait in the hall. They allowed us, finally, to get in only 5 minutes past 7 …

The “finger food” was a small table at the entrance filled with sandwiches (mozzarella & nuts, salmon, cream cheese and ham) and sweets, a lot of sweets (candies, gummies, chupachups..). The food itself was barely enough for 15 people and 5 minutes before 8 pm everything was removed.

Coming back to us. We arrived then. We got our table and as we were still waiting for friends we wanted only a cocktail or a glass of wine. We asked for the list of drinks and the waiter told us “I am the list, as we don’t have one” – later during the evening we discovered that they had one actually….. Not something you expect from a 5 stars bar. Then it was remarked that we could order only bottles at the table – what? – and when we noted we were just two of us they offered us a glass of (bad) wine. We finally ordered a bottle of wine (from the restaurant list) and we continue drinking the same wine through the evening (4, 5 bottles) until a certain point when the “boss waiter” told us they finished that one and he proposed us something more expensive. I told him as it is not my fault that they finished the wine we were drinking, he should have offered us the other he proposed but at the same price of the initial one (15 euro difference, honestly). He said “I am going to check” and magically he appeared back with the initial bottle of Macon we were drinking… and we continue to drink again and again… Really? You want to cheat on me pretending my wine is over to propose me another more expensive bottle?

Last word of the night: overpriced. I can understand, as said, you are a 5 stars hotel bar, but you are not in the city center and people have to come specially to your location.. so, weren’t prices before not high enough? Cremant Bernard Massard passed from 35 euro to 68 euro… (yes, the bottle you find for 8 euro at the supermarket). Vodka passed from 100 euro to 150.. Glass of wine is in average 15 euro and the cheapest wine bottle is about 45 euro. It was possible to order a dish with 3 overfried frozen shrimps and 3 oily chicken brochettes for the nice price of 25 euros. Too much, above all for the shitty (ops..) service we had. Just say, the ordinary waiters were more than nice, always smiling and precise. The one that was playing the boss was more interested to have fun himself than to clients  and was bouncing around with very vain attitude.

I have to say. We had a great night, the new bar is better looking, but the price change was unexpected and non-justified and does not include a better related service. Maybe we will give it a second chance.

Check it out:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coco-Mango-Sofitel-Luxembourg/123002021108955