Champagne French Bakery Cafe- Yes, A Brand New Guilty Pleasure!
Jun 10 '01 (Updated Jun 23 '02)
The Bottom Line Brand new location of this French Bakery Cafe. Delicious food, caring service, desserts and pastries to die for.
I don't know if I should share this secret with you. Perhaps if you beg, plead, cajole. Well. . . okay. I just enjoyed brunch at the Champagne French Bakery Cafe which is a large chain, but new to me. This location just opened a month ago, and is located in a new mall at
2202 S. Sawtelle Blvd, (just south of Olympic Blvd). They are nestled between a Starbucks, Marshalls, Linens 'N Things. My companion and I arrived at 10:00AM today, which is a Sunday.
I have to confess, I was scared. I had had a horrible brunch experience at Prebica (see my scathing review) in Marina del Rey, a few months back, and thought this might be a copycat to that miserable situation. But not a all. This was a totally pleasurable experience and one I am sharing with just you.
A little history and an excerpt from a note from the Master Pastry Chef, Jacques Pautrat:
I grew up in the Champagne region of France where I began my career as a pastry apprentice at the age of 13. During the past 25 years I have worked for some of the finest restaurants. We at the Champagne French Bakery Cafe are dedicated to providing you with the best food, service and an unforgettable experience in the French tradition. This chain has been in business since 1987.
Decor:
This is a very small cafe with tiny little intimate tables. The menu boards hang down from the ceiling with braided rope, and there are several white fans additionally.
You may also wish to sit outside and watch the cars zoom by or observe the passers-by, however Sawtelle is a very busy street, so that should be a consideration. My companion and I decided to sit inside next to the wall (I hate being in the middle of a restaurant; though I have never figured out why.
Our selections from the menu:
My friend and I were dying for brunch so decided to take a chance on this brand new little cafe. I decided on the breakfast sandwich which consisted of half a croissant, two scrambled eggs, delicious sauteed potatoes, a small bowl of fresh fruit. My friend ordered the eggs Florentine which was an English muffin, creamy spinach, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. My meal not counting coffee was $7.50. My friend's not counting her tea came to $8.95.
Service and meal:
Please remember, this restaurant has just been opened one month, so I don't want to be hard on them. The people working there were extremely nice and helpful. The lady behind the counter was so new, her hands were shaking from nervousness. I wanted to tell her "it's okay, I understand, you're doing fine", but didn't want to make her more nervous than she was.
I poured myself some coffee out of the carafe noting it was vanilla, but it was raspberry. Regardless, it was wonderful. I went back for three more cups, so it had to be good (I'm a tad wired right now as I had two cups at home so I could crawl to my car and get to the cafe). I received my breakfast ten minutes before my friend received hers, and I like to be polite and wait for the other person but didn't want it to be cold. I went up to the counter and reminded them my friend hadn't received her food yet. She received it shortly thereafter. Again, the cafe is brand new, so I didn't judge them harshly. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed the food, the service, the atmosphere.
Soups and Salads:
French Onion Soup, chicken and vegetable, soup of the day, Salade Nicoise, Salad Mediterranean, mixed organic are among the salads, several selections of dressings, and the prices for the soup and salads ranged from $4.95 to $8.95.
Cold and Hot Sandwiches include:
Fresh oven roasted turkey, ham and swiss, tuna sandwich, brie champagne, Croque Monsieur, grilled chicken
While we went to this restaurant for brunch they also offer lunch and dinner entrees:
Quiche Lorraine, roasted chicken and sauteed mushroom quiche, Spinach and swiss cheese quiche, poached salmon with dill sauce, beef stroganoff, vegetarian lasagna
For the little ones:
This is for kids 12 and under, macaroni and cheese or soft roll sandwich (turkey, ham & Swiss or roasted chicken). The prices range from $3.95 to $4.25. They are accompanied by a choice of sauteed potatoes or green salad.
Beverages:
They offer the usual soft drinks, apple juice, cranberry juice, lemonade, milk, iced tea, spring water, espresso, cappuccino, Cafe Latte, mocha, cool mint mocha, frappe (coconut cinnamon or vanilla), French roast to name a few.
Breads, cookies and patisseries:
French baguette, French roll, soft roll, bread loaves,
Madeleine, biscotti, almond, meringue, chocolate chip, lemon, raspberry, tiramisu, red fruit gratin, creme brulee, black forest cake, opera cake, cheese cake, chocolate bitter cake, tarts. I'm sorry I can't go on with this. It is torturing me, but hopefully you get the idea that the pastry items are to-die-for. My suggestion is don't even look if you are weight conscious. If you look and buy, well enjoy, and I'll vicariously enjoy through you.
Cakes and tarts can be specially created and personalized for you.
To sum up:
The food was absolutely delicious for brunch, but I'm sure it would be equally enjoyable for lunch or early dinner. Both my friend and I were quite pleased at the food, presentation, the caring service. I'm sure that it will be fine-tuned once they have been established a bit longer. The cafe was immaculate. I recommend it highly, and give it 4 1/2 stars.
This will definitely attract the trendy crowd, and perhaps families for brunch. During lunch hours this would be a great little cafe to go to on your break, or perhaps an early dinner before a movie or theatre. If you wish you can just pop over and grab a cup of gourmet coffee and croissant or other scrumptuous pastry. The only thing I didn't understand and perhaps it was a French touch. Why did I only get half a croissant with my "breakfast sandwich" and it was served with the eggs next to the half croissant. Oh well, it was delicious, so who cares.
Locations:
San Diego, Del Mar, West Village Shopping Center, La Jolla, Orange County, Carmel, Riverside County, Malibu, Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, Marin County.
They just listed Southern California locations on this menu, but I'm guessing they have other locations. I did look on their website, but it is currently under construction.
Notes
They serve breakfast, lunch, dinner but their hours are just from 7:00AM to 7:00PM so please keep that in mind.
Parking is street parking, but check for signs, or park in the lot in the back which is shared with Starbucks and Marshalls, Linens 'N Things
http://www.champagnebakery.com
Phone:800/561-6516 for questions or other locations
2202 Sawtelle Blvd.
West Los Angeles, CA
Thanks for reading!
Suzi
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Member: Suzi
Location: Southern Calif.
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Compromise-Art of slicing the cake so each person thinks they have the biggest piece.
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