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A small Alsatian-French French patisserie specializing in tarte flambe, quiche and great baguettes. Brunch available but call in for dates and times. C'est magnifique!
I usually go to a much better cafe, but it was closed today, so I decided to give La Petite France a try. The food was mediocre and the service was slow even though there was only 2 other people there during lunch (not a good sign). My sandwich was so mediocre that I've felt compelled to let people know.
I ordered a ham & cheese sandwich on a baguette to go. What I got was a big disappointment. I opened the sandwich to see one tiny slice of black forest ham and one tiny slice of cheese and lots of mayonnaise. On top of that, the baguette wasn't very good either. It wasn't crusty, but spongy....something you'd expect from a mediocre supermarket bakery.
I wanted a ham & cheese sandwich and got an overpriced mayonnaise sandwich instead. Judging by the fact that it was empty at lunch, I will be surprised if this place lasts to the end of the year.
We came here on a Saturday for lunch and tried the Eggs Benedict Sandwich, Ham & Cheese, and French Onion Soup. The soup was yummy and velvety. The pastry portion of the sandwiches was crispy and yummy, but the ham in each sandwich seemed overcooked and bland. The salads that came with the sandwiches were nice and fresh. It was a nice cozy lunch here - the ambiance is very open, clean and bright. A lot of tables to accommodate dining in. The only downside was the service. Only one server for all 10 of us that day and while she was very nice, she didn't seem very experienced. The food took some time to come out and when I went to settle the bill, she nearly overcharged me! I think the main owners are in the back cooking up a storm, but they should really work harder on the front lines making sure service is friendly and consistent. Overall a cute little bakery with a lot of potential, but didn't quite make it in my books. =(
I came here to buy some dessert with my gf today. I bought 2 cakes for my late night snack there. One was the cherry liquor creme brulee and another was a chocolate cake that was wrapped in a layer of white chocolate. The creme brulee was not bad, the sugar caramel was still a little crunchy when i ate at night, though some of it melted away already. The consistency of the creme was a bit too thick I think but flavor wise, it was tasty, especially with the kirch cherry. The other cake that I had was omigod, super sweet, to the point that my bf who has a pretty high tolerance of sugar stopped eating it. Too bad I don't know the name of this cake cuz I'd really wanna tell ppl to avoid it. There're still tonnes of cakes in the store that I didn't try so I guess I'll come back again another time to try it, and maybe this time I'll ask for the less sweet variety.
My husband and I also spend a great deal of time in France and a vast amount of time in patisseries and boulangeries. We decided to check out this place one day after driving past it for awhile on our drive into Vancouver to Granville Market on Saturday mornings (after an obligatory stop at Cafe Artigiano in Kerrisdale first). The pastries look quite beautiful... nothing that extraordinary... but we decided to order 6 different kinds in order to sample different fillings/flavors...etc. Nothing, absolutely nothing really wowed us..... and at $4 - $6 each, there should have been something more extraordinary. We were very sorry since they are a nice little shop in a nice location.... abet they are missing some ambience to their boite. Not much character or warmth. When you consider that Sweet Arts in Steveston (a little lower caliber perhaps) and Thomas Haas in N. Van (vastly higher caliber) are both charging less.... it may explain why this place never seems overly busy.
My husband and I stopped for lunch and were pleasantly surprised. My husband had a turkey croissant, and I had a salmon croissant with asparagus soup.
The soup was wonderful. It was a huge bowl for $5.95 and could easily be a lunch all by itself- perfectly velvety but still with some texture. My husband's sandwich was also good. Mine came toasted, and I just don't like warm salmon lox, so I would have not had it toasted had I been asked.
The salad that came with the croissant was good and there was a fair amount of it for the price. With drinks, our lunch came to under $25.
The cashier did not speak English well, but tried and was quite charming. I think that bakery customers were frustrated with her lack of English, though.
The food is as good as on my recent trip to Paris - this is among the best French cafe/bakeries in town. The review stating that the price is lower than in France is way off base though - this place is really expensive. But if you really need the best French croissants and desserts and are willing to pay for them, I wouldn't go anywhere else in town.
Sorry to disagree with the other two posters here, but the products La Petite France pale in comparison to even the most blan pastry shops in Paris. Linda Meinhardt does a better job!!
The tarte citron ( Ive yet to find anyone that does this simple pastry like they do in France ) is less than good at Le Petite France. The pastry is tough and the filling is nothing like the French tarte citron.
The other so called deserts are expensive and quite boring. They don't even make a macaron which every pastry shop in Paris does.
In any event, I spend over 6 months a year in France and I do know what I am talking about.
Sorry Petite France, but you'll have to do better than that to get my vote.
La Petite France is just like the bakeries and pastry shops you would find in Paris, minus the attitude. Ann and Christian have created the most excellent place to have croissants, cafe, pastries, lunches and brunches outside of Paris. (I know, I lived in France for 7 years). The croissants are always perfect, the cafe hot and rich and the specialty desserts well worth the money. (which is still less than you would pay in France for the same thing) They use only prime ingredients: chocolate, pure butter, cream etc. Christians talent as a baker shows with everything he creates. They are works of art and divine to eat too! Highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a special cake for a special event, a couple of pastries for an evening or just a cafe and croissant to start the weekend off right. They even have "choucroute" certain times of the year!
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