Café De France

If it weren’t for the extremely energetic and friendly woman serving me, I’d have walked out of here in a heartbeat.
I had walked by this place so many times, so I figured I needed to try it at least once.
I go in, try to find the most authentic looking thing, and to my disappointment it’s a saran wrapped white bread sandwich labelled «Croque Madame».
After googling what a croque madame really is, it turns out mine is nothing but a phony! It had cheese, chicken, and tomatoes. What one should have had was ham, cheese, and a poached egg on top served with Béchamel sauce. Lies! Lies! All of it but the bread, were lies!
They really should have used sourdough bread to make sure it was a COMPLETELY FAKE croque madame.
Don’t do it. don’t come here expecting French anything. You’ll get anything but.

Sub Meh,
The coffee is decent but the pastries, sandwiches, soups and salads are nothing I would try again.
Id rather eat at Arbys

Jumped in for a latte, almond slice and nanaimo bar. Pastry on the slice was a but tough but generous filling. Latte was amazing, creamy with out being all foam, great temp, and beautiful. Best latte i have had in a while.

No… just no. The pre-​prepared panini was devoid of any real flavour and the soup they were offering with it was a weak wonton soup… wonton soup… in a French café?!
I won’t be going back and I’m surprised it has stayed open this long if that is what they consistently serve.

The Japanese ladies who work there are attentive and fast. I’ve tried Café De France twice and tried a few of their items. The cauliflower soup and wonton soup were both bland. Their sandwiches are of decent quality though not the best I’ve had. There is just no wow factor to the food here. I’ve also tried the chocolate croissant and it was very stale.
The vibe of this café is a little strange, it is not exactly a very cozy environment but it is very clean and well ventilated. This is not a place to relax but more like a café for a quick meal.
I purchased a group on, $ 22 for 4 sandwiches and 4 soups so this was definitely a steal! I don’t think I would pay full price for the food here. I appreciate the free wifi here though.

Cute, average little coffee shop with a few tables. Food is nothing special, but will fill the bill, and inexpensive as well. Average coffees and teas. Had their croissant with ham and cheese a couple of times. It was ok, but didn’t like the hunk of ham — would have preferred thinly sliced ham, what they use is really too chunky for this. So it was a bit disappointing. May try again without the ham. The servers are friendly and try to be helpful. I will say the café can be a nice change from the chain shops like Tim Horton’s etc. nearby.

The place is OK, not bad for a quick bite and some coffee or tea. It was conveniently located around the corner from my hotel so I walked here for a few bites. It’s quiet and they offer free wi-​fi.
The breakfast is pretty limited: eggs, bagels, croissants. The buttery croissants complemented the tea well. The also have a few dessert dishes (tarts, tiramisu), and sandwiches as well but I only went by in the morning.

Had a croissant and omelet around noon. It was less than 8 dollars. There is also a 10% student discount. Amazing. The lady made the food right in front of us on a small stove and came out nice and fresh. The croissant was meh. I would venture to say that the croissant at Tim Horton’s a few doors down is of a similar quality. Nevertheless, breakfast for lunch never ceases to impress me.
FREE WIFI ALERT!!!
The café tries to decorate itself consistent with its name, but this is not the kind of place that will remind you of Parisian cafes. It’s just a family run business trying to be a little different while the Starbucks and other big coffee chains set up shop nearby. Don’t come with those lofty expectations and it’ll just be fine!

This little café is usually my go-​to place for morning coffee and breakfast pastry before work. It’s close to my office and the price is reasonable. Quality is decent for what you pay for. However, lately I found the service has gone downhill. It seems like they have new people working in the morning. I personally think the morning hours are very critical to a café, and they should have more experienced staff working then.
I’m writing about my experience this morning. As usual, I stopped at the café about 10 minutes before work to get my americano and croissant. There were a family of 3 in the line ordering. They were ordering made-​to-​order breakfast items from the menu (e.g. scrambled eggs or omelets) and coffee as well. I stood there patiently to wait for my turn to order. The server never once acknowledged my presence. After the family of 3 had paid for their order, they went to get a table. The server then immediately walked away to the back of the counter and started making scrambled eggs. I stood there for more than 15 minutes and got absolutely no service. Not even a greeting or some sort. Yes, I understood there’s only one of her working in this little café. However, you’d think she’d at least greet me and ask for my order before starting to make scrambled eggs. That’s when I knew I had to walk away. I had already waited for 15 minutes, and god knows how long it’d take her to finish making scrambled eggs.
It’s just sad. I really liked this little café, but the recent service I’d been getting would definitely prevent me from going back.

I always walk by this little café, never really interested me as I do often judge places by how they look. To me, it looked like just a mediocre coffee place to grab a quick bite.
Went in– ordered a small chai latte and a fruit tart. The fruit tart looked so amazing. It was glazed heavily, just the way I liked it– with a good fruit to filling ratio. The crust however I did not enjoy. Wasn’t really sure what they did there — but it was way too sweet for me to eat. That being said, keep in mind when I eat tarts– I first eat all the toppings, saving the crust for last. Not really sure how it would taste if I ate it as a whole.
The tea was good, but just simple bagged tea. I was however fairly impressed by the service. The employee working was busy making a customers order when I walked in, she still looked over and greeted me. Very small and subtle detail. Also, I noticed even though the young girl working had a heavy accent while speaking, I understand everything she said-​because she was experienced. She knew her different types of coffees, and teas and assisted efficiently with the couple ordering after me — who didn’t know what they wanted.
Will be back for lunch bites for sure.

I’ve walked by Café De France so many times, and have wanted to give it a go on so many occasions. So, I’m utterly gutted now that I’ve been there that other than its name, there is nothing French about this place.
Pastries and cakes were limited and unappealing. The spinach croissant I had was really a piece of reheated frozen bread in the shape of a croissant. Nothing looked fresh or made in store.
Although there was music and pictures of France and the Eiffel Tower, loud 90s love ballads and random decoration just didn’t deliver on ambience. Very disappointing.

There just aren’t a lot of places in town that have decent coffee, decent sandwiches, decent service, and free wifi that they let you use for hours with no hassle.
Enough tables that you’re never costing the café money working there (by filling tables & turning other customers & $ away, as is the case in most Starbucks).

Small place that serves Croque Madame and Monsieur. Didn’t order them, but the option later on would make me want to go back.
Other than that it’s just a small café that isn’t all that extravagant. Maybe a good place to study or stop by real quick as a to-​go joint.

Very nice, comfortable. clean!

I had a white chocolate cake and it was pretty good. I was expecting a swiss-​confectionery type of patisserie with an assorted range of petits-​fours. So that was a little disappointing.
I’d also bought some madeleines that were chocolate dipped and they too were ok.
My first impression so far is that of a joint that has nothing outstanding or memorable about it; save for the really sweet and polite girl behind the counter.

I buy drinks here, but it’s the pastries I dream about. I let others get in front of me in line, I pretend it’s because I’m indecisive. Really I’m just enjoying staring into the glass cases at all the pastries.
But I haven’t even tried one pastry yet. When I do, IF I do, it will certainly unleash a huge avalanche of NEED. Once I am certain of how good they are, I will not be able to stop eating them. So instead, I’ll continue to stare a little to long and lust over these chocolate and buttery delicacies.
The drinks are good, but standard. My lattes taste like lattes. My mochas taste like mochas. I recommend this place whole heartedly, but if you are as fond of pastries as I, then proceed with caution.

Better than any regular coffee shop, Café France puts a little Ooo-​la-​la, oh-​mon-​dieu into your morning. Or maybe just a good cup of coffee and a nice pastry — it depends how good your imagination is.
The baked goods and sweets are far better than any other coffee shop I’ve frequented recently. Chocolate dipped elephant’s ears, fresh berry cheesecake, tiramisu (which I nearly ordered only because of the s5 e09 of The Office… it does have chocolate powder!), as well as almond and chocolate croissants.
I kept it simple with a latté. Although I loved the sweet bread sculptures in the window (think a dragon fashioned from dough and baked golden brown), the espresso had a bitter edge. And not a good bitter.
For my next visit, I think I’ll order the house blend — coffee refills are just $ 1.05. You can pretend it’s 1982 with prices like that. Service is good, friendly, and extremely fast. Bonus points for a piping hot drink too! I’ll be back. And probably it’ll be tomorrow.

This is my preferred caffeine stop if I can’t muster up the energy to cycle over to Epicurean in Kits. The atmosphere is a little lacking but they do try and convey that patisserie feel. They sell little buns and Madeleines that are baked in their sister location in Yaletown. I wasn’t particularly enthused by their version of a chocolate and almond croissant, which a little too bready and definitely not buttery enough. Little flakes should cling to my lips. It should unravel slowly and awkwardly whenever you break off a piece. This was too fluffy and tasted more like thick bread than a croissant. Yeah, I’m all about a good croissant.
The coffee, on the other hand, was quite good. I frequent this place fairly regularly and have had soy lattes, house blends, café mochas, americanos… they were all lovely. So while the service is a bit slow, the staff is generally quite friendly and the coffee good.