Le Comptoir, by François — Restaurant in Calgary

Have you ever dreamed of going to Paris and have one of those unique pastries and coffees in a cozy little cafe, with a beautiful authentic rich French design, where beautiful music flows all around you? A place where every little detail will take your breath away? A place where you can relax and feel free, with a friendly owner and staff ensuring that your experience is an absolute best? My second time around, this past June, while visiting from Montreal, was nothing short of extraordinary. I was amazed at how much this little beautiful corner of Paris has evolved both in design and food and drink choices. I would like to share with you, in pictures, not only the beautiful design details, but also what happens about one hour and a half before the cafe is opened, when everything is checked to be spotless clean and perfect, all the goodies are baked, the orders are prepared, and the trays and plates are filled to welcome you.

Review from my previous visit:

While in Calgary last year, I visited a few times Le Comptoir by François. Having known François from Montreal as a very successful and sought after interior designer with a keen eye for beauty and balance, who is also a talented trained chef, I was eager to experience Le Comptoir and taste some of his amazing creations. I cannot describe in words how I felt when I was there. From the flawless rich and sophisticated French design of the boutique and terrace, to the mouth watering culinary creations, the friendly staff, the Parisian music, I was mesmerized and felt transported to this little cozy corner in Paris that I never wanted to leave. The whole experience captured my body and soul. It is a taste of Paris in Western Canada, not to be missed and a must to be experienced. I will be travelling again to Calgary in June, from Montreal, and I know my first stop will be at Le Comptoir. The only thing I will have to figure out is how to bring some of those signature quiches and pastries back home. Stay tuned for pictures from my...

I will start off by saying I was very underwhelmed. The actual cafe looks wise, is beautiful. Very cutesy, love the outdoor sitting, overall fun location for the summer. However, when it comes down to the food I was pretty disappointed. The lattes were good, comparable to most lattes you’ll find in the city. The food though, was lacking. Starting off with the “gourmet” grilled cheese, it was overly crunchy sourdough (?) bread with barely any cheese, and dried parsley thrown on top with micro greens. That was it. Not sure throwing a handful of weeds on a grilled cheese makes it gourmet, but hey, i’m no chef. The babka was good, not $6 good though. Another important note, would be that there were bugs flying around and onto the food. Because the doors to the cafe are open, bugs naturally come in, but the un covered food then had bugs landing on it. This is severely unappetizing and honestly just gross. The service was unfortunately poor, took 5 minutes for the lattes to get to our table (standard) but another 20 to bring out our food which were already in the display case, just needed to be warmed up. So if you’re coming here, ask for everything to go and they will give it to you right away. It was nice to try once, but I can assure you I will not...

Definitely not worth visiting. Seriously so disappointed with this cafe, the place was gorgeous and the food & drinks were okay. However, the service was 0. I came up to the counter to order, they didn’t even said hi and just stared silently???? Not once in my life I had an experience where when ordering the cashier/worker DOESN’t say anything?!?! No hi, no thank you, no nothing. Once we’re done with the cups and brought it back to them, I said multiple times “Hi sorry where would you like me to put these?” A different worker behind the counter looked up and didn’t even reply. I don’t know what’s wrong, they can’t say they’re too busy because when ordering I was the only one in line and also the fact that I was the only asian and they seem to not do this type of service to everyone else kind of says something. I’m not one to give a bad rating to a cafe, unless the visit was utterly disappointing and I feel like they need to be held accountable. On top of it, they ask for 18% tip minimum, what a joke. (I came on a Saturday Afternoon around 1 pm,...