Paris Creperie — Restaurant in Brookline

While this place is cute and food satisfying, I debated whether this place should be a 3.5 or 3 and ultimately went with the 3 stars since the experience we had was underwhelming. Even with the Groupon for 4 ($52 for up to $70) I still ended up paying an extra $4 since we ordered expensive crepes and each got a large Frozen Nutella Hot Chocolate ($7). (In retrospect we should have gotten smalls or mediums from the sugar high that immediately followed.)

We went on a rainy Friday after Thanksgiving and I was hoping everyone else would have either stayed in or were out busy hunting for Black Friday deals. Unfortunately when we arrived around 1:15pm all tables were still occupied and my SO was still busy trying to find a parking spot in back. A few parties were wrapping up and we were so entranced by the menu to put in our order for 4, that we didn't have one of the people secure a table before ordering. Some regulars that sauntered in afterwards sniped the seat quickly afterwards so we had to awkwardly shuffle around WAITING for what seemed like an interminable 10-15 minutes before a separate table cleared.

Mind you this part is not a gripe on the restaurant/staff, but the incredibly INCONSIDERATE patrons - 1 gentleman sipping his coffee as if he were actually in Paris reading the newspaper occupying a corner of a table for 2 and sprawled out uninvitingly taking up the space for 3 other seats. 3 hipster early-20s adults who had LONG since finished their food when we arrived and did not finally leave until probably 45 minutes later, paying no attention to us and others that followed who were desperately looking for a table. They probably spent 1+ hour just loitering around chit chatting with no food or drink to finish. There's a special place in hell for those individuals. Albeit this would be fine if the restaurant wasn't jam packed... I know it's not hospitable to ask patrons to leave perhaps some signage about being mindful of other patrons would help? I was completely off put by the initial struggle to find a table in this charming (yet TINY) establishment, but did not hold it against them in the overall rating (if I did this would be a 2 star review).

Anyway the food itself was good (not amazing) and I LOVE that they have the monthly special crepes. My friend ordered the Stranger Crepes (Stranger Things) and they have movie poster theme to go with it. Me and my other friend ordered the Storming of the Basil probably just because it seemed like it was the best value with the voucher, but to be honest I enjoyed my SO's John Goudaman crepe much more. They have both savory and sweet crepes, I think the savory ones are definitely more filling. In comparison to Crepe Escape in Alaska food stand, I'd have to give them the preference. I'm hoping that if we ever come back, knowing what I know it will be more of a 4+...

Paris Creperie has some of the tastiest crepes in the area, in my experience. The crepes themselves are very thin (as one might hope) and pleasantly crisp in places, while still maintaining a satisfying chew away from the edges. While the portions are not large, they are enough to make a light meal of. That said, they aren’t cheap. However, the quality of the crepes and the fillings are very good. Service from the counter was very quick and pleasant.

The selection of both savory and sweet crepes are quite varied, but not overwhelming. Also, the names given to the crepes are pretty fun (like the John Gouda-Man, for example). Dessert crepes come in two sizes (regular and petite), making it possible to try variety of crepes without feeling too full.

I had The Affectation (Bacon, Goat Cheese, Arugula, Fig Reduction) as my main, followed by a petite Bear Claw Crepe (Cinnamon-Infused Crepe, Belgian Cookie Butter, Parisian Doughnut Glaze), and a petite Nutella Chocolate Crepe with bananas (+$1.69).

The Affectation had really great flavor, with the fig reduction cutting through the creaminess of the goat cheese and the smoky fattiness of the bacon. The arugula’s bitterness balanced the sweetness of the god, while also providing good texture. It was nice to have some arugula on the side as well.

The Bear Claw was my favorite of the two dessert crepes and was also very balanced. All of the crepes did a good job of integrating the flavors of the ingredients, while remaining distinct.

The cafe itself is nice, if plain. One nit I would pick is that when it gets even a bit busy, people tend to hover while waiting for a table to open up, which isn’t the most relaxing. Further, because the space is rather long and narrow, seating could easily become cramped. While it’s nice that it had a cafe vibe, the fact that the clientele seemed split between those hanging out with a hot drink and those dining, led me to wonder how often people wishing to sit and eat are left waiting for a table as others take their time over...

You find your way down to Brookline in order to catch a movie at the Coolidge Corner, only to find out that Call Me by Your Name has sold out an hour ago. So you talk to your friends and make a decision, buy tickets to the next showing and hang out in Brookline for the next three hours. You start by going across the street and looking at books. You buy an Allen Ginsberg poetry collection to impress your girlfriend. Ok damn now what? Someone remarks that they could eat something. But nothing too heavy, just a light casual meal. Ok, well how about that crepe place nearby? Bet. So we enter, and we aren't really looking to do a take-away, but our hands were forced since the place was totally packed. Packed with people with water cups and finished plates just sitting there and talking! It's okay when we do it, but not total strangers you know? So you debate about whether to get something sweet or something savory, and it's like "Hurry up the girl at the counter is getting annoyed at your indecisiveness." She wasn't getting annoyed, but if she was she hid it quite well. So we get our crepes and wow a table opened up so let's just hang out here and also get coffee. So we get coffee and eat our crepes and we hang out a bit and make fun about how overly French this whole place is. It's not like real French like Petit Louie back home, it's the type of Parisian French that's kinda kitschy but I suppose would be charming if I wasn't a cynical human being. The crepes were pretty good, didn't blow my mind like this one place in NYC, but totally enjoyable in the moment. Also a chill atmosphere if you don't mind being crammed in tight spaces with a bunch of people and are okay with feeling like you are perpetually in the way of someone. But yeah, totally, it is a place to get crepes if you're stuck...