Cafe de Flores — Restaurant in Paradise

Did not live up to the hype. I noticed this place a couple years ago and I placed it on my bucket list. And I recently saw it being featured on social media. I gave two stars for the decor.

If most of what you’re going to serve is crêpes including savory crêpes they need to not just be sandwiches with crêpes in lieu of bread. There needs to be some kind of selection of sauces such as hollandaise and cheese sauce. Maybe some sliced mushrooms, onions, peppers, breakfast potatoes, etc..

My friend and I shared and we settled on the turkey crêpe. It was OK. Not terrible. It tasted like a turkey sandwich, but slightly off putting. And we got a sweet crêpe with banana, strawberries, and Nutella and it was good, nothing really special.

The best tasting item in my opinion was the coffee drink. I believe it was called mystical fairy. I was very interested in this one and wanted to have the experience. It’s a pricey drink, and I knew that I was paying for the experience, but unfortunately, I didn’t get that experience. It was presented on a very pretty plate which had a pretty saucer and a matching cup full of I believe it was warm strawberry milk. On the plate that it was presented to me on, also included a little shot of espresso. And over the top of the drink is a blue cloud of cotton candy. You’re supposed to take the hot espresso and pour it over the cotton candy and watch it melt. But the espresso was ice cold. So when I gave it back and asked for it to be warmed up by the time it was returned my cotton candy had already melted into the milk. But it was very tasty.

The biggest issue was the staff’s attitude and the forced tip for bad service. The woman that was working there had a terrible attitude. Clearly did not wanna be there. I can consider that she may have been going through something or maybe she’s exhausted. But unfortunately, whatever it was it did impact our experience. I arrived before my friend. I was excited to be there, and I was taking pictures. But the vibe when you walk in did not match at all whatsoever the vibe from the staff. Based on the decor, I expected someone happy and bubbly. It was like deflating a balloon when I encountered her. She told me to sit at a table which I did while I waited for my friend. My friend came and made some very similar observations.

It took us a while to figure out that we were supposed to go to the counter to order. They do have signs on every table, but they were all turned towards the wall. They were on the backside of the sign used to display the table number. It would make more sense to have it displayed somewhere where the customer will see it. Perhaps put it on the unnecessary coasters that are on all the tables.

So we went up and ordered and paid for our food and my friend asked if we would be able to leave a tip after. The unhappy employee replied “that’s OK it’s included”. My friend and I have both been servers for 20+ years in high volume restaurants on the Las Vegas strip. So when we sat down, we discussed the fact that we didn’t like that. We didn’t like that we would not have been informed that the tip was included if we didn’t ask. And we didn’t like that the tip was included before the service. No surprise the service was nonexistent so I’m not sure what I tipped for.. What would motivate them to give good service if they already have received a tip?

I’m not one to tip for counter service. Other than bringing our order, she never came back to the table, she never came and checked on us, never asked us how the food was. We sat there for probably a good hour or so before she pulled our plates away. There was only one other table while we were there. She would’ve made more money if she would’ve given us good service and left the tip up to us.

It’s off my bucket list and I...

I have now been to French Crepes twice. I went the first time in November after seeing all the 5 star reviews. I could certainly see why during this experience. Everything was adorable from the Teddy Bear wall to the lip sugar caddies. The crepes were fun and delicious and the service was great. I like the frozen teddy bear espresso shots in the iced lattes, and I would have agreed with the 5 star rating. The only complaint I could make is using Hersheys chocolate syrup instead of a better quality chocolate.

It was so cute, in fact, that when my friend came to town recently, we made the trip to have brunch at French Crepe. My friend and I have eaten quite a few crepes together including the shop in Paris at Montmartre. I figured she would love the experience.

We came into the shop and this time there was a different person at the cash register. We ordered an avocado toast, 2 crepes, a sandwich, an iced latte and two Chai teas with alternative milk, paid about $80 for our food, put the change from $100 in the tip jar and sat down. While we were waiting for our food, the person at the register comes and tells me that she rang up hot instead of iced for one of the drinks and we needed to pay more. I was astonished that they were going to chase me down for $1.70 for a mistake they made (and iced price difference is not on the menu) and after tipping so much for a walk-up counter service. When my fiance went up to give her the $1.70 difference they asked what flavor he wanted in it, and he said none. They then suggested caramel even though he declined. A few minutes later, the cashier came to our table to ask which drink had caramel in it (none of them). It made me wonder what of the $1.70 was for the syrup we didn't order.

Then a group of five people walked in the door including smaller children. The adults went to order and had the kids sit down at one of the only two tables large enough for their party. They told the group that they couldn't sit there unless they had six or more people. At the time, there were only two tables taken, so not a wait or anything for larger tables, nor were they reserved. We couldn't believe they would make them push two tables together which would be kind of awkward in the space available. The group left and rightfully so.

We then got our drinks, two chais a and a HOT latte. A drink they now had to throw away that wasted more than the milk difference of an iced and a hot latte that they made sure we paid for.

We finished our meal and left, and the only impression my friend left with was how ridiculous the whole thing was.

Now I'm not sure I want to go back even if the...

I made reservations on a Saturday morning for 8 for the large VIP booth as soon as they opened. FYI- This booth has a minimum of 6 rsvp's with $200 min spend.

Reservations were easy and communication was always friendly. Upon arrival, we were greeted with smiles and full attention. All of our questions answered and we got to take photos while we waited for the rest of out party. So many cute spots to take pics while you wait for your good! From the cute outdoor seating to all the wall decor and floral bench just outside of the restrooms.

Decor is fun and bright, the perfect birthday, brunch or lunch spot. We saw plenty of couples come in and enjoy as well!

Everything is served in beautiful dishes and uber cute. My only thought is that if you're going to pay this much attention to details, I would recommend that water also be served in a beautiful pitcher with glasses or glass botttled water selections for the table. Instead of handing out Costco plastic water bottles. It really kills the vibe. ;)

Drinks and food came out slower as they got busier, and they got busy fast! Nonetheless, the service was excellent and friendly. One of my guests did have to wait for a very long time while we all had our food. That could have gone better, but again they did get busy. Everything was tasty, I had the ham & cheese crepe which came out simple with no garnishes, could use some fruit on the side to add color and keep with the theme or some other garnish. Everything else looked amazing. Some of the girls mentioned their sweet crepes were too sweet. Our drinks however were all perfect!

All in all we had a great time and never felt pressured to leave. I would definitely recommend and would go back.

Note- I did not see any children and I don't know if they're allowed since alcohol is served here all day.

Plenty of parking in the shopping center. Not...