C'est La Vie Bistro — Restaurant in Northborough

My wife and I had breakfast at C'est La Vie Bistro on Feb 21, 2025. It was our first visit to the establishment and we were excited to go because we had heard good things about the place. We were greeted cordially by the hostess and had a short wait while a table was readied.

The decor is "antique store and yard sale Bohemian chic" - all mismatched furniture, decorations, cutlery and plates on a roughly French/Continental theme. Some might call it "whimsical". It's fun if you're into that sort of thing.

Our server greeted us and took our orders efficiently. This is where things began to go down hill.

My eggs Benedict looked impressive - two large poached eggs with ham, sliced pork belly and Hollandaise sauce heaped on a split croissant. The accompanying red potatoes looked good as well.

Pros: The eggs were poached perfectly. Somehow the whites of the eggs had a light, fluffy texture as if they were whipped, which was interesting. The yolks were appropriately runny. The red potatoes were also cooked perfectly, firm but not overly so, and the sauteed peppers and onions with them made the potatoes taste delicious.

Cons: The pale yellow Hollandaise was thin, almost watery, and besides a mild taste of lemon, had little flavor. The ham was run-of-the-mill sliced deli ham. There was a lot of it but it really didn't taste like anything special. Just plain old deli ham. I missed the smokey/salty flavors of the more common Canadian bacon The pork belly added a nice chewy texture to the dish but again it had very little flavor of its own. It didn't add anything to the dish other than texture. If the pork belly had a more robust flavor - say a bit of apple wood smoke, the deli ham could be omitted and the pork belly's flavor and texture would have really made the dish interesting. The sweetness of the croissant tended to dominate the other flavors. You can substitute an English muffin for $1.75 more. Why an English muffin should cost more than a croissant is a puzzle to me.

Overall, the dish was pleasant enough but nothing exciting or exceptional and lacked flavor. For the price ($17.00), and based on the reviews of the place I had seen/heard, I expected more.

My wife had the Belgian Waffle

Actually, she had less than half of a Belgian Waffle. The portion served looked to be about half the size of a typical Belgian Waffle and the batter hadn't fully filled the waffle iron. It was a disappointing sight, especially considering the price ($11.00).

The outside of the waffle was dark brown, almost burnt looking. The inside was very soft, almost as if it was under cooked. The flavor was nice. There just wasn't very much of it to eat. The texture was pleasantly chewy but also oddly insubstantial. This is not a waffle that will fill you up, although it could be a nice appetizer/side.

The Bistro offers several topping options for the waffle at an additional $1.75 each. This includes maple syrup - yes we were charged an additional $1.75 for approximately 3 tablespoons worth of maple syrup. It's not like syrup is an unusual or extraordinary topping for a waffle so I don't know why they should charge extra for it. At least we weren't charged for the butter.

And by the way, if you want cinnamon powdered sugar on your waffle, that's an additional $1.75 also.

The coffee ($3.95) was typical restaurant quality. Nothing special.

Our server didn't check on us until after we had finished eating, although she was present in the dining room waiting on other customers and I could have easily flagged her down if we had needed anything. She delivered the bill and handled the payment promptly. So, good service but nothing exceptional.

All in all, we were disappointed with the quality of the food, given the restaurant's reputation and thought that the prices were far too high for what we received. There was nothing about our visit that makes us...

I don’t ever go full-Karen, but this time I will only because of the cost-to-quality ratio being so poor. Cliff notes service was unfriendly, food was consistently undercooked, silverware was dirty, dishes have fancy french names but food did not live up to the price tags.

We arrived Sunday morning and simply asked for available outdoor seating like a normal person would. The hostess asked if we made a reservation or called ahead. We told her no, and she scoffed and told us to go to the picnic table outside. The waitresses weren’t rude, but they all seemed unpleasant. The silverware was dirty and needed to be replaced (we checked thoroughly to make sure it wasn’t just normal silver tarnishing). The food was priced as a high-end French cuisine restaurant. What we got was a (single) plain Belgian waffle that was still raw in the center for $12. French toast was good, but only two small slices for $15, and the maple syrup is $2 extra for each dish. The main dishes were the worst part. $21 for the steak au poivre which translates to “pepper steak.” I got a salisbury steak near-equivalent as a sandwich. The description mentioned a baguette at the end suggesting it on the side. There was no mention of it being a sandwich. The side salad was a fancier mix, but had no dressing on it and the lettuce itself was more bitter than the onion. So much it almost burned my tongue. I like to finish all the food on my plate as a habit, but I refuses to stomach such a bitter and plain dish of lettuce. The eggs a la king was served with egg whites still slightly clear (uncooked). It was also supposed to come with sweet potato latke. We were served a poorly mashed sweet potato on the bottom of the dish. Hollandaise sauce in the crepe was way too vinegary, had a stomach ache afterwards. Based on so many food poisoning reviews, possible the sauce was spoiled but not sure.

If you’re looking to just switch up your regular breakfast spot, or are more concerned about the ambience than the food, you might enjoy the casual brunch experience there. But the decor is a typical shabby chic you could find...

Food: 4/5 Service: 5/5 Atmosphere: 4/5

Food Summary: The eggs Benedict was delicious. Wasn’t super psyched about the up charge for an English muffin, considering that that’s how I’ve always understood that and eggs Benedict comes. The prices of eggs lately isn’t helping either. So overall food was delicious, but the expense was quite high. I did get a mocha latte, hot, which was delicious, but also very expensive coming out to a total of about seven dollars or more. I guess that’s exactly what you expect nowadays when you go out anywhere, however, I miss the old days and maybe some of the diner settings that come off a bit more affordable to me. My wife got an Omelette and filled it with veggies under the build your own option. In retrospect, maybe selecting an omelette from the menu direct is a better choice considering that each item added was an up charge. Again, adding to the overall expense.

Service Summary: As we arrived, we came in the back door and we’re greeted by everyone that works in the restaurant from the young lady, making crêpes to the gentleman making smoothies. When we reach the host to stand the young lady there greeted us and sat at a table, the staff was pleasant and the service was quick to our table for both coffee and food.

Atmosphere summary: What I will say about the atmosphere is it’s very quintessential New England. An old style colonial building very drafty very eclectic and much in line with what you’d expect for a French restaurant based in New England. I only gave this a four out of five because I think they probably could’ve put on the heat just a little bit. These old drafty buildings in New England can be quite cold if there’s even so much as a brisk breeze outside.

Overall, a very good experience, and next time we come back, we’ll probably look for more cost-effective options on the menu such as the crepes or maybe just a coffee and some baked goods. Definitely recommend if you’re traveling through or looking for a nice spot to settle in for...