Crepes de Paris — Restaurant in Pasadena

Man, I wanted to love this place. Cozy little hang-out with a nice patio, the way Americans are supposed to think french cafés look like.

My wife and I went for the breakfast offer - two eggs with hash and bacon. Big mistake. One should not eat american breakfast in a french café. The eggs were ok - swimming in cheap oil, the hash and bacon as well, far from being crisp. The marmelade came in the classic american one-star-hotel plastic portions. Sorry, there is so much potential. I am really really (really!) far from being a racist, i love the mexican people and their culture.

If I ran an authentic french cafe, I would possibly look for an alternative. Would I go again? Possibly not - but that's because I am not a big sweet eater. Some one wrote "better crepes than Paris". I doubt it.

Thanks for reading my comment. Now, if you are curious enough about my "rating scheme", here's "the moment of truth. I am a music photographer who travels the world with the worlds greatest musical talents (Michael Jackson, AC/DC, Rolling Stones or Rammstein, to name a few) for almost 40 years. When being asked "where do you live" I tended to ask "in hotels". At my peak, I "shot" 250 shows a year. Will say: been there, saw and tasted it, and a lot, as I may say and much to the dismay of my doctor who is in my back to lose a few pounds. Quite a few, as I may add, which is why my wife and I walk ten thousand steps per day, where- and whenever we can - and explore a lot of new exciting places - places you may oversee when just driving by.

While I love to share my experience with others, I am sometimes shocked how people use their "power of word" to down-rate amazing places because of minor incidents (in my all time favourite restaurant Le Petit Four on Sunset Plaza the owner was even called a racist as he refused to toast the (free) bread in his packed restaurant - they simply do not offer toasted bread, as no French place does, as I may add). Or I just read "Chicken piccata so over-salted I hope the dog enjoys the leftovers tomorrow, I brought home most of the dish." Did they speak to their service? How could the restaurant learn that something was wrong when patrons even have their leftovers boxed to take home? As a dog owner, I want to take the writer and shake him or her really bad and say "you give over-salted food to your dog? Anyone with a bit of brain understands this is a horrible idea... I hope you agree.

So If I had the say on this portal, I would offer just to see ratings of my friends. So I would see what the ratings were by like-minded people. Sadly, I have no say. I try not to compare apples with oranges. A place like this simply does not compare to "The Ritz". At first, I assume that a restaurant is clean, they do not greet you with a gun - and they deliver whatever they promise. I do not give stars for things that are expected. In my rating scheme, three or more stars are awarded if they actually exceeded my expectation. Four, if I am sure I will come back. To achieve five stars, I must be willing to take a detour of thirty minutes or more to go again.

Thank you for...

This has been my "go to" place since moving to the Pasadena area four years ago. I love crepes and enjoy the location in downtown, it is a cute place with a very nicely set up patio (great little garden feel to it!).

I usually don't write reviews, but I had a really disappointing experience yesterday afternoon and I hope if the place sees enough reviews like this, they can make changes....

First of all, the cashier was like a zombie, with no personality and I could barely hear anything she said because she spoke so quietly, like she was in a library or something.

I asked for a crepe suzette, plus I had an 11 oz. Italian soda, and the order was to go. She asked if I wanted ice cream, I said sure.

I couldn't hear what she said it came out to, so I just looked at the register, it said $9.45. I said, oh, $9.45 seems low, did you include the soda? She mumbled something I couldn't understand, so I gave her $10. Then she said I owed several more dollars (which now seemed to be TOO much since the crepe is $7 something and I assumed the small drink might be $3 at the most).

I asked why the info on the register reads only $9.45. She just shrugged. She said the ice cream costs $1.50, plus tax on everything. I eliminated the ice cream. It came to $13.03. OK, whatever....

I was alittle peeved/stressed that it was so challenging to interact with a cashier. I am usually not picky about how much something costs and I'm a big tipper because I realize this kind of work doesn't pay alot, but it was confusing the amount I could saw on the register didn't match what she mumbled. Nonetheless, I gave her about a dollar tip.

Anyway, I brought the crepe home. It was missing the special sweet cream that was supposed to be included and it tasted old and hard. I threw it away. Oh, by the way, she should not have charged me tax for a "to go"...

I walk in and there is a minor child behind the ordering counter and when the mother looks up comes over to take the orders. Her two other children were sitting at the tables, but then began running to the outside patiio back and forth as the mother scolds them. The older child brought one of my orders to my table tilting the plate. I was afraid it would fall out of her hands. I hope all hands were washed. The restroom toilet was over flooded. The lady didn't pick up the used dishes or refill our water, but maybe that's the way it is. The music there is relaxing, but one of the kids kept switching the stations as the mother was scolding her to stop. The kids running around and switching the music back and forth was a bit awkward and chaotic. When I got up to get a box to go, the lady was eating/drinking water, and got a box for me without washing her hands as her minor child is at the stove cooking something on the grill for herself. It's a cute place though. The outside patio still looks inadequately messy after such a long time that the place has been in business. I regret spending my money there today. The week before I had been there, there was a nice young lady by herself with no other help, she was very efficient with excellent customer service, but because she had no other help I had to wait 30 minutes for two smoothies. This reflects on the owner in every...