Renaud's Patisserie & Bistro — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

So you're reading a review for a dessert place... Everything looks like it's too good to be true. You just stand there, in front of the glass thingy seeing all the chocolaty goodness. Wondering if you're going to need to sell your liver to pay for the bill. You finally decide to take a second mortgage and try ONE macaroon. Maybe the green one, cause it looks cute and you read that it says pistachio on the label; But mostly because it has been screaming at you since you went inside the shop. Wow, it tastes like heaven, you get an urge to lick your fingers, but you don't. As soon as the last bit goes down your throat, you remember you haven't paid yet. You start planning out your escape so you keep your liver. Playing out the options.. Is he going to run, is she strong enough to hold the door closed? But you're thinking it too much and suddenly the bill is handed to you.. Dammit you think. This is it, and not in the Michael Jackson sense of the word.. Maybe a lung, cause you don't smoke and have 2. You take the bill in your hands and something happens. It's not crazy expensive. Its fine. You smile. Knowing everything is fine you order a few more, then a few chocolaty nutella goodness, then some french pastry. You get back to the hotel happily knowing, that stuffing your face with desserts is worth maxing out your...

. I am visiting Santa Barbara with my daughter for the weekend. After dropping her off for her appointment, I decided to get breakfast here based on the previous reviews. The ambiance of this place is nice. Most of the seating is outside and primarily for couples. The place has gas heating but the owners had not turned it on eventhough it was foggy and quite chilly. In my opinion, they should have lit up the heaters without the customers needing to ask. The place was packed with the locals many of whom were there with their dogs. If you are not a big fan of dogs, this is not the place to be.

The food itself was mediocre at best. I ordered the Renaud omlette with sourdough bread, side of fruit and a cappuccino. The omlette was overcooked- a sin considering this is a French bakery! The cheese filling was overdone (too much cheese). The sourdough bread seemed to be something you get in a grocery store and not something you expect in a bakery. The jelly that was provided definitely come out of a bottle!! Ireally am bewildered as to why there are so many 4 and 5 stars given to this restaurant. If I had to rate it on just the food I would give it a 2. However, the ambiance deserves a 4, so I gave this...

Recently we’ve found ourselves craving a good French bakery and bistro. Personally I blame @jackvelasquez because he recommended this one to us and we found it to be c’est magnifique! 🇫🇷

They claim to offer “A taste of Paris…without the trip to France!” and I have to admit that a resemblance does exist.

The croissant was warm, buttery, and flakey, and was filled with fresh and flavorful “copines.”

The quiche was masterfully created because it focused its efforts on a limited number of powerful flavors that left the palate in want of nothing.

Their coffee and tea offerings are not extensive, but we tried one of each and they were both excellent.

I can’t claim to have even attempted to resist the urge to sample their bakery items and felt particularly drawn to their lemon meringue tart and chocolate eclair. Both of them offered decedent flavors and the gold flakes upon the later made us feel quite bougie.

We tip our berets to you Jack, this was a great recommendation. 👨‍🎨

And that’s…Henry’s...