Fontaine Caffe & Creperie
| Address: | 119 S Royal St, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA |
| Phone: | +1 703-535-8151 |
| Site: | fontainecaffe.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11AM–2:30PM 11AM–2:30PM 11AM–2:30PM 11AM–2:30PM 11AM–2:30PM 10AM–3PM 10AM–3PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Kitty McCoi
Food and service were wonderful and would have warranted five stars except for the atrocious customer service of the manager/owner who refused to seat me because the second person in my party had not yet arrived. This despite the fact that she had seated an incomplete party immediately ahead of me (only three of their foursome had arrived). After waiting in 90 degrees to be the second party in line when they opened, she asked me to step aside "to give her a minute" and promptly seated all other parties. Even after that when the restaurant was only half full, she refused my continued requests to be seated until my party did arrive five minutes later. Her poor treatment told me how incredibly unimportant my very first experience at this much anticipated restaurant was to her. I would have been better off telling her I was a party of one and taking a table until my friend arrived. Instead she made we wait off to the side while half the tables stood empty. When I told her she was making a customer unhappy and that I would reflect that in my on-line review she said to do what I had to do. Upon revisiting their web site to post my review, I see they have now updated it to say that incomplete parties will not be seated at brunch. Since I had checked their website yesterday and even called to see if I could make reservations, that information could only have been added today and Im sure as a result of our interaction this morning. It is unfortunate that an otherwise excellent restaurant should be marred by such bad customer service at the highest level.
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Alice Wang
As a Francophile, Ive always wanted to try this crêperie. They have a good selection of both savory and sweet crêpes, as well as some other food such as steak and frites, mussels and frites, trout with rosemary and lemon, bruschetta with Spanish anchovies and tomatoes, and duck liver pâté. Since I had a sweet tooth when I went, I decided to try their Sundae Afternoon sweet crêpe. The crêpe is made with Buckwheat flour and is a sweet tooth lovers dream of chocolate and vanilla ice cream filled with bananas, walnuts, sprinkled with chocolate sauce and topped with whipped cream. The crêpe definitely satisfied my sweet tooth. Other sweet crêpes include: poached pears and butter pecan ice cream drizzled with cognac and chocolate sauce; sweet mascarpone Italian cheese cream with dark Morello cherries marinated in red wine; or caramelized peaches and vanilla ice cream with toasted almonds and peach brandy. One of their savory crêpes that I really want to try is the Parisienne, which is roasted herb chicken breast and ratatouille with Brie cheese. Sounds amazing. I also tried their mussels and frites, a good helping of mussels and fries sauteed in tomatoes, onions, and a white wine sauce. Yum! The setting of this crêperie is very intimate and cutesy. It has the charm of a French style restaurant and is a perfect addition to Old Town Alexandria.
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Adisal Mole
SKIP IT. Underwhelming. Long wait for drinks and food (ALMOST 1 HOUR AFTER SEATED!) Muddled, flat, forgettable crepes. We were a party of 4. A table of 4 was available, yet the hostess had to think really, really hard before seating us there. Huh? (this place doesnt take reservations) Waitress took a long time before she took our drink orders. Then even LOOOONGER time to take our food orders. And finally, ALMOST 1 HOUR after we sat down, we got our food. Two (savory, not sweet) crepe dishes were poorly put together. On both, the vinaigrette lathered the spinach brought down the whole dish, utterly flattening it out. In the Farmers Market, only the feta gave some accent. On the Parisienne, the chicken was dry and the whole dish was a victim of underwhelming execution, not too mention overly salty ratatouille. The trout was average. Crispy, but oh how salty it was. The one dish out four that was ok was the french toast, but it way overpriced. Well, its hard to mess up a french toast. Did I say it was overpriced 2 slices of bread with egg? The one thing that was good was the french fries. Lol, we anticipated v. e. r. y... s. l. o. w service that we added an order of fries, and it came out first, rescuing our hungry stomachs. AVOID.
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Ryan Springer
I took my wife there for Valentines Day, our first time, and it was perfect! She so loved it that I took her again this weekend for a pre-birthday brunch with some close friends. Once again, a resounding 5 stars for the food and service! Kyong Yi was so gracious in accommodating our party of 5.5 (Our 2yo :), for the surprise! 5 stars for location and environment: In Old Town, where you are already surrounded by an old European-esque feel, this little French Creperie is very much at home. A small comfortable setting which so reminds my wife of Paris! 5 stars for customer service: Starting with Kyong Yi down to her staff, I was very much impressed with the level of customer centered service. They catered to all of my requested needs for this special brunch, and more. 5 stars for food: Gluten free, savory crepes to match your varied tastes! Spiked apple or pear cider, and much more! It was all good! On top of my wife and I, you just added 3 new fans of your Creperie!
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Gretel Evans
I was not impressed with Fontaine. I found the crepes over priced and low quality. The crepes were soggy, and the tomato sauce they poured over it was extremely salty. I also left still feeling hungry which is not what you want after paying such a steep rate. The service was minimal and the waitress did not help me at all when I asked for suggestions. We were also crammed between two other couples, giving us no leg room. We also werent able to talk much because there was absolutely no privacy. They also refused to seat groups of two at the tables in the middle in case a group of four came in (which there were none). I have no desire to ever return here. Which is too bad because I had high hopes for Fontaine.
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Julie Williams
I decided to try the french toast made of brioche and was so very disappointed that the $14.95 dish (when I chose the sliced strawberries) was composed of one slice of 1/2 " thick toast and about 6 strawberries, sliced up. When I realized that I would be hungry an hour later based on the tiny portion, the owner/manager asked me if Id like to buy another order at $ 14.95....Somehow nearly $30.00 for two pieces of French toast seemed steep to me. Also, the owner nearly laughed in my face when I tried to point out that perhaps the dish needed a little more substance to it. I am a woman of average height and weight-- Imagine a 225 pound male trying to get by with one piece of toast. Not great....
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Paulette Paglia
This is 1 of my familys favorite restaurants. The savory crepes are fantastic. The pan roasted trout is my personal favorite. We all love the brioche French toast too. Salads are fresh crisp and taste of the garden. You can really taste, see and smell all the attention and love that goes into this food. I really enjoy their movie nights. They have wonderful cocktails and wine list. Service is friendly and professional. The atmosphere inside the historic brick rowhome is charming and cozy. There are a few bistro tables outside as well. Nice for people watching. This is a charming restaurant for any occasion.
