Salade De Fruits Cafe - Vancouver

This year Fannypack and I did birthday dinner a little different.  We didn’t tell each other where we’re taking them so it was fun to see what we came up with.  It was also hard though since…we’ve both been to so many restaurants that it might be a repeat!

L and I finished shopping in South Granville. Before spending the afternoon at Granville Island, I suggested we have lunch at one of my old haunts – Café Salade De Fruits. I’ve been dining here since it first opened, back in the early 2000s. For this post, let’s listen to Les Champs Elysees by Chantal Chamberland.

Wonderfully authentic French experience with the French speaking waiters and even customers. The food is absolutely delicious, and if you think you will order from the menu, give your waiter a chance to tell you all the specials and I’m sure you will change your mind. The atmosphere is cozy and conducive to conversation without having to battle against loud obnoxious music. Here, it’s a place to be at ease with a good friend. The sitting area is quite tight so there isn’t as much privacy, but it’s like you are in a European Cafe—community-friendly. Pricey for sure, as you would expect for great French cuisine. Would go here all the time if I could afford it. But I’ll save it for special occasions.

This is a small but popular French cafe located a couple of blocks from Broadway. They serve a lunch menu consisting of a rotating variety of sandwiches, quiche, crepes and other items. I had their Poulet Cordon Bleu and Daily Sandwich which was steak). The food was tasty and pretty good portions for the quality and price. The service was quite friendly, and the staff took their time to explain the menu to me. I do have one complaint however: they appear to have forgotten to serve me any complimentary bread. Even though I had ordered more than enough food, and was certainly not left hungry, I still couldn't help but feel a bit jealous seeing all the other tables receiving plates of bread and butter. Bread aside however, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Cafe Salade de Fruits, and I'd highly recommend checking this shop out.<br/ <br/ Poulet Cordon Bleu $18):<br/ 4/5<br/ This consisted of breaded chicken breast that's stuffed with ham and cheese, and is served with a creamy mushroom sauce, fries, and salad. The chicken was quite tender and moist in spite of being white meat, and is very flavourful from the ham and cheese. The mushroom sauce was creamy and had a nice fragrance. I also really enjoyed their fries, which were thin and super crispy.<br/ <br/ Sandwich Soup $14):<br/ 4/5<br/ Their sandwiches vary; the one I had was steak. I'm generally not a big fan of steak, but I really enjoyed the version here: it was quite tender and juicy, albeit just a tad underseasoned for my liking. I really enjoyed the bread, which was nice and crusty, as well as the condiments, which included caramelized onions and mustard. The sandwiches come with either fries, salad or soup; I went with soup since the chicken cordon bleu was served with fries. The soup was a creamy clam chowder; I quite enjoyed it, even though it was a bit short on clams which I didn't mind since I'm not big on clams).<br/ <br/ Summary:<br/ Food: 4/5<br/ Price: 4/5<br/ Service: 3.5/5<br/ Overall: 4/5<br/ Recommendations: Steak Sandwich, Poulet Cordon Bleu

Unpretentious cozy little French bistro in town!<br/ <br/ Food is exceptional, and you MUST try their moules frites!<br/ <br/ The service is attentive without being stifling. <br/ <br/ We will definitely come back!