[Review #814]
2024-013
Food Order:
CHICKEN PESTO SANDWICH (oven roasted chicken, fresh mozzarella, pesto, avocado, tomato)
APPLE CINNAMON CREPE (apple, brown sugar, cinnamon)
DENVER OMELETTE (sausage, roasted bell peppers, onions, cheddar cheese) with MIXED GREENS, POTATO GRATIN
MINI FRENCH TOAST (4 pieces french baguette, fresh fruit, powdered sugar)
During my first year at my dream job, I was temporarily located in Rolling Hills Estates & our office celebrated Administrative Professionals Day by treating the admin team to a virtual lunch via Grubhub on a budget of $25.00. I wasn't familiar with this area, & of course I used Yelp to find some place within walking distance: The Crepery Cafe.
I picked up a chicken pesto sandwich with an apple cinnamon crepe for dessert. The sandwich was delish! It had just enough chicken & barely enough mozzarella to cover the bread, with tidbits of avocado & 1 slice of large tomato. The small mixed greens salad was fresh & plain with a small dose of vinaigrette... no cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, etc. I needed the crepe for my hunger to be satisfied. The crepe itself was a tad rubbery with a decent serving of brown sugar & cinnamon apples, but flavor-wise, it was tasty.
A couple of years later, I came back on a Saturday afternoon an hour before closing with my son, & we sat for more than 30-mins. waiting for our order. \(`0´)/ We were planning on going to the South Coast Botanic Garden after this very late lunch.
A pair of women ordered before us & a couple with a 5-MO infant ordered after, yet both were served ahead of us while we waited another 15-mins. before following up with our order. When asked there were other orders ahead of us & placated that it's another 5-mins. when it was another 10. Although my son had a snack at his friends, he was starving/hangry by the time his french toast was served (poor guy). Most diners are happy with their food, but are also dissatisfied with their s-l-o-w service.
Not the kind of lunch I would serve him, & the other kids menu options (PB & banana crepe, ham & cheese sandwich) didn't appeal to him; at least there was fresh strawberries & bananas. The baguette barely had any egg, which was probably more to his liking. My omelette was fairly hefty... definitely filling! The potatoes were thinly sliced & nicely baked. It was pretty good, but could be executed better... the base was too watery/diluted saucy. I wished I had a little bit more greens to balance out the heaviness of the omelette & potato gratin.
Moderate menu size with moderate price points... just right for this cafe. The dining room is fairly spacious, mostly 2 & 4 seaters, with several tables for outdoor patio dining. There's 1 unisex restroom to the left of the bar, not ideal if the cafe is busy. Not sure if it's because of the location or its menu style, the cafe is only open for breakfast & lunch from 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM daily except Mondays when they're closed. They used to open until 4:00 PM on weekdays & 6:00 PM on weekends. Still reeling from COVID-19? I've seen a lot of cafes & breakfast spots shortening their hours after coming back in 2022.
Now that our Torrance office has been remodeled, I'm not up here that often. M liked his french toast, but The Crepery Cafe doesn't compete with his fav breakfast place that serves a boatload of pancake & french toast options. After dining with me, he's been vocal about who deserves repeat visits & wanted to score a 3 (meaning maybe we'll come back... meaning I'll need to go without him... LOL).
Recommended: Denver Omelette (this one's filling), Chicken Pesto Sandwich (you may need a l'il extra sumthin' to be satisfied), Apple Cinnamon Crepe (could be a miss), Mini French Toast (only for the kiddos or as dessert for adults). read more