I like this place. The food is good. The ambiance is nice, specifically the outdoor seating in the morning. I never sit inside, it's too loud for me. read more

Never disappointed by an almond croissant! And the iced pumpkin latte was pretty good too. When I first got here I felt like some of the workers had a bit of attitude. The place is small and wasn't sure if I should just sit, so I waited there.. people bumped into me but someone helped me after they noticed the long wait. We sat outside which was really nice and I ordered the lemon crepe. It was a bit too sour for my taste, but the food runner gave us a complimentary strawberry crepe and it was absolutely divine! Will go again of course. Just make sure you flag them down for service! read more

C'est La Vie - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Who doesn't love a good French Pastry? Once we discovered it was in downtown Sarasota and walkable from our hotel, we made immediate plans for our next breakfast. Their coffee was a happy surprise and was nice and strong, just how we love our coffee. The apple strudel and raisin roll we had on Day 1 were great. We got chocolate & regular croissants to go for our beach trip later in the day. The croissants were good but not the best I've ever had. They were missing that light as air pillowy quality I prefer. We liked this spot enough to return a 2nd day and I had a fresh strawberry croissant that was divine and their coffee was great again. Service was super attentive on our first day and a completely different staff on our 2nd trip was somewhat less engaged. Their pastries & coffee are definitely worthy of 4 stars. read more

C'est La Vie - Fresh Strawberry Croissant - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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What a delightful find just a couple blocks from our hotel! We love French pastry (is there a person alive that doesn't?) and thought it would be a great place to grab a coffee and some breakfast. We were right, it was. In fact we went both mornings we were there. Our first morning we drooled at the case of real French pastries before being seated. Coffee was strong and plentiful - as coffee is supposed to be. The menu was complete with French breakfasts, crepes, fancy egg dishes, etc but we were zeroed in on pastry. I had the apple strudel and my wife had the raisin roll. Both fabulous. Our server was attentive and kept our cups filled. I got a chocolate croissant to eat later and it was amazing. Our second experience good as well but our server was a little less attentive and our coffee cups ran dry a couple times. But the food? Amazing. It's so nice to find real French pastry in Sarasota! read more

This place was not only adorable but so delicious!!!!! Go and enjoy everything about C'est La Vie. read more

C'est La Vie - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Crepes galore with so many sweet and savory options. Chose to sit outside with full service available under a quiet table with an umbrella. Service was efficient. read more

Food and service always spot on. Love the croissants and jams. Best to arrive early for breakfast due to space.

I had an unfortunately mediocre experience here. Several orders at our table were messed up (coffee came hot when ordered iced, wrong sides with dishes, wrong preparation), and when I received my omelet, it was so dry and flavorless. Even the side salad was rather disappointing. I can say that the outside seating is nice, but also dangerous as they have a few chairs seated right on the edge of the curb, which is on a pretty busy street. read more

I stopped for breakfast at C'est La Vie today and was struck by the quality of the food, it was excellent. The croissants were perfect. Everything one would expect from a French bakery, crisp on the outside, light and buttery on on the inside. I highly recommend this establishment and I know I will be back soon. read more

Just passable. Not very French - as if the owners have never been to France or a French style cafe. Food prepared with no care, very similar to a Waffle House. Side salad consisted of romaine topped with corn. I wouldn't even eat those leaves as served in any style restaurant. Slop bucket and rags in cart right in the middle of sidewalk seating area - yum! The chairs were spot on though. read more

I really really want to love this restaurant. It's got a great location and the idea of the French food at an outdoor cafe is so enticing. But French omelets are not supposed to be overcooked slabs of browned egg with the forgotten cheese on top. When you order a croque monsieur it should be hot and bubbly a freshly made, not warmed over, and when you get bread at a bakery it should not be stale. when you order romaine lettuce salad it should not be comprised of the outer tops of the lettuce that are bruised, and normally removed. The food is just not consistently good I am sad to say. The coffee is delicious and the baked goods very nice. Some days you'll get a properly made omelet, some days you'll get an over cooked hockey puck. Do go and have a coffee and fresh croissant on a nice day. read more

Wonderful French breakfast. Great variety. Beat croissants I've found in the area. Their Cappuccino is an art form. Service staff is 5 and they're super pet friendly. read more

C'est La Vie - Sidewalk cafe breakfast here reminds me of Marseille - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

My favorite little cafe for any time of the day. Whether you want a nice classic French breakfast , a flavorful dinner or a perfect espresso to get you through the day then go to C'est La Vie. Their location in UTC and Main Street are both exceptional. The escargot is a must along with their charcuterie board. Their espresso and all of their desserts will make you come back for more. read more

C'est La Vie - Escargots - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Had breakfast here today the food was excellent. The service also is very good. Recommended.

Love this place! Honore pastry is the best thing I have ever tasted. Lol. Felt like I was in the south of France. Owners are very nice and hands on. We will be back!!! read more

I rarely leave reviews, but thought the behavior by this restaurant staff too rude not to. We walked in this afternoon to have a bite. We should have known immediately that service was an issue as the two ladies at the front counter looked right at us and said nothing, so we asked if we could just sit anywhere. After finding a seat, we watched at least four employees walk right by our table several times without so much as a nod. (They weren't that busy. There were several empty tables) It was like we had the plague. We were dressed nicely (without any political affiliation showing on our clothing). After watching the same people serving others for ten minutes or so while seemingly purposefully avoiding us, we decided to leave. The kicker was when the lady who was behind the counter when we walked in, and walked by us several times without a word, said "Bye-Bye" as though we'd enjoyed a nice meal. Unbelievable!!! There are several great restaurants in Sarasota. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be one of them. read more

Fabulous local place. Food is delicious and service was great. We sat outside which was nice. They have a great bakery selection as well as an amazing menu. read more

C'est La Vie - Omelet with spinach, mushrooms and onions. Huge! - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Funny how I never eat breakfast at home but seem to while on vacation. Had an omelette and it was good as was the service and the people watching as we sat outside. read more

BEST brunch in years! Authentic French restaurant, all staff speak French. I was with some friends and we went two days in a row because we wanted to try everything that was on their menu. The waiters are super nice and friendly and the service is good. If you go you have to try their desserts! 100% recommended!! read more

C'est La Vie - Avocado Toast - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Great experiences, fresh pastry, good lunches! Must try when you are in town. New items on menu are top! Bravo to the team . read more

The bread and butter served with dine in meals is to die for. Croissants, baguette sandwiches, paninis and crepes are all incredible. Don't forget to save room for coffee (such. Good. Coffee.), and desserts! read more

I really love the outdoor seating. We went for lunch, the sandwich selection is amazing. I had the Versailles and it was delicious! The potatoes were ok. My son had a ham croissant, he enjoyed it. The service wasn't the greatest, the waiter seemed very annoyed that we were there. I may go back to try some of the desserts, but Mademoiselle at UTC is so much friendlier and yummier. read more

Food is beyond excellent.. Very pet friendly! Will be coming back. Chicken and cream crepe was very well prepared. Apricot croissant was to die for. read more

I have been to France on multiple occasions and what I had to day would pass, in my opinion, for a perfectly acceptable cafe in France. Needless to say, I was surprised to see so many negative reviews. We had the following meals: Quiche Lorraine, Mediterranean Salad, Salad Nicoise, Caesar Salad and Sandwich Montpellier. Everything was very tasty - again, like you'd get in Paris or Nice - generously portioned and at reasonable prices. We took a few pastries to go and while we haven't yet tried them, the pastries on display in the pastry case all looked delicious. Some people have noted complaints with the service. We found the service at times rough around the edges, but generally fine, and at times great. It certainly had a French vibe lol. And it was nice to hear that all the employees were speaking in France; lends more credence to authenticity than having a bunch of American employees speaking English. We would definitely be back and recommend this place to others looking for a good French meal, sandwich, salad or pastry (I am assuming they will be just as good as the meals were) Edit: Pastries are generally very good, generously portioned and reasonably priced . Our favorites were the chocolate orange moose and the raspberry-guava layer cake. read more

I had my hope high.. was craving almond croissant.. and they looked sooo good.. but don't let the looks deceive u.. they were so stale.. no crunch what so ever.. I wish the owner understands how frustrating that is and gets rid of old stuff and not mislead people and sell it to them.. I wish I tried them before I drove off and I would have returned it for sure.. save your self the trouble and go somewhere else read more

This sweet place makes you feel like you are in a french Cafe in Paris. Food is awesome and service was great. We will be back...many times! read more

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Lots of French restaurants in Sarasota but this one has been here for year's. Always wanted to try them out and finally got a chance on a sunny Saturday afternoon. They have outdoor tables like a Parisian bistro. Unfortunately the only available table was in the sun so we left after a few minutes and came back about a half hour later and found a good table. Nobody greets or seats you so just pick a table and hope a server comes over. They have a large menu which looks good for breakfast and lunch but not sure about dinner. Many French style sandwiches, paninis, crapes, etc. I got the apple and Brie panini. Our server asked if I wanted salad or bread with it but noticed that there is a choice of soup. I guess she assumed nobody would order soup on a 85 degree day but I did. I just arrived from cold rainy Long island and I can't get enough of sunny Florida heat. The soup ended up the best part of the meal. It was a potato leek soup, authentic French. The panini was very good. The other item we ordered was one of the specialty salads. The tomatoes we're pale, not good and the salad was lame. The prosciutto was very good but the turkey was deli meat. The other toppings pickled heart of palm and asparagus were from a jar. Not a terrible salad just mediocre. Overall I liked the ambience and choice of French dishes but service was not good. That being said I would go back again and try some other French dishes. read more

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We had dinner at C'est La Vie last night with some friends. We got there at 6:30. Our soups, salads and drinks were delivered within 15 minutes but we did not get our entrees until literally an hour and a half later. Our waitress kept apologizing and eventually the manager came by and we complained to him about the wait. He said well everybody came at once and they were having a hard time keeping up. We pointed out that when we got there there were many open tables and that several tables had come in a half hour after us and had gotten their food and eaten it and were now having dessert! He just shrugged and walked away. Finally our food came out and several peoples was cold and to top it off they gave one of our parties food to another table who proceeded to eat it so they had to make the one for our table again. I don't know what happened there but It was a bad experience and you would think the manager would have at least given us a free glass of wine for our inconvenience but he was just rather rude about it. It appears the place is just poorly run. The food was mediocre. One of our party had the salmon which was over cooked but cold. Another of us had the filet of sole which was also cold read more

Very good! We had some lovely sandwiches that were very tasty! Cute little place too! Recommend!

Amazing amazing food! So delicious and really fast service! It was a cute little cottage feel inside with great outdoor seating. Will eat again! read more

The woman owner/manager has no right to own a restaurant. She is rude to employees and customers. They have so many tables outside you can't but help run into her. The food is 2* tops read more

True French bistro cooking. Lovely staff and owners very present. Brunch menu quite large. So many options. Fresh omelette and delicious diced potatoes. Highly recommend read more

Such a lovely and truly authentic dinner here. Our table started with French onion soup, escargot, and a caprese salad. All delicious! Dinners were lamb stew, salmon, and Branzino. All wonderfully plated and great tasting. The best is dessert! We went in and picked from the case. We had a brownie and Napoleon. Absolutely out of this world. Paired with a beautiful outdoor ambiance. read more

C'est La Vie - French onion soup - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Came to this cafe two times. Both times food was great but service was HORRIBLE. First time was 12/19/2020 This experience was forgivable. Food was great as stated above, ordered 2 drinks, 2 pastries, 1 crepe. I don't mind slow service especially when there is only one server for multiple tables (there were at least 3 others around us), but I don't think it is right to have the customers ask for water 3x before providing it. But again, it was a forgivable situation and we decided to give them another try. Second and LAST 12/21/2020 Went inside the restaurant and was told to sit anywhere we wanted. We sat on the same table we had 2 days ago A gentleman wearing glasses gave the menu and silverware and NEVER CAME BACK. But it was fine, maybe he was just giving us some time. Then 2 other tables got sat and got their menus and drink orders taken by the same gentleman. The gentleman that gave us our menus took care of the new tables and just kept passing by us , the female server (that took care of us 2 days ago) kept walking pass us as well. When my boyfriend informed me that we've been waiting for 16 minutes that's when we started looking around and saw tables received their drinks before we even ordered ours. Both my boyfriend and I worked in the service industry before. I do still work part time at my serving job. We are both very lenient and chill when it comes to these things especially when we see the server is in the weeds. We usually even tip above 20%. WE KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE IN THEIR SHOES. How can you walk pass a table that's literally on the side of the path you take to get to the other tables? We were literally in the middle of the other tables. I never imagined my first Yelp review would be negative. We love supporting small businesses especially during tough times, but this is one business we would never give another chance. I don't mean to come off as a "Karen" (hello to fellow servers) and I feel bad even posting this. Sadly this business needs better service. Food was great that is where the one star is going to. read more

Very good. If you like savoury crepes than this is the place to go. Outdoor seating. Great staff.

Ah.. The French restaurant and I... We're pals! What a great spot downtown in Sarasota, great placement, love the colors, and a great setup for outdoor seating! Dog friendly, people Friendly and foodie friendly! A sprawling 2 sided menu with everything from a multitude of coffees to crepes, omelettes, standards like croque monsieur (and croque madame!), Patisseries, croissants, and just wow! So many options, but not too many, just so you don't get lost! Attentive and perky wait staff, and oh yeah... de-freaking-licious food! A started it off with a cafe au lait, and little miss started it off with a chocolat Chaud. We ordered for little miss the dulce de leche crepe with almonds, and I ordered the crepes Savoyarde. The Savoyarde was stuffed with prosciutto, potato, a tangy creme and topped with raclette. Holy flavor explosion! The crisped but still chewable prosciutto wrapped in a perfect white crepe and the richness of the raclette was out of this world! This is a must try! read more

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Lovely place, and delicious food, pastries are to die for and can't recommend it enough!

4 stars only because it took 15 minutes to be greeted, not sure if dealing with a customer but atleast get waters started... other than that it was great coffee, great food. Ordered a chicken crepe that tasted delicious and a potato crepe that honestly tasted a little to strong but still decent. This place is very pet friendly as well. Our waitress Lucie was great she brings authenticity to the cafe and was a pleasure to have. Food: 4/5 Service: 4/5 (only cause of wait time) Cleanliness: 5/5 read more

I wanted to like C'est La Vie when I visited with my family on 12/22/18 for lunch. Their menu is fantastic you can get quiche, salads or baguettes. I ordered a quiche and it was excellent. There is also a good amount of indoor and outdoor seating. My family and I sat indoors. However, my dining experience was less than desirable. Our waitresses kept changing and one of the waitresses spilled water all over someone I was dining with. I will say the waitress apologetic but it felt like it happened because she was rushing. The final straw for me service wise was when a waitress stood up in the middle of the restaurant and held up 2 credit cards and said whose credit cards are these? (One of the credit cards was from someone I was dining with.) It felt like not only did we not get the attention we deserved but they hadn't even paid attention to whom they were serving. It also can get very loud during peak times. If you're party includes someone who is hard of hearing this is not the place for you. In a nutshell, good food but I don't suggest if you want good service to show up at "peak times". read more

How could you miss the restaurant that got the customers in side since before 12pm on Tuesday which wouldn't be the good day for any restaurant? Yup, I didn't want to miss the adventure so I went to check in side. I was impressed with the smiles of all staff here and also the pastries plus cakes in the fridge. I decided to sit down and take a look at the menu which is quite big for me. They have a big variety of food and a few selections in every categories. I couldn't pick which one would be my lunch today REALLY! I knew since then I needed to safe room for dessert, haha... I didn't have the chance to disappointed with anything. The restaurant was full since around midday until 1pm when I left. ( please excuse me about staying there for too long.) I put half of my salad into the box to bring back home and safe room for the sweet treat. I had Neapolitan today and I LOVE it! The crusts were crispy, the cream my part was very rich. What I love the most was the richness didn't including the crazy sweet sugary taste. If you love sweet treats and don't want to feel guilty with them. I actually lied myself about not guilty but I couldn't help I needed to eat them. I bet you that you will love this restaurant just like me. ;) read more

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