This was the farthest thing from French food I could imagine...overcooked flavorless omelette with American fried potatoes and a flat almond croissant made with too much butter so it wasn't even flaky. If you have a French restaurant and you can't even make a legitimate croissant, you've got problems. Plus, the restaurant and bathroom were dirty with trash all over the floor. I would never, ever go back. read more

Cute, casual, nice little restaurant. We have had both brunch and dinner here. They serve traditional French food. The croissants are amazing- it is hard to eat just one. The baguettes and coffee are delicious too. For dinner I had a red wine and beef stew that was very tasty. The outside seating is charming and inside has a small European feel. The service is always friendly. Recommend! read more

Great salads and crepes. Best lemon tarte I've ever had. Super service from start to finish.

I have been going here since around 2002.... went to school in the area and immediately found where the croissants were :) The staff has been pretty much the same and I ADORE their no fuss approach and eating right there on Main with good weather is a perfect time. ALWAYS get the Forestiére crepe - savory mix of bacon, mushrooms, and onions in a cream sauce. It really is so good. Pro move is to get the side of potatoes AND the side salad, because the flavor from the light dressing and the crispy potatoes with the cream sauce is so so good. Paired with a cappuccino and some bread service its a perfect meal. read more

C'est La Vie - Forestiére bacon, mushrooms, and onions in a cream sauce w/ side of potatoes AND salad. Cappuccino and bread service is the cherry on top - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Delicious croissants, very authentic! They're big, crispy and so delectably buttery. Dipped in cafe au lait, it brought be right back to Europe. SO good!! read more

C'est La Vie - World class French bakery! - French Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

A very nice French restaurant. We had a party of 13 and they were very accommodating and welcoming. The service was great and the food came fast. I ordered a sweet crepe with dulce de leche and it was very good, but maybe just a little too sweet. They also had lots and lots of yummy pastries. Overall this place was pretty great. No complaints. Thanks C'est la Vie! read more

The brunch menu is so good! I had the avo toast w poached egg and cappuccino. I've been to this location a couple times now and I prefer the morning menu vs dinner. The pastry's are so fresh as well! Great local spot and the outdoor seating is beautiful. read more

Delivery through door dash is great. I have always liked the food. But....i went in to eat at the restaurant 1 time and OMG it was the worst service!!!!! First it's not clean, tables outside are so slanted in the sidewalk that they wobble and any drinks or souls are practically spilling out. To get seated we were ignored then basically barked at to sit anywhere. That left us sitting with no waiter and when we asked who our waiter was we got a response of "oh, ya, 1 minute. That turned into 15 min and we got a waiter that clearly didn't want to be there. I'll definitely eat the food but skip the restaurant. Not worth the hassle. read more

Super crowded on a Saturday but all the employees are still nice and friendly! I got a Paris sandwich to go and ate it Al fresco at the Selby Botanical Garden about .3 miles away. What an epic day! read more

We stopped in for dessert and WOW! We had coffee with an almond croissant and bread pudding! Both were outstanding! I will dream about that croissant until my end of days... Super clean with extremely friendly staff! read more

Delicious omelettes with fresh ingredients. So many choices and reminds me of a bistro in Provence. The lovely cafe tables outside or u camps dine inside too! Definitely will recommend this lovely di I g experience. read more

I wish I could give minus 1 star. Not nice wait staff , making it unpleasant If you want to be ignored by the female waitresses and wait 45 mi utes for mediocre food, this is the place. also, the waitress didn't even know the menu. read more

You know? I can agree to overpay for your halfway prefrozen French quality pastries, but please don't make a face when you see that I didn't left a tip for my $42 to go pastry order for two. Then I realized I forgot the bread, went to buy some bread and I was asked if I had cash, "the credit card fee" blah blah blah. I said, well I'll come back another time then and left without the bread. Seriously, after spending $42 on few little pastries to go you're going to tell me that... That only happened to me on a little crappy gas station when buying a little item... So if you want european rudeness without the european quality this is your place... read more

Best food for breakfast or brunch within 50 miles! Friendliest staff, outdoor seating pet friendly, average prices and extensive menu! The bakery had such a wide selection of authentic French pastries. This local establishment has been there for 25 years. The pastries taste equal to those found only in Paris. I don't think you can go wrong with any choice selected. Sunday brunch has Mimosas and Bloody Marys along with other specialties! read more

Had a lovely breakfast outdoors at C'est La Vie. The sidewalk seating was very comfortable. The pleasant waitstaff efficiently took care of a large number of tables. The food was excellent and reasonably priced. We both enjoyed our omelettes. The bread and salad were really good. The only thing that could have been improved upon was the coffee. It was a bit weak, but was refilled cheerfully. This is a nice place for a low key meal. read more

Nice little sidewalk cafe food is decent unfortunately mine arrived cold and was hard to catch my server to let him know. I would try again.

Restaurant was not busy. We were seated outside by a very terse waitress. We were served coffee and a diet coke and then completely ignored. 2 tables came in after us and were promptly waited on and had their order taken. Wait staff was very aware we were there. We had been very polite to them. But, after the other 2 tables that arrived after us were able to place their order, and us being ignored; we left. I went inside and paid for the coffee and coke. The waitress asked "don't you want anything from the menu?" I laughed and said no one will wait on us. She didn't seem to care. We left and had a very nice breakfast somewhere else. The service is terrible and they are rude. The food is good when you can get. I chose to spend my money and leave a generous tip at places who appreciate my business. You can do better than Cest la Vie. read more

Best almond croissant in town! We love the ambience and their outstanding Customer Service!

Amazing food. Try the notdique salad and the Savoyards crepe! Delicious pastries. Beautiful outdoor seating. Cool AC seating inside. Friendly staff too. read more

Love, love, love French cuisine! This cute, little authentic cafe did not disappoint!!!!! Great food, coffee and above all delectable baked goodies :) read more

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

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My brother and his wife were visiting town and were in the mood for crepes. We decided to try this place and were not disappointed. We sat outside and were seen to speedily. The only downside is that the options for crepes were quite limited, for example, my sister-in-law wanted fresh fruit and they did not have any with the exception of bananas. But they really enjoyed their crepes with Nutella and bananas, and the coffee was excellent too. I had an almond croissant and it is amongst the best I've had outside of France. Next time I will try something more substantial from their menu. This place has the feel of a Parisian cafe, and love that's its right here in Sarasota. read more

Service and location are what you're paying for. Food is mediocre, which for being a French eatery is a true embarrassment.

I want to give 5 stars so badly for their delicious authentic food and enjoyable atmosphere but the service was just awful today. In fact, it was so bad I should take off two stars. One for the waiter never returning to our table and one for the embarrassment of taking my out of town family to a restaurant with poor service. My family and I found a nice table outside after visiting the Saturday farmers market (highly recommend). I enjoy drinking champagne and routinely order a glass to test before ordering a bottle for the table. Today, I order a glass of water and a glass of champagne. The waiter delivered our drinks, took our order, and never came back. We saw the food runner who delivered our meals but our waiter left me with an empty champagne glass, then an empty water glass, and then our dirty lunch plates. When I finally saw him, I had to wave him over in order for him to visit the table. I asked for the croissant he forgot and the check. He never offered to refill our drinks nor did he clear the table of the dirty dishes. This is not my first visit here and I know C'est La Vie is better than this! I will be back in the hopes this reviews encourages service improvement. read more

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

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Food taste perfect, the location s chill. Service was excellent, I would def go back for more

Delicious! We were looking for a place to have breakfast and We were excited to find this friendly, cozy, French restaurant in Sarasota. We were walking around and even had coffee somewhere else, but we're glad we kept looking for the right place to eat. Will be back next time we go to Sarasota. read more

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

Beyond horrible and disgusting experience*** I am going to only state facts and let everyone who reads this make up their mind and come to their own conclusion. Ate at this restaurant two January's ago and had a nice experience for lunch. When I came back to stay in Sarasota, my mom and I decided we'd like to eat at c'est la vie again for lunch. Got seated outside on their sidewalk dining area. Had a pretty inattentive waiter but honestly that's not even the problem. I saw other people eating bread baskets and being hungry after a cross country flight I asked if we could too have a bread basket. My mom and I ate the first top pieces of sliced baguette from the basket as normal. After eating our first piece, I looked in the basket and noticed there was something brown on the other piece of bread still in the basket. Honestly, I just assumed it was like chocolate morsels from a chocolate croissant so I picked the bread up to investigate up close. NOPE! Couldn't be further from chocolate. There was PEST DROPPING to put it nicely on our bread. I wish I was clever enough to come up with a ratatouille & French restaurant pun for this situation. Being a lady and also a small business Owner, I didn't want to call any attention to this situation. 1) my mom is deathly afraid of mice and would prob flip the table over and run back to ct and not look back 2) couldn't imagine how damaging that would be to this restaurant pointing out there was rat poop on the food they are serving while I was surrounded by an extremely busy and full restaurant. So I flipped the bread over but was absolutely sick and disgusted. Didn't touch my food when my meal got brought out. On the way home, practically gagging I told my mom that we ate bread that was touching other bread with pest poop on it and she puked and called our doctor to find out if there was actions we needed to take as it's clearly horrible for a human to eat or ingest animal or rodent poop. (Mind you our doctor told us to call health dept immediately and we declined). My mom instantly threw up being beyond disgusted by the situation. My mom called c'est la vie to inform them about the situation because they should be aware of this problem so it doesn't happen to any other customers. After an underwhelming call, the First Lady who answered the phone barely spoke English and only French and passed us to another lady. She told us she did not believe us and tried to tell us that the bread was their new sourdough bread which can be brown. I said yes, I believe it's sourdough bread with rat poop on it. We asked if we could send her a photo and she declined and said she couldn't do anything but will have the owners who are out of the restaurant call us first thing in the morning. The bread baskets were pre cut sitting on a table sitting in the entrance way: no wonder something walked all over it. The next day comes around, no call from The restaurant or any owners. So my mom had to call back despite being promised a call. She spoke to the owner who was equally unreceptive and unhelpful as the first lady. He said there's no way he doesn't have rats. But In the next breath he told us that he has had rats and pests problems in the past. He even said that morning a snake fell from the roof onto the floor. Once we sent the picture he tried to tell us he thinks it was squirrel that pooped from the tree. I'm sorry but mind you it was 2 pieces of bread deep into the basket: a squirrel didn't do this. We went this photo to our mouse exterminator ( we are from Connecticut and deal with mice every winter) and he confirmed it's pest poop. Which means on top of eating poop a rat walked on our bread. The owner asked for our name and said the least he could do would reimburse our meal. Well it's been 4 days and the owner has not reimbursed anything. Terrible service. What really is upsetting is that no one could Help us or take responsibility: it's clear it's poop by looking at the photo. If the owner simply said, I am so sorry. This has never ever happened at my restaurant. I will see it never happens again. I don't have an answer why it happened but reimbursed us after he offered us and owned the situation then it would have made the situation a bit easier to swallow. DO NOT EAT AT THIS RESTAURANT. There's rat poop on the food. The owner couldn't care less and the service is horrible. read more

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Fantastic atmosphere and food. The cappuccino and almond croissant were the best I've ever had. 100% recommend. Our waitress was super friendly and funny as well. read more

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

Excellent French restaurant every time for me takes me back to France. Staff is great food is always great and the desserts are delicious and incredible. read more

Food was Ok, very expensive, service was not so good. I don't think I would go again except for maybe takeout bread.

French bread is amazing! Unsure if it is the weather or ... croissants are not crunchy but do have a nice flavor. Plenty of sidewalk seating under the trees which is pleasant when weather and traffic flow align. Their almond croissants are unique, it appears that they slice open croissants and slather some almond type of filling resulting in a flat croissant which is not ideal for me. Probably some cost savings in that practice.... Other food quality not commendable. Staffing seems to low which results in slow inattentive service albeit pleasant personnel. read more

The best restaurant in Sarasota. Very French and very fresh! Lots of character and excellent service. Classic French Complete Crepe

We have been looking for a good French bakery in the area. Our friends and family keep telling us this is the go to place for baguettes. We tried it before and were not happy with the quality of the bread from here, it was very bland and had a rubbery texture. After a few years of people telling us to give another try, we did yesterday, and were still very unimpressed. . The pastries were also bland and too hard too brittle. This place is not as big of a deal as people make it out to be. Just because the staff speaks French does not make the food tasty. read more

Great French style bakery and cafe. Authentic taste and very fresh! Even the atmosphere was a little frechesque.

The menu was full of choices that I wanted to try. The French onion soup was delicious and the steak frite was very tasty. Service was great and we were kept warm by the outdoor heaters. Will return on our next trip south. read more

Four of us for breakfast Saturday morning. We've lived in Sarasota 20 years. If I'm generous I'll give the food an above average rating, although all the sides were on the wrong plates. Service was a nightmare. The first time in ages I did not leave a tip. I'll spare you the laundry list of issues with service. A table seated after us ordered, ate, paid and left before our food arrived. The waiter offerrd the classic excuse - 'problems in the kitchen'. A simple apology goes a long way, but the waiter could not manage that. Maybe a bad day for the waiter, but we won't be back to find out. read more

Excellent French bakery. Recommend their baked goods and often serve them with items we cook at home. Recommended

Fantastic place with great menu! We are there President's Day Monday while on vacation in Sarasota. I got the buckwheat crepe with goat cheese and spinach. My husband had the croissant with salmon. Both loved it! The deserts are amazing too. Seating outside was pretty good and very dog friendly for our pup read more

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

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Great service. Large selection for breakfast with bread and pastries that are all fresh. Ambiance is relaxing.

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

The BEST lunch I've had in years! We celebrated my wife's birthday this weekend and everything was closed due to Social Distancing. We found C'est La Vie and were welcomed by the owner Lissette. Our waitress was Eleanor, she was very helpful and friendly. We ALL liked the Sucre Coer (Salmon in a Croissant). If you are in Sarasota, FL this should be your first stop! read more

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