Vive La Crepe
- Nearest Transit:
Davis (Purple, Evanston Express)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
94 reviews
Neighborhood: Bucktown
"Took my Dinner Club here on Tuesday night for the $30 prix fixe, and we had an excellent time. VERY small space, so definitely make…" read more »
13 Reviews for Vive La Crepe
It's a little pricey for brunch, but drink one of their mimosas and you probably won't care so much when you walk out. But I have to say that even though it's not Denny's prices, when you're paying for Andalusian sausage or creme fraiche, it's a bit worth it, don't you think? Sometimes the service sucks here, but, again, a mimosa lets bygones be bygones. Besides, aren't crepes French? Maybe they're trying to add a genuine European element like poor customer service to the experience. Either way, you might not have someone asking in a sugary sweet voice how everything is every two seconds, but food is usually prompt and delicious, so I can't say I care after awhile.
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I stumbled upon this little place with my sister after a long morning of tours at the Northwestern Univ. awhile back. We were starving but we didn't want to settle for just anything since our tour guide said that there are more restaurants per capita here in Evanston than most major cities. (I haven't been able to confirm the veracity of that statement to date, however.)
We got there after the lunch hours have passed (around 3pm), so we were the only ones in the place. So my review of their service is a bit skewed, but it was excellent nonetheless. The waiter was very patient while we took forever to decide and friendly enough to suggest things.
From the soup (I believe is was creamy red bell pepper soup of some sort; memory fails me, it's been more than a year...) to the entree crepe to the desert crepe, everything was very delicious! If we had any room to spare in our stomach, we would've tried more stuff.
The portions are large and the quality is unbeatable. Best crepes I've had!!!
I believe Vive La Crepe closed down a few months ago (it's now June 2008) after the tragic death of one of the owners, and the space is now the home of Zoba Noodle Bar.
4 stars for the crepes. Healthy portions (meaning not "American", but still enough) and tasty toppings over thin and light crepes. I had the chicken marsala, which was a little creamier than expected, but good nonetheless. The steak one was pretty decent too. A nice, casual restaurant to have a simple and quick meal at.
The waiter however, gets negative seventeen service stars. He was an annoying sonofabeech who made our experience there less pleasant than it could have been (see Kake S.'s mention of the water bottles). How can you expect tip when you serve dishes over our heads instead of walking a couple steps to give it to the person? I'd understand if it was crowded, or blocked.. but nooo. Lazy ass with a bad attitude. Please dude, you're in your mid-late 30s, serving cheap but pretty delicious crepes for a living.. seriously.
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UPDATE: While the food is still veeeery good, the service here is disappointing! The waiter saw us carrying bottles of water, and he asked - "you have your own water already, so I'm assuming you don't need any?" WHO THE HECK SAYS THAT??
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Their crepes are delicately soft and thin, and I really like "Ratatouille Crepe" that comes with warm veggies cooked in tomato wine reduction. Mmm... Surely a nice change from the crepes I'm used to eating, which are the strictly sweet, dessert kinds that come with fruits and ice cream. The "New York Strip Mushroom Crepe" is tasty, too, though a little heavy for breakfast or brunch.
The menu offers some interesting items that I'm hoping to try soon, like "Thai" and "Creole" crepes. Sound creative, huh? Additionally, they have salads, sandwiches/wraps, skillets, pancakes, waffles, omelets and other entres.
Btw, the guys I dined with weren't pleased with the relatively small portions. Well, maybe so compared to the typical American standard? (see pics) Like Shaun T, they all left the place HUNGRY.
Fine setting, comfortable seating...an appropriate place for a special family brunch. As for the two servers who helped us, we had some adverse moments with one, but the other was amusingly sweet and cheerful. As my friend described - a perfect "Ying & Yang."
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This is a decent little restaurant that serves many different types of crepes and variations on crepes as well as some other French fare etc. The atmosphere is unpretentious and low key and the menu isn't too expensive.
They have many different types of things shoved into crepes, including some tasty dessert-type crepes (with strawberries, nutella, apples and so on).
It's a decent place to get your eat on.
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Viva La Meh.
I won't be too harsh because the food gets at least a passing grade. But the whole time I was eating there, I felt like a filthy interloper who dared to darken their esteemed doorstep. I haven't set foot in there since.
I left hungry. That's not saying a lot for me considering my appetite, but I was less than thrilled after what I spent. Perhaps the mistake I made was coming here for lunch instead of a quick dessert crepe, or not picking one of their admittedly tasty-looking salads.
After working in Evanston for a year, this is one of the few places I haven't visited more than once. I think that says something for a guy that normally gorges himself on anything that hasn't moved for at least five minutes.
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Cute little creperie in downtown Evanston with delicious entrees and an atmosphere conducive to good conversation. Pleasant , long suffering wait staff and quick service. The portions could be a bit larger, but are reasonably priced.
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Actually I was a bit disappointed that this place did not "specialize" in crepes as much as the name suggests; they have regular food too. It is way too fancy to be a real creperie. It is more like a foofy French restaurant wanna be with crepes. Creperies should be more down to earth (where the ingredients are actually INSIDE the crepe pancakes, not on top). Having said that, the restaurant is pretty good, in price, quality, waitstaff, and interior.
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I was very impressed with this little restaurant! I found it by accident walking around Evanston. When my family was in town for the weekend, they were here three (!) times. Their crepes are fabulous, as you can imagine. (Try their lunch special - half crepe plus soup or salad.) They also have a great breakfast menu on the weekends. Be sure to try one of their Champagne Delights. The atmosphere is very quaint and intimate. They also have outdoor seating in the summer.
FYI: They're closed on Mondays.
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The crepes here were indeed delicious. In the future I would split a regular crepe with someone and then split a dessert crepe because they are all so delicious. Bananas Foster especially.
This is not the place to come to, however, if you want a big cheap brunch of a weekend morning. Unless you are here with your parents.
Our waitress was a little off the ball, although we did eventually get everything we had ordered. Hopefully she was a one-off.
And I agree, if you want truly authentic French cuisine, there are probably better options. But the crepes are still pretty damn good.
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This is an excellent place for (can you guess?) CREPES! The service is wonderful and the food delicious. The seafood crepes, steak crepes and most of the desserts are top quality, light and will leave you feeling satisified but without that "too stuffed" feeling. Prices are reasonable, the location is near public and there is street parking available.
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This was pretty good. I got the spinach ricotta crepe. I expected it to be spinach mixed with ricotta, but I guess the ricotta was purred in the sauce. They have some pretty innovative crepe choices too. There's an Asian crepe which looked good. The highlight was the baked brie with raspberry-chipotle sauce. Even my lactose intolerant friend had some. The raspberry vinaigrette I got in my house salad was also yummy.
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