Cafe Bicyclette

If you’re an English speaker with zero French knowledge like me, don’t let the intimidation of the French Quarter scare you away from this gem of a café!
The food is delicious! I had the special of the day which, from my terrible attempt at reading French, was a chicken and pork pâté on a baguette. It was pretty good, but nothing particularly special. The Chicken Pesto, on the other hand, was to die for. So, so flavourful! The sandwiches are served with a cute little mason jar of cherry tomatoes as a side. I also got a poutine, which was so good. I highly recommend trying it out!
Another big plus to Café Bicyclette was the décor. The ambiance is very open. light, and welcoming. It makes for a perfect setting to chat with friends, do some work, or just relax. Plus, the lighting is on point for taking foodie photos.

I really want to like this place. I really do. It is convenient for me to come here often and I love french cuisine. Unfortunately I have given it so many opportunities to impress me and I couldn’t have been more unimpressed with their omelets (mushroom and Gruyère omelet, smoked salmon and spinach omelet). I’ve had to leave food on my plate because I can’t eat one more bite (and for the record I am the furthest thing from a picky eater). There was no seasoning in their these omelets. The mushrooms that topped the eggs looked so unappetizing, they were super dark with wrinkles and tasted awful. The spinach was limp, either serve it cooked or fresh but the in between is gross. Cheese was slim in both these omelets. The taste was so bland. Their croissants sandwiches however are pretty good. Although they also lack seasoning. Coffee is mediocre. Music is sometimes a tad loud. If I were them I would recommend to the owners that they sit down and eat these omelets, seriously if you read this, try them. Things going for them: excellent atmosphere, well located, great hours, staff is pretty nice. Oh and one last thing, their wireless internet works sometimes and sometimes not.

Nice little café worth checking out when open for the market.
Food is good — nothing exceptional — and not overly pricey. You should expect to spend some time in line. Sure, they are busy, but they are not too quick at the cashier — takes some time to finally order.
And like the reviewer below, I have a real problem with places that prompt for a tip as soon as you pay — especially when you consider there is not full service from staff.
Overall, if in the area, might want to grab a bite to sit on the lawn if you have some free time.

This is a lovely little café in the French quarters area!
We have only been once on a Sunday and it was quite busy. Despite this, we didn’t have to wait too long for food.
Lots of brunch items to choose from: omelettes, eggs Benedict, soups, fresh pastries.
We had a goat cheese spinach omelette which was very tasty! Included some fruit and a croissant.
Also the poutine was amazing. Savory gravy with the real cheese curds. A French classic!
There is lots of seating inside, Cool décor and lots of natural light Windows.
Great place for a date or even groups for brunch!

Pretty disappointing. If you don’t speak french, don’t go here. There was definitely judgement when we didn’t know how to say our order properly and were corrected in a snarky tone. No type of friendliness whatsoever from the barista/​cashier. Our food came out pretty quickly, but the eggs on the eggs benedict were way overcooked, hollandaise was lacking basic seasoning and the potatoes were covered in too much butter. I don’t agree with having to tip for your meal before you get it either. There’s no way I was tipping the barista.

in the past few months Café Bicyclette has been steadily stocking up on more french style croissants and pastries. This of course is perfect in my books since how can you have a latte without a pain au chocolate? I haven’t been here yet for brunch, but my friends say that it is pretty good. In the summer months you can sit outside and even well into the fall and even winter months as they have heaters (sometimes available) and blankets for you to use.
During #yeg coffee month I even took a latte art making class with the owner here. It was a lot of fun and I hope they do something like that in the future! Here is the link to my blog post:

I really enjoy Café Bicyclette as a great Café to come for breakfast sandwich and a latte. It’s not easy to find a café that makes a good latte and has decent food. Croque Monsieur is my go to!
In the summer time, the patio is really nice to sit and people watch. They also have a wood burning stove for the colder months. There is plenty of seating inside, and I’ve never had any issues finding seating.
The service is alright. You have to walk up and order yourself, and pay. You are given a number to take to your table. Your food is then brought to you. For this not quite full-​service, they sure prompt for atrocious amount of tips on their debit machine. I don’t like being asked for a tip when I pay before I eat my food. And of the few times I’ve been here, no one has come to ask me how my food is after serving me. I especially didn’t enjoy tipping 15% and having to ask for my latte after 20 minutes (after realizing people who weren’t there before me were drinking and eating), and then being asked if I was waiting for anything else (yes, my sandwich).
But anyhow, I digress. Overall, this is a perfectly fine place to come and enjoy a latte and have a bite to eat. It’s a café, so expect café level of service.

We had a hankering for some Café Leva brunch but it turns out Monday noon is the worst time to go there. There simply isn’t any parking with students and hospital staff taking up all the spots. We were really sad as we finally drove off waving goodbye.
We opted to go to Café Bicyclette instead hoping the parking situation (the worst part of every Asian driver) would fare better. Maybe because we were in the French district but there was plenty of parking on the street!
Upon entering, you’ll get a industrial feel with red bricks accented with tasteful pictures on white walls. The menu is written on a black chalkboard and it gets a little overwhelming at first because of the design and sheer number of options but you just gotta pump the brakes and go through it slowly:
–You want coffee/​tea/​latté? Check
–You want salads? Check
–You want sammies? Check
–You want dessert? Check
The neat thing is, it’s all in French! Yay, thanks French 30, I can finally distinguish what poulet means!
The staff greets us in French (I really wanted to stretch the ol’ Français legs dropping a comment ça va here and a alors there but decided not to fearing Tina’s wraith). We ordered a full works omelette, a chicken croissant sandwich and some lattés. You do seat yourself and the staff does bring out your meal.
The restaurant is a very open concept and you are prone to people watch.
Before you know it, our meals came out tout de suite. The omelette was pretty zesty and I think with the combination of the sauté mushrooms and friend jambon, it made the omelette too salty for my taste. The chicken sandwich was really scrumptious. The chicken was cooked chicken breast with some seasoning that made the arugula fixings make it a wonderful balance. I kind of wish the chicken was warm but it was overall a really good meal.
The caramel latté I had was a couple of stirs short of being too sweet and as I relaxed under the afternoon sun it really grew on me.
My biggest gripe though was the price. I personally found it pricey for my taste: $ 4.50 for a latté (or am I out of a touch?)
TL;DR: French speaking staff. Really good sammich. A bit pricey.

I honestly enjoyed Café Bicyclette in the French Quarter. At 10 $ for a smoked meat sandwich and an additional 4 $ for a salad you are looking at restaurant prices. However, I did enjoy it very much. Very nice place with a number tables outside to soak up the sun or shade. I’ve heard that in winter the light up the stove and have blankets on the seat so you can enjoy the winter outside experience. Might have to come back then and try that out.
My party ordered entirely in French. So if you want to brush up on those French verbal skills, this is the place.
I should also mention I came here for lunch. Not sure how a dinner experience would differ. Currently, there is a LOT of construction going on in the area so keep that in mind if you are visit this summer/​fall.

Busy place, service was fast and friendly, food was excellent. One of the best croissants I have ever had. Potato and pea soup was fantastic as well. Fresh, tasty, reasonably priced. I’ll be back.

I like going here because it’s friendly and the food and coffee is great! I like that they don’t overcook the omelettes.

We went here for coffee and a snack. If you go, remember your in the French quarter and everything is in French, that being said, the staff are very helpful in translation and there is no judgement if you can’t read or speak it.
It’s a nice quaint little place, great art on the walls, good music, and a very relaxed atmosphere. The server we had was very personable and very easy to talk to. I wouldn’t say it was pricey, but I thought you could get more for the money you spent. Overall great place to relax.

In coming home last night from Café’ Bicyclette, with my companion, we asked each other what rating we would give it… if we could actually, it would be a 2.5. Sorry everyone. I read a number of the reviews but unfortunately, it was a «hit and miss» kind of evening with regard to the food and the price point for what was prepared.
I am not an expert in French cuisine, however, when the main accompanying dish is «risotto» and the «vegetarian» option is «ravioli» (and not it wasn’t «ravioli», rather a layered «lasagna» made with baked wafers with sauteed spinach and onion)…not sure where the «French» is. Admittedly, the duck breast I had was quite good and not dry with a light pomegranate jus.
So, the meal was a «fixed» menu, however, not a fixed price, so depending on what you ordered from the fixed menu, the price varied. This aside, we were served a glass of champagne/​sparkling wine and then the appetizers were served. I didn’t get the chance to see the menu because it wasn’t on their website when I made the reservation, however, my companion did and noted that there were «non meat» options so he didn’t worry, and neither did I. However, when I saw the menu while he excused himself a moment, I did let our hostess know and she said they would accommodate him with something «similar».
So, on to our meal: The appetizer was ONE oyster (yes, one, on a VERY large bed of ice), the vegetarian option was a generous spinach salad sprinkled with pecans and chevre. My companion loves oysters so I gave him mine (mind you, I did tell the hostess that my companion eats fish). My companion enjoyed his oyster, however, would have liked at least one more little one… I shared my salad with him :-) The charcuterie and cheese plates that followed were very good and well presented. This part of our meal we enjoyed and I enjoyed my spinach salad :-)
Before the main courses, we had a nice strawberry sorbetto.
As I mentioned above, our mains were the duck breast with a mushroom risotto (the rice was well cooked, however, bland in taste) whereas my companion had the «ravioli» (a bit saltier than he expected). We enjoyed out mains fine, however, given the expectations based on the adjectives given to the food prepared here, I am willing to say the food was good, but not «phenomenal» or «amazing» based on others’ experiences.
Before anyone mentions it, the restaurant had two seatings, one at 6pm and one at 8pm. Staff was not running around and as far as the «busy» factor, it was steady. This was a nice thing, actually since it gave everyone a chance to eat tranquilly without worrying to rush and also the staff to serve without rushing. The awkward moment came when at around 7:45, you started seeing a lengthening row of people waiting and watching you, watching them as you finished your last sip of wine and to top it off, you were asked to go to the counter to pay, thus another long line of folks waiting to pay to leave so the «2^nd shift» can get in…
Will we go again? Yes, since I think, hope and believe our next experience will be better on a culinary level …
**You are wondering about dessert? It was a charming looking heart shaped chocolate cake for two… however, again, the cake to the price point ($ 26) didn’t add up to me or my palate…

Fantastic little café!
Latte was creamy and delicious! I ordered the ham and Swiss crêpe, it could have used a little more cheese, but was otherwise a great crêpe.

A piece of Paris in my own home town. This place makes my heart flutter. Seriously, if I hadn’t have moved to YYC I would be hitting this place up far more often. I’m really just sad it took me this long to find this hidden gem. I love everything about this place, from the Parisian décor to the delicious crepes and tartines served for breakfast. Going back here seriously made my heart hurt for Paris and I’m contemplating buying a plane ticket as I write this review… there is nothing I would love more. The staff that work here are wonderful and friendly and I would recommend this place to anyone! It’s on my list for places to hit up the next time I’m in YEG this might actually be my favourite breakfast stop.

I had driven past this place a few times during my lunch hour, and always meant to check it out. I finally did today. The building in which it is nestled is pretty cool, and there are places to sit and enjoy a hot latte or espresso even in the winter months (weather permitting).
The café itself, located within the so-​called ‘French Quarter’ of Edmonton, just a few blocks from Whyte Avenue, is beautiful. It is bright and clean, and specializes in French cuisine. The chef, who was at the till when I was asking about what they served with chicken, offered to make me a wrap-​styled chicken & mushroom crêpe (hold the mushrooms!) on the spot.
It took about 5 minutes and cost me $ 8, and was totally worth it. The next guy in line ordered his whole meal in French, which I thought was pretty cool… despite making me feel like a loser, barely fluent in the one language! I would definitely return to Café Bicyclette for lunch and would recommend it to a friend.
I Heart Edmonton

Phenomenal service. Our food came very quickly and they were very accommodating with substitutions.
A classy French bistro with French speaking servers. Crossiants were crisp and buttery, omelette was beautifully presented and the espresso was just strong enough.
Definitely will visit again!

This is a lovely, delightful French café located at la Cité Francophone across from the Faculté Saint-​Jean. If it’s your first time going, it can be a bit tricky to find, but it is definitely worth it — and once you do, you’ll know exactly where it is next time!
The interior is warm, inviting, clean and totally french country, in addition to a quaint patio that is perfect for summer days. As you can imagine, the food is French at its best: simple classics. From croissants and cheese to classic poutine. I had the croque monsieur, fantastic! I can’t wait to go for dinner and indulge in coq au vin and moules-​frites! I’m not sure about dinner service, but for breakfast and lunch you walk up to the counter.
As well as eating in or taking to-​go, they do catering… and something tells me it is probably quite good!
Merci Café Bicyclette!

I had wanted to visit this Café for months and when I got off work early Friday afternoon, I figured it was the perfect time to drop in.
First impressions were great — I loved the décor and the atmosphere. There was ample seating inside the bright and airy café. I chose to sit outside as it was the first lovely day of summer and they had almost a dozen tables outside to pick from.
I understand they have a great menu but I just had a chai latte. It was the perfect drink for Friday afternoon, sitting on the patio. And the staff were lovely!
I’ll be back to check out more of this cute and local café!

I have lived only blocks away from the French Quarter my whole life and ironically have never learned French. I heard about this place, have driven by it and really wanted to try it out.
I decided to invite my friend who grew up in Ottawa and has a much more solid grasp of the French language, to assist me with the menu… and for company I guess ;)
We walked in and walked up to the counter where all the menu items were displayed in French and were promptly greeted by the person by the counter in French. I must have externalized my terror because he immediately followed with «can I help you with the menu?» He was super nice about it, and made me feel way better and less like some kind of outsider. We declined his help (after all, that’s what my friend was there for) and agreed to try the smoked salmon eggs benedict and their famous poutine.
Holy man did we ever make a good decision. That was probably one of the best eggs benedict I had ever had. The hollandaise was rich without being too thick and had the perfect amount of fresh dill to compliment the salmon. My favourite part was the biscuit that it came on instead of the traditional English muffin. It was toasted and crispy, and had little bits of ham in it. Seriously, so freaking good — I hope its a regular brunch item and wasn’t just a special. The poutine was also fantastic. Perfect fries, perfect gravy… and of course perfect cheese. We ordered a small to share and it was a fairly decent sized portion.
I should also mention that the place really filled up while we were there (Sunday morning at around 11 AM). By the time we left there was really only bar stool space left by the windows. I am sure that come summer when the Farmers Market reopens there will be a line to get in, so get there early. I loved the service, I loved the food and I felt really comfortable. Totally deserving of all the rave reviews and you need to try it for yourself!