St. Tropez Bakery & Bistro

This place was nice. It’s too bad it is now closed.
The salmon bisque = yum
The escargot = double yum
All salads I’ve had are wonderful. The coffee, pasties, and cheese sandwiches quiche, hot & cold sandos. all very nice.
I’ve been here on multiple occasions and everything was delightful, tasted great, was nicely priced, had a wonderful atmosphere along with their consistent staff of good-​looking, gracious foreigners.

Okay, so I went here with my book club because we were reading «Kitchen Confidential» and we thought it would be fun to have our meeting in a restaurant.
Which was a good idea, but not the best restaurant to pick.
So it was a Sunday at 7 pm and we were the ONLY people there. I figure if you are a restaurant, you can see this as an opportunity to really focus on what you’re doing and make sure everything is awesome, right?
OR, you can just throw together whatever you have left over from lunch service and spend the rest of the time drinking absinthe with unwashed whores or whatever chefs in fake French restaurants do.
I obviously wasn’t going to order seafood on a Sunday after reading the book, so I figured I’d have steak frites, since anything pretending to call itself a French bistro should have that down cold… but the only thing that was cold were the frites. Steak: overcooked even though I asked for medium rare. Green beans: reheated from earlier.
Sad.

$ 6 bottomless mimosa! Wahhh! Awesome!
The only bad things about this place is the tight space and the slow service! BUT… if you have bottomless mimosas, you won’t even realize the slow service! hahaha.
Anyway, food was good. Drinks were good. Parking sucks.

A great place for brunch!
Good food. Good ambiance. I came here for breakfast and a friend and I split an eggs benedict and a half french onion soup and salad. The portions were perfect, and the food was nice and light. It came with a side of fruit salad as well, so it turned out to be a nice balanced meal. The bottomless coffee was really really good. This put the .5 up to the 4 stars. This place has great coffee and they kept it coming. If you go though, make sure to find the first parking space nearby, otherwise, you’ll be driving a couple of laps wishing you had gotten the last space!

Me and my friends came here for breakfast. If you are looking for good ambience, okay french food and bad service you may like this place. The décor gives off the feel of being in a french villa, and the staff there was french too, so maybe the fact that they were snobby made it more authentic? Not my type of thing. I ordered a fruit tart with a fruit bowl. The fruit tart had mushy custard filling instead of creamy, and the fruit did not taste fresh, it taste like the fruit that has been sitting in the fridge for over a week. In addition, I’ve ordered a fruit bowl, which I would rather like calling it a pineaple and cantalope bowl. Call me picky but I’m not usually satisified with fruit bowls unless I see at least 4 to 5 colors in my bowl. The reason I said the food was okay was actually because of the hot food my friends ordered. One of my friends ordered a Croissont with Egg cheese and Ham. The Croissant was soft and flakey, the scrambled eggs were fluffy, and the ham and cheese were perfectly placed within the croissant. My other friend ordered an egg, toast, sausage and potato plate. I only sampled her sausage and potatoes, the sausage was plump and juicy and perfectly cooked, the potatoes were well seasoned and well crisped on the outside.
Overall, based on what I’ve tried, the cold food/​bakery type, I would give an B+ on presentation but C for taste (Im surprised a french place can mess up on a fruit tart!). Hot food, A– on presentation and B+ on taste.

I woke up on Saturday morning with some nagging hunger pangs, and I knew that brunch was the only thing that would adequately satiate. I grabbed my brunch-​buddy, walked a couple blocks to 5^th and Robinson, and before long we were seated at St. Tropez, a kinda-​sorta-​maybe-​marginally-​French-​ish restaurant smack dab in the middle of Hillcrest. My first tip: Don’t come here expecting a little slice of Paris. I’d describe this restaurant more as «Franco-​American fusion.»
The restaurant wasn’t too busy, unlike most of the other brunch destinations in the neighborhood. While waiting for our server, I took in the décor, which reminds me of how a French restaurant would look like in a Looney Tunes cartoon. Pastels everywhere, hokey banners on the walls announcing «A bientot» and various other French sayings, and a bright blue sky painted right above. Authentic? Not really. Worthy of a good chuckle? Absolutely.
Anywho, it didn’t take us much time to figure out what we were going to order, but the server took absolutely forever to arrive. Every other table was being waited on except ours. I don’t know what we did, but we remedied the problem after walking up to the cashier and letting the staff know what was up. Soon a server came by, and I ordered the «Toulon gourmet» panini, while my dining companion ordered an omelet with feta and spinach.
As for the food — well, let’s just say that I don’t recommend eating here if you’re counting calories. My panini was massive and featured tons of delicious-​looking ingredients, with turkey, caramelized onions, and roasted peppers stacked high on ciabatta. However, sandwich was also slathered with way too much of their cheese and garlic aioli. I could barely taste the rest of the sandwich through the flavor of that fatty sauce. I remedied the situation by deconstructing the sandwich and taking off all the excess. Next time, I’ll know to order it on the side. (Speaking of sides, the panini also came with a small salad, which complimented the rich sandwich nicely.)
The feta and spinach omelet, on the other hand, was really quite impressive. The omelet portion was a lot smaller than the panini, but it was reasonable once I saw just how much feta was stuffed inside that sucker. The cheese-​to-​egg ratio must’ve been like 3:1. It was really more like a block of feta surrounded by a thin sheath of omelet. Just looking at it made my blood vessels clog. One bite and I let my dining companion struggle with finishing the rest of it.
Maybe I’m sounding needlessly critical in this write-​up, because I actually had a net-​positive experience at St. Tropez. With the sketchy service and the artery-​blasting cuisine, though, there’s still some room for improvement. Being so close to my place, St. Tropez will probably remain on my list of neighborhood dining spots, but I’ll definitely try to be more strategic with my ordering from now on.

I WAS IN A DELI SANDWICH MINI BUFFET…
Granted this review is based on a quick the Taste N Tinis in Hillcrest, but I had such a good time here! Generally, with these «taste» events you only get a small amount of food but St. Tropez hooked it up!
I walked in and saw a table full of delicious sandwiches! They had a great spread of tuna and turkey sandwiches! Also, they had pasta and it was AMAZING! I even went back for seconds!
Thanks for putting on a great spread!

Have been here for both brunch and dinner now. Here’s my take:
Pros:
— Waiter was actually French, and was very nice and attentive. He was also sweet enough to give my friend’s little boy a free cupcake!
— Tasty food
— Atmosphere is very cute and cozy. It’s decorated to look as though you’re outside a little French café… they even painted a tree branch on the ceiling!
Cons:
— Food takes a while and is lukewarm upon arrival
— They were out of champagne at 6pm from the morning rush. Don’t you think you should re-​stock midday?
It’s hit or miss, but give it a try… maybe your food will arrival hotter than mine did. :)

«I would like the Nice panini and the bottomless mimosa please. » is what I say to our server and she just stares at me so after an awkward pause I repeat my order. Bear in mind Im pronouncing the word Nice the way that I know its pronounced, so that it rhymes with yeast or least. This is after all a French eatery. Again no luck so I decided to test the waters and pronounce the word nice so that it rhymes with ice or rice and lo and behold… she gets it ! Wow.
Ordering issues aside, I like this little café type eatery. I like the décor, the random color scheme and everything from the expensive paintings on the walls (which are for sale) to all of the wrought iron that embellishes the various tables, booths and chairs. It makes for a comfortable setting. The inside of the booths do look a little tight though.
The mimosas were not as weak as I had expected and they constantly made the rounds so that your glass was never empty so that was a plus. A minus was my panini. The Nice panini consisted of grilled panini bread of course, a pesto spread layered with lettuce, tomato slices and prosciutto. Sounds like a winner to me as I love prosciutto and I simply cannot get enough of it but this panini disappoints and I’ll tell you why.
I literally had to gnaw at this panini. Tear it apart like a lion does to his fallen prey in the fields of Africa or how a bear rips apart a salmon once its in the clutches of his/​her sharp teeth. I felt a little savage. I never thought that I would ever use the words tough or chewy to describe prosciutto. Prosciutto should practically melt in your mouth. I dissected my panini to make sure that I didnt get a steak sandwich and it was undeniably a pork product but there is no way that it was prosciutto.
Ive been here a few times before and Im not going to stop coming back because I do like the place but if thats what they are passing off as prosciutto then I’ll make sure to order the other paninis that dont have that meat in it. I’m aware that there are varying degrees of quality for prosciutto and the pricing is adjusted accordingly, but in my opinion they should really describe that Nice panini as a ham sandwich.

Understaffed.
Nestled in the midst of the hustle-​n-​bustle of uptown Hillcrest is the humble and chic St. Tropez Bakery and Bistro.
The bistro definitely caters to a more sophisticated crowd looking for a quieter spot to eat and converse in leisure. It’s not so much about the food, rather than the atmosphere.
I went here with a few friends after Halloween for Sunday Brunch and it was packed. The procedure was really laissez-​faire — you grab menus and seat yourself. Just a friendly request — if you’re a couple, don’t seat yourself at a four person table. It’s really frustrating to see all that unused space — there are more than enough two-​person tables to go around and not nearly enough four person and up tables.
For brunch, I ordered the Acai bowl. Think jamba juice in a bowl with granola. It was actually pretty perfect for soothing my raging hangover — only complaint is that there weren’t nearly enough bananas! The granola is really delicious — nice and crunchy but not stuck together in huge, unmanageable bites. For a bit over $ 6, it was pretty decent. It kept me full for a few hours.
I got to try my friend’s mixed berry crepes, and there weren’t any actual berries in the crêpe — just mixed berry sauce which I can guarantee is comprised mainly of sugar. Too sweet and no berries!
The thing that would keep me from coming to St. Tropez is the lack of staff. There was only one person taking orders and functioning as bus-​person for the entire restaurant. Talk about inefficiency!

$ 10 all you can eat crepes AND bottomless mimosas on Tuesday evenings.
Not $ 10 each. $ 10 for both. It’s also called Crêpe Party.
Two of my favorite things in the world are crepes and mimosas. Now you understand my love for this place and why I’m sad I don’t live in San Diego. It’s amazing how after not seeing an old college friend for years, we are still identical in food loves.
The mimosas came out in a wine glass and with an extra carafe. It was a light yellow. Yes, you know what that means. No skimping on the champagne.
The mimosas were sweet mimosas and came out in a plate of four for the two of us with chocolate drizzed on them with whipped cream on the side. A plate of different toppings (nutella, syrup, and brown sugar) were given too. I don’t do syrup that often, and never at all on crepes but the brown sugar I had never tried and it was delicious with nutella.
The place is quaint and cute and I love the colorful typical French décor. It looks like an adorable place to sit down and have lunch. The service was also decent.
My only complaint is that the crepes had no filling. We had to ask for sliced strawberry and banana.

MMMMmmmmmmmmmm… Good Stuff.
Stumbled in hung over as hell, thinking I would attempt some toast or something lite. I started reading the menu and had to change my mind.
Started off with the Bottomless mamosa’s to get me feeling good, like the night before.
The soup of the day was Seafood bisque, which I could not pass up and am very glad I didnt.
Topped everything off with the Paris sandwhich which had tomatoes, melted Brie cheese, and a very tasty sauce.
Other people I was with had the Crepes which they seemed to enjoy.
As our govenor says, «I’ll be back»!

Since my last visit I got to say that I was convinced that this is a go to place for excellent food and service. Management definitely takes care of their clients and truly cares about their business. I really appreciate this.
Today, my friends and I ordered crepes for breakfast. It was DEEEE-​lish. Especially the strawberry banana crepes. Gooooo get emmm. mmmm

For a lazy Sunday brunch, St. Tropez hit the spot this weekend. I swear, it takes me roughly 7 hours every Sunday morning to determine where I want to eat breakfast and imbibe in some free-​flowing mimosas, and this time around, it was French food in Hillcrest.
Unlike most hyped brunch spots, the wait was pretty tolerable here. In fact, it was only about 2 minutes until I was seated. Getting menus and a server’s attention took a little longer… but nonetheless, at least I was sitting, and not standing around like an asshole on the side of the street begging for a place to rest my bum.
They specialize in crepes and breakfast omlettes on the weekends, and they have a pretty sweet deal on mimosas. Only $ 5 for unlimited pours. So far, that’s the best deal I’ve found in town on the bottomless champagne/​OJ tip.
The crepes are really, really good… but for some reason, when I eat something super sweet for breakfast, it just causes me to lose motivation to do anything that day. Like the Jim Gaffigan joke sates, «Pancakes for breakfast? I guess I’m not putting any pants on today…» I prefer a hearty breakfast (AKA — something rich with a lot of calories), so I went with eggs benedict instead. Solid choice, I must say.
For a no frills breakfast where you don’t have to wait like, 900 hours to eat, you might dig this spot. If parking blows, just park in the Rite Aid lot for $ 2!

i was here with j.s., which automatically means alcoholic consumption at 11am. JS found this place on Unilocal,and we starved ourselves on the car-​ride in anticipation for brunch goodness.
the 4 of us shared 2 Eggs Florentine and 2 California Benedict. both were really tasty — pretty standard for benedict though. the hollandaise sauce was good and not too rich. the potatoes and fruit on the side were just blah, nothing outstanding.
we had a french onion soup which was really good — perfect crusty cheese to soup ratio. a bit salty, but still good. and of course, the mimosas were great. we had about 3 pitchers, and didn’t realize until later that the sign says «bottomless mimosas… limit to 1 carafe per person»…wtf? doesn’t make sense.
this place is cute. their pastries are ok — the chocolate lava cake was so so so rich, but that’s because i’m not a huge brownie/​fudge/​chocolate syrup fan. i just love simple dark chocolate in its truest form.
overall this place was cute and good, but empty for a saturday brunch. hillcrest overall just wasn’t crowded the day we went — recession status, probably…

I’ve been to St. Tropez (unfortunately, not the «real» town in France… yet) on 5^th Ave and always have an enjoyable experience. I will grant you that yes, it has its ups and downs, and I’ve great times and not-​so-​great times. But the point is — I always enjoy this place and will definitely be coming back!
Most recently, a girlfriend and I decided to try out their Tuesday night «crêpe party» — what a fantastic idea! We had a wonderful time! I forget our waiters name, but he was great.
$ 10 gets you bottomless mimosas (actually, on the Tuesday that we were there, it was champagne cocktails with fresh ruby-​red grapefruit juice — yum!) and all the crepes you can eat. I was thinking there was no way you were going to get their awesome-​level crepes for this deal, but you do! There are 3 savory ones to choose from and a plethora of sweet ones. All are done very well, filling, and great flavours and presentation (we could only eat 2 savory crepes each, and shared a sweet one — next time I’m doing 1 savory and 2 sweet!).
The place was slow when we arrived ~ 5:30pm, but by the time we left (9pm! Told you we had a good time!) it was full inside.
Thanks, St. Tropez, for making our evening, and we will definitely be returning soon!

My husband went here yesterday on our way to a Movie and Brewski event. Just from the looks of the place I was expecting a lot more than what I got. The décor is charming and they have authentic french people here.
The menu selections looked intriguing but since we had limited time we opted to just get roast beef sandwiches, salad, soup and wine. (Just because it’s french don’t go expecting french dip because it’s not on the menu) The Pinot Noir I had tasted like bad breath. My husband’s cab was a little better but not by much. The sandwiches were decent but didn’t have enough meat. But the mushroom brie soup was effing FANTASTIC. So as disappointed I was with the wine, the soup more than made up for it.
The service was really good too. Both the waiter and waitress were amazingly hot and personable. They were attentive and quick. I think if we are ever in the neighborhood again and have more time we would definitely stop in again to try something different off their menu.

I really wanted to like this place and maybe I would have had I ordered something less standard than a sandwich. The roast beef sandwich on a croissant was good but not great. The salad? Well it was green with ranch dressing somewhere in it. Hey! I get it now. «Hidden Valley Ranch». The wine was drinkable but not that good. Am I turning into a wine snob?
So what was good about this place??? The brie mushroom soup. WOW!!! Never had it before but I would go out of my way to get it now. The crème brulet was very good but I like it when it has that hard brown sugar glaze and it didn’t. Did they forget to torch it or is this an option? I don’t know French but even their toast has a crust. Maybe my wife the Pudding Tamperer had something to do with it.
The service was great and the waitress so cute we wanted to take her home and have her read from a dictionary with her French accent. Overall experience — I’d go again and try something new or different for a change.

My roommate picked this place for her birthday breakfast, and I was glad I hauled my ass out of bed to go along. I ordered the french toast, because it was made from a croissant and I simply HAD to know what that would be like. It was tasty, but kind of burnt. I don’t think that was the croissant though, just bad luck on my part. I went with people that are a-​okay with sharing food, so I got to try the fruit crepes and potatoes as well. The fruit crepes were yum and the potatoes. .. well, I’m in love! Next time I’ll probably get an omelet just so it’ll come with them. They were seasoned with rosemary, and I really just adore that on potatoes.
The décor was cute. .. very intimate, with windows along the front, ugly mural (a redundant statement, in my opinion) on one side and tolerable abstract modern art for sale on the other. A pretty good amount of outdoor seating for small parties, but there were six of us so we sat inside. Instead of booth style seating there was a heavily cushioned bench with pillows, which was kind of nice.
Our waitress was nice and attentive. All of our beverages, from coffee to champagne, were refilled promptly as needed. And our food came promptly. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

I don’t know how I never noticed this place; maybe it’s because I could never get past L & L next door?
In any case, I met my favorite fellow Unilocaler, Tonie R., here for breakfast today. They had some great things on the menu — croque madame and croque monsieurs — which are my favorite french bistro fare. But I really wanted to try the crepes, so the banana-​nutella crepes it was. Good choice as they were really good.
I’m definitely coming back for a croque monsieur soon.