Le Petit Cafe Bakery

My husband and I were visiting Ventura for a romantic getaway and wandered into La Petit Café around 2pm on Sunday. The man who greeted us was very nice, and the man who seated us was super friendly. Unfortunately, our actual wait staff seemed put-​off by our presence. After the waiter brought our food he never checked back with us. The waitress who brought our drinks literally tossed the straws onto the table in a slightly aggressive show. We ate outside and the salt shaker had several dead ants inside. I found the Quiche Florentine and potatoes au gratin to be less than stellar. My husband found the hamburger on a croissant to be greasy, but he said the french fries were excellent. The very best thing we had was goat cheese with sun dried tomatoes on a baguette. I highly recommend that! If we were back in the area, I would not visit this restaurant again.

The baked goods are amazing. And amazing food. You can order escargot (which i had, it was nicely flavored, but the texture tossed me off, but thats just my issue with texture), frog legs, and some french cheeses, if you want something uniguely french.
Last i came here, i had some sort of steak. I don’t remember what it was. but it was beautifully cooked, with the taste of the fat laced through out the cut, with out any thick veins of the stuff. it was tender, and i didn’t need to slather it in ketchup, like i used to do when i was younger and significantly more picky.
My uncle had the catch of the day, which was sword fish. I remember him constantly saying how good it was, and he let me have a taste in exchange for a bit of my meal. It was very good. I hated fish back then for some reason. But i liked it. so thats saying something.
Its definatly worth visiting now and again.

Le Petit Café has a quaint dining room and a nice patio. The eclairs are one of the best things I have ever eaten and the espressos are quite tasty.
Coming for dinner, our waiter and bus boy were very nice and attentive, they never let my water go empty. The warm bread was served with my meal and it was delicious. I was hesitant to try frog legs, but they were really good and flavored nicely.
I could say one of the best restaurant experiences I’ve had.

Excellent, friendly service. Lovely and delicious food. A inviting interior and a relaxing atmosphere.

I’m happy to say that my experience at La Petit was positif, the servers were polite, the food was good, and the dessert was downright sinful and in oh, such a good way… but word of advice, don’t pay a visit between paychecks, because quite frankly you’ll find your wallet taking a beating and that’s without even ordering alcohol.
The restaurant is airy and the sun shines in beautifully during the day, we were greeted right away upon entering, they had two large parties that day, along with a few smaller groups, then us, the two servers on duty handled like champs, laid back friendly.
After much thought I decided on the Croque Monsieur which was sliced ham & Gruyère cheese, served opened faced on a croissant, accompanied by a side of Au Gratin potatoes, rich? Yes, fatting? Yes. Was it worth it, yes & no.
Au Gratin potatoes on point and delicious, what I have an issue with is charging $ 12 for a ham & cheese sandwich with a fancy name.
I loved the fact that they bring out a tray of desserts to choose from and explain each and every delectable one of them to you, making the decision so much harder. But I opted for my favorite things, chocolate mousse and cappuccino, win, win for this lady.
I’m giving it 5 for great service, Au Gratin Potatoes, and that 5 star dessert.

This is almost always a great place to eat. I haven’t found that the food quite gets to «great» but it’s good and the atmosphere and seaside location are fantastic. We had a tasty Croque Madame here — ham and cheese with a fried egg on top and a generous side of really good fries. I had the escargot with a salad and some crusty baguette. Really good. I had hoped the escargot would come on the plate with individual hollows for each snail, but it came mixed into a sauce of sorts with some mushrooms and other things in there. I didn’t care. It was good and I ate every bite. I enjoy eating here but find it a little pricy for what you get. Nonetheless, we plan to be back soon.

My family has been going to Le Petit while on vacation in the area for what seems like 20 years now. We love it, so I’m very surprised to read some of the low reviews.
First, their breakfast. My favorite is the quiche. I order it every time with the potatoes au gratin and a croissant. It’s my all time favorite breakfast. They definitely cook their dishes with butter in it, and it’s very good. I don’t think it’s greasy, I think it’s buttery. Honestly. If you’re not a fan of butter, why are you at a French restaurant?
Next, their lunch. I usually get the ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette or a croissant. Always delicious. The baguettes are so good and the croissants are always flaky like I like them.
Finally, dinner. I’ve tried a few different dishes. Some heavier, some not. Crepes are awesome, lots of rich, creamy sauce on some — which OK… maybe that’s too heavy for some (e.g., light eaters or lactose intolerant/​gluten free/​diet obsessed types/​picky eaters) but I think the rich sauce is what makes the meal decadent. A real treat to enjoy. I’ve never ordered a dish I didn’t fully enjoy from La Petit.
The restaurant itself has a sleepy, beachy, casual feel. It’s not fancy or pretentious and doesn’t pretend to be. I like the servers I’ve had over the years, sure… some have been better than others, and sure there were occasional missteps like being busy and forgetting to ask about refills. Not the end of the world, those things happen at all restaurants, so I don’t agree with what others say about service. The owner, his wife, and the staff have always been casually professional and nice to us. It’s at the very sleepy Ventura Harbor Village, not on the French Riveria or inside the Four Seasons. That’s part of its charm.
Last but not least, the bakery. I love popping in on occasion for fresh bread and some delicious pastries or cookies for dessert. Always good. This place has been a consistent favorite of mine and my family for years, and we fully expect it to continue to be that way for as long as they are in business… which is hopefully at least 20 more years.

The food was good, perfect day for sitting on the patio and the host made sure we had a nice table, «out of the breeze.» Wait staff was nice. Will definitely return as it seems like a great place for the start to Date Night

On a cold evening I ordered the Mediterranean salad, which was full of artichoke hearts, avocado, and other delicious veggies with housemade dressing. The very helpful and knowledgeable server recommended an excellent Pinot Noir and the carrot cake, which I also loved. Baguette was perfectly fresh, sweet and sour are the same time. An exquisite experience.

My first review of this place was in 2011, and it was the best chicken crêpe I had ever had. I went back a few days ago, and it was good, but not great. The chicken was over cooked. It was still good, but I sincerely hope they can bring back the quality that I know they are capable of.

Homemade breads and pudding on point! The food is delicious! Friendly service and you get a view of the harbor. A gem!

Great location, service decent but the food was on the low end of average on it’s best day… I had a French Quickie sandwich that was pretty tough to eat. The dressing for the salad was tasteless. French fries were OK. Many better options in that area.

Attempted to go to Le Petit for breakfast last Saturday, after picking up some coffee at Beacon. Was looking forward to a nice meal with my wife on the patio overlooking the harbor.
Unfortunately, after we were seated and had perused the menu for a few minutes, the waitress came back to the table and said that «he» (I assume the manager or owner) had said something to her about our coffee that we brought in with us, so maybe we could just «slam them really quick or something.» Uh, no thanks.
I asked if «he» could come to our table, so I could tell him how and why his business had just lost ours. She refused to go get him, or even point me in his direction. So we left, and now «he» (and you!) gets to read about it online.
We weren’t there for coffee anyway, and I certainly wasn’t going to pay whatever they charge (edit: $ 3.25!) for a mug of whatever lousy coffee they serve that’s been sitting on a warmer getting even lousier for who knows how long. I go to an actual coffee shop for coffee; I was planning on paying Le Petit too much for some breakfast food. Having now read some other reviews, looks like we dodged a bullet there anyway.
And of course I know that it’s any restaurant owner’s right to refuse service, or to set whatever policies they want. But as far as I’m concerned, there were two appropriate times to tell us: either when we walked in the door and before we were seated, or at the end of the meal as a «just so you know our usual policy for next time» type of thing.
It’s not like they were busy at the time (I think there was one other table sat, around 9:45am on a Saturday) but I guess they must be doing well enough to turn away selling two meals over not selling two cups of coffee. C’est la vie.

There were 5 of us. I ordered the quiche. I found a hair in it. I told the waiter. Unfortunately my husband paid the bill. I spoke to the manager, the waiter never told him. He told me there was nothing he could do. Everyone else’s meal was fine. Will not eat here again.

Don’t go! I’m french and thought I will have a good breakfast but really the food is not cheap and taste like nobody cares about it in the kitchen! Very greasy crêpe and the crab cake sandwich was so so, just wonder if they know how to make
aioli cause you couldn’t taste it at all! the dill crème fraîche tasted like liquid whipping cream! found a hair in my salad and coffee didn’t taste good either!
Well first and last experience over there!
The chef is not very friendly and the service is just ok!

Not sure who these people are giving this place good ratings!
We were seated outside fairly promptly and the table was nice, as was the view… that’s where the niceties end! There were multiple young bus people on the floor and no one looked at us for 15 min after being seated. We finally had to walk up to the hostess to ask for our waiter. She came out and mumbled an apology. She then brought the worst coffee I have ever tasted. Basically brown weak water. I ordered oatmeal and it reminded me of what Jane Eyre ate at the orphanage, runny and bland! I asked for butter thinking it might make it taste better but it was too cold and it never even melted. My husbands breakfast was a «French» quickie. It was a mediocre croissant with an overcooked egg and bacon scramble served with the greasiest Au gratin I’ve ever seen. We were both so shocked at how bad everything was… we really aren’t that picky! But then we heard the people next to us complain about the coffee and she said couldn’t eat her egg dish either because it was too greasy, so we knew it wasn’t just us. Unfortunately, Ventura Harbor doesn’t have a lot of options for breakfast that are stellar, but this place is THE WORST!

ZERO STARS!!!
Was seated outside on terrace on a pretty Saturday brunch. Started real bad and never recovered. Waited ten minutes to even be acknowledged. Then was approached by a very hurried and indifferent waitress who mumbled something incomprehensible. Ordered two coffees, oatmeal and an omelette sandwich that came with potatoes au gratin.
Eggs were cold. Potatoes were very greasy and under seasoned. Croissants were very soggy and just bad.
Oatmeal was very watery — dripping and tasteless.
Coffee is terrible. Basically brown, hot water.
Table next to us sent everything back because of grease.
STAY AWAY!!!

Le petit, why do I love thee?
1. Croissants-​Best outside of France, pull aparty, warm, buttery, flaky yumminess.
2. Outdoor patio-​Patio has a fountain in the middle, and overlooks the Ventura Habor with no cars in sight, only boats and people walking the flower lined harbor promenade.
3. Food– Breakfasts are lovely. Their pastry filled tourte de Paris is inspired, as are their potatoes that accompany their quiches as well. Mimosas and full breakfasts are available also.
Lunches are great too. My mom, who had never heard of quiche lorraine, ate every bite of hers, and barely let me have one spoonful of her potatoes, since I was trying to be good and having their large, fresh beet salad with heart of palm (accompanied with a croissant, of course).My friend’s mom had a tasty looking croque monsieur sandwich since she had not had one since Paris years ago.
4. Service-​is leisurely as befitting this type of place. All our food came out at the same time, iced teas were refilled promptly, and we never felt rushed despite the crowd enjoying the lovely day on the patio.

This place warms my heart. The fresh Sea Bass was delicious, the salad was picture perfect and the baby greens were crisp and chilled — the vinaigrette was light and tasty. The hot, fresh baguette is wooonderful with butter. This brings me to the potatoes — the béchamel… Oh the béchamel — so so so very decadently wonderful. I could bathe in it!
Don’t expect fast food. Expect leisurely, relaxed, and delicious French foods.
And, you must stop at their bakery side for the almond croissants, the cookies, and the palmiers. Oh La Pa!

($$$$$$$$$$$$)
Stopped in after breakfast at the Harbor Café. I have this obsession with bakeries/​fresh pastries, and saw that Le Petite Café was a few stores down…
We were not greeted with anyone at the register, so we followed a sign that said ring bell for service.
We ordered a few pastries to TRY:
1. Almond Croissant– crispy, flakey, flavorful
2. Apple Tart– Not too sweet, perfect amount of apple slices.
3. Cream Cheese Danish– fresh, flakey with creamy cheese.
The only downfall and disappointment is that the pastries here are quite EXPENSIVE. The prices average $ 3.50-$ 6 per item.
The 4 pastries we purchased came out to almost $ 16!
Portos isn’t even thaaaaaaat expensive, & are better quality. Shocked.
I’ll most likely come back because the quality is good, but I wish it wasn’t that expensive, unfortunately I will not be a regular here.