Vie de France is located in South Coast Plaza and has been there for as long as I can remember. It’s nice to stop here after shopping for hours on end and you want something to munch on without breaking the bank. They have two different parts of their restaurant, a bakery section and a sit down cafe. They are located on the lower level right outside of Saks Fifth Avenue.  You can’t miss this place as there is always a long line for their bakery. The long line goes by pretty quick and lets you browse through their pastry case as you wait in line. This can mean bad news sometimes because everything always looks so good.

I have visited the bakery numerous times and enjoy everything I have gotten.  My favorite pastry item is their croissants.  Whether it’s the ham & cheese croissant or their strawberry croissant, both are so light and buttery. For their savory items, they offer fiesta omelette croissants, turkey & cheese croissants, italian focaccia breads, swiss cheese croissant, and spinach & feta croissant. For their sweets, they offer strawberry cream cheese, blueberry, chocolate, raspberry and so many more. At their bakery, you can also get sandwiches: turkey, tuna, and ham. I recommend grabbing a pastry item with one of their smoothies. There are so many options, I can’t even name them all.

Their sit-down cafe can be a bit of a wait, especially on the weekends. I went their with my boyfriend, Daniel, on a Saturday night around 7pm. We waited for about 5 minutes for a table. Walking into the restaurant, it feels like a little cafe in France with the light interiors and table set up. The restaurant was very cozy and all the tables were pretty close to eachother. The server brought out a bread basket filled with pieces of a french baguette. The bread was very light and doughy and was perfect with the butter.

We started off with the Spinach and Cheese dip, which was the perfect amount in a small bowl for two people. It was very spinachy and nothing was too overpowering. I thought the dip could have used a bit more sauce. It definitely wasn’t anything to write home about, but for $5.79 I didn’t expect much.

I got the sandwich and soup combo for $9.

I opted for the Californian sandwich and their French Onion soup. I didn’t have much of a choice as far as soups because they ran out of all their other soups. The Californian came with sliced turkey breast, swiss cheese, avocado, bean sprouts topped with lettuce, tomato, and a dill sour cream spread all on a french baquette. The sandwich was very fresh and the perfect combination. My french onion soup was alright, it could have been a bit more flavorful. I’ve definitely had better.

The boyfriend got the Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo, which was $13. The menu said it came with a piece of garlic bread, but he never got it. His pasta didn’t have enough flavor either. The spinach and mushrooms overpowered the sauce. We looked around and it seems that every other table had ordered the Alfredo, it must be a popular dish there.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy the cafe as much as the bakery. Next time I will definitely stick with the bakery.Maybe I will consider giving some of their other cafe items a chance before I can really judge them. But for now, a ham & cheese and strawberry cream cheese croissant will do for me.

Too see what other French restaurants Costa Mesa has to offer, visit www.TravelCostaMesa.com