Café Breizh
Ham and Cheese Croissant
Almond Croissant
Cinnamon Roll
Blueberry Muffin
Raspberry Tart
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Apple Turnover
Opened at the onset of December and featuring the work of Strip-veteran Pierre Gatel plus his partner Jerome Marchand, Café Breizh adds one more French Bakery to the growing half-dozen in the West Valley with longer hours than most and a some unexpected surprises including Coffee from La Colombe plus the offering of French Crepes.
Located on South Fort Apache, the interior featuring sleek design and clean white lines though the area surrounding it seems most well-known for a Dollar Store and Little Caesars, patrons of Café Breizh are invited to dine on a wide diversity of items both sweet and savory at one of the restaurant’s indoor tables or a soon-to-be-built patio while the ramp-up process in the kitchen is already underway.
Said to have been a longtime dream for Chef Gatel, his birth and training both in Northern France before bringing his skills overseas where classic recipes were featured at Wynn and Encore for over a decade, it is with wide eyes that most will take in the beautiful creations stored behind glass as more items bake in the kitchen to replete daily choices from seven in the morning until seven in the evening.
Eventually opting for a half-dozen plus one pastries, Pierre tacking on an Americano plus one more after a visit to the kitchen that is still a bit disorganized but assuredly up-and-running with plenty of room to grow, first bites of a Ham and Cheese Croissant glistening beneath a shattering shell of Cheddar quickly gave notice that the team knows its stuff, the separated layers soft and delicate despite being filled with sliced Pork and easily one of Las Vegas best savory breakfast items, on-Strip or off.
Moving on to sweeter things, even the Chef’s already-known description of a ‘traditional’ Almond Croissant not enough to convince me that the one at Café Breizh isn’t soggy and overly slathered with Frangipane – though my 9-year old dining companion admittedly liked it a lot – far better textures were found in a tightly wound Cinnamon Roll only rivaled by CRAFTkitchen locally for balance of crunch and springy center without rendering the edges dried-out.
Serving an admirable Blueberry Muffin, the shallow-welled baking pan making it almost 80% ‘top’ with fresh Blueberries throughout, Pierre’s Raspberry Tart offers a lot of good Fruit atop a Shortbread-style crust though the filling beneath is a little underwhelming, his Turnover far better as a result of making the inside from freshly sliced Fuji Apples without too much sugar and just a hint of salt.
Rounding out the morning with two Cookies, the better of the two a toss-up as each features a crisp rim and nearly Pudding-soft center, Chef Gatel states that the secret to his Chocolate Chip is allowing the chunks of Dark Chocolate to melt slightly before mixing them into the batter while the Oatmeal is just a matter of using good ingredients, something that a look at his walk-in and prep-table makes quite evident for all of his creations.
THREE AND A HALF STARS: Already off to a good start and a welcome addition to an area that certainly needs it, Café Breizh is the sort of place that will be interesting to watch and revisit over time, Chef Gatel and his partner clearly possessing a lot of skill as well as passion with a kitchen more than capable of doing more should the community demand it.
RECOMMENDED: Ham and Cheese Croissant, Cinnamon Roll, Cookies.
AVOID: I realize Almond Croissants come in several styles, but none should leave my hand wet after picking it up. Tarts also run a bit more pricey than they should when compared to off-Strip Competitors while the overhead music could stand to be turned down by about half.
TIP: Free Wi-Fi available, menu soon to expand with items like a Croque Monsieur and Canele suggested.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
http://www.cafebreizh.com
