While spending the holiday season in Cape Cod, we discovered this new café in downtown. It looked very inviting and attractive, and with raving reviews, we decided to check it out one morning for a breakfast and some sweets.
The inside was bright with lots of large windows bring in natural lights. It was not a huge space, but much bigger than I thought for a café. It was very warm and cozy atmosphere with wood and tile everywhere. I liked the big chandelier and some antique-looking items on the walls. They had some tables, although not many, but a good amount for a café.
We arrived super early so avoid the morning rush, and that was a really, REALLY good decision. While we were sitting and enjoying our breakfast, people started to line up. Once the end of the line reached the entrance/exit door, it curved around the long wooden counter table. Wow! It really is a super popular spot, glad we got there before the mountain of people! The line moves a bit slow, as many people order many items to take home also. And I mean, huge bags full of baked goods and breads!
All of their goodies are displayed inside and out of the window showcase. They had all sorts of baked goods, including all kinds of croissants, cookies, cakes, tartelettes, eclairs, etc., etc…
They also offer many savory items also. They had some baguette sandwiches of pretty big size, several quiches, focaccia, and of course, all sorts of fresh baguettes! They looked really good, and I saw many customers buying these baguettes by the bagful. While standing in line, one of their staffs will be “assigned” to you. They make it simple by each customer ordering and paying for the order with one staff. They were all very nice and efficient, patient and polite.
You can see their kitchen behind the register, and they have a big oven right there. You can see them bake the popular baguettes all day, pretty impressive.
We got some sweets which can be handed to your at the time you make the payment at the register. So, we started with our desserts. You have heard of the very wise saying “life is short, eat desserts!” right? The first one was Plougastel ($5.25), made with Pistachio Joconde, Strawberry Coulie, Vanilla Bavarian Cream, Strawberry Glaze. It was nicely chilled and beautifully made. It had a mousse-like texture, but a bit firmer, yet velvety! Nice flavor of strawberry, but didn’t get much pistachio flavor. It did however had a bit of nutty flavor and texture. I could see the vanilla beans everywhere in the cream which was really nice!
Then their Éclair Pistache ($4.95). I like how they made the names of their items all in French so that most of us will have hard time pronouncing the otherwise super simple named items… LOL! I am sure I was not the only one who was butchering the names (I hope)! Anyways, back the to éclair. It is made with Pate Choux, Pistachio Pasty Cream, and Fondant. This one had a real pistachio flavor that was very present, but in an elegant way. It had loads of cream filling which was wonderful! It almost had a slight, just a hint of minty flavor to it? Loved it!
The last but not least, Chou a la Crème ($4.95), made with Pate Choux, Vanilla Pastry Cream, and Chantilly. I love choux cream, so when I see one, it is hard to resist…and this one was WOW! The cream filling was so fluffy and light. Even though it had a load of cream, it didn’t feel heavy or too much. Elegantly sweet, so amazing, felt like a fluffy cloud next to a rainbow with unicorns flying by…
And what did we get to wash down these amazing desserts with? We ordered a small Latte ($3.50) and a Cappuccino. Coffee is real deal here too, not just desserts. They asked if we wanted single of double shots of espresso with our cappuccino and latte. Nice! Hot drinks will be prepared at the time of order, and when it is ready, they will call your name, or bring it over to your table if they are not super busy. The staff actually brought two lattes by mistake, and when we told her we actually ordered one latte and one cappuccino, she apologized and to keep the latte. She went back and made the cappuccino immediately and brought it back to us. Thank you! And yes, the coffee was pretty darn tasty. And they have soy, almond and whole milk, nice options of milk.
For actual savory breakfast, we ordered Focaccia du Jour ($8.95) and Croque Monsieur ($8.95). When we ordered them, the staff asked if we wanted them heated up. And it came cut in half, easier to eat and to share. Nice! The Focaccia de Jour was Spinach, Mushroom, Ricotta, and Emmental Cheese.
It was quite large, and so fluffy! A nice amount of spinach and mushroom on it. A bit of sweetness from the cheese, very pleasant and filling. We really enjoyed this one!
Croque Monsieur ($8.95) is made with Pain de Mie, Black Forest Ham, Emmental & Swiss Cheese, and Mornay Sauce. It didn’t look like much, but it was sooo good! Nice and soft, and had lovely sweetness to it from the béchamel. The sauce was so creamy and wonderful, loved each bite! Nice size too, good for sharing.
Their bathroom is tucked away to the back left. They only had one uni-sex bathroom, that was also handicap accessible. It was clean, roomy, well-lit and cozy. Nice bathroom!
Needless to say, we had a nice breakfast here. They had nice French chanson-type music playing, producing soft, relaxing atmosphere. The staff who took care of us was really, very, super nice. Finding a seat could be tough if you get here during the peak hours, but the turnover is quick too.
We loved everything so much, we decided to get s few more items to take home with, so that we can have them for later. We bought total of six desserts. Look how beautiful they are!
We had them over the next two days. First up was Le Maison ($5.25), made with Chocolate Raspberry Genoise, Chocolate Mousse, and Raspberries. It was very creamy and velvety. It had real pieces of raspberries in the mousse too, which was surprising. The macaron shell had great almond flavor with raspberry. It had chocolate sponge cake on the bottom to hold up the mousse. Very chocolatey but not heavy or too decadent, it still felt nice and light.
Second one was Clafoutis Aux Fruits ($5.25), made with Pate Sucre, Almond Flour, Blueberries, Raspberries, Milk and Egg. The custard was more firm in texture, safely cuddling the sweet berries. It was very tasty, somehow comforting and gives you warm feeling with each bite.
Tarte au Citron Meringue ($5.25) was something my hubby was excited about, as he loves lemon meringue. This one is made with Pate Sucre, Almond Flour, Egg White, Sugar, Lemon Cream & Zest. The meringue was very fluffy and light, creamy and velvety. Lemon flavor was wonderful without being too sour or tart. Great lemon meringue for sure, did not disappoint!
Le Royal ($5.25) was one of their popular item, made with Almond Biscuit, Hazelnut Crunch, and Chocolate Cream. It looked heavy and super caramel-y from the outside, but it was actually light and not overly sweet. Almond biscuit was like a sponge cake, and chocolate cream was like a mousse. Making them elegant, light treat. The hazelnut crunch was really nice!
Then the Mixed Berry Tarte ($5.25), made with Pate Sucre, Almond Flour, Pastry Cream, Blueberry, Raspberry, Blackberry and Strawberry. As you can see, it had loads of fresh berries They were perfectly ripe and sweet, none of them were sour which was awesome. Custard was creamier than
Clafoutis and more fluffy too. The tart shell was nice and tasty, not too soft nor hard. Elegantly sweet as most of their desserts. Each bite was a delight!
Éclair Chocolat ($4.95) was made with Pate Choux, Chocolate Pastry Cream, and Chocolate Glaze. It was packed with chocolate cream filling, and it was very creamy! Puff pasty was light and flakey, simple éclair done great!
We loved everything we had, so naturally, we could not stay way for too long… We went back to get just four more items, this time, all croissants, as we wanted have them for breakfast. We got Croissant Aux Amandes ($3.95), Croissant Aux Mytrilles ($3.75), Pain au Chocolat ($3.25), and Croissant Aux Framboises ($3.75).
Croissant Aux Amandes ($3.95) is basically an almond croissant, and it was heavenly!!! Large and beautiful, flakey and light. The filling was moist and almost gooey, such a delight! The coating that overflowing from the top was really tasty too! Almond miracle from croissant heaven…
Croissant Aux Mytrilles ($3.75) is made with Blueberries and Cream Cheese. Croissant Aux Framboises ($3.75) is made with Raspberries and Cream Cheese. The berries were all fresh and sweet, croissant was buttery and flakey. Cream Cheese was velvety and sweet. High quality ingredients all working together in perfect harmony.
Pain au Chocolat ($3.25) is made with dark chocolate, providing stronger, rich cacao flavor. The croissant was buttery and flakey, light and airy. It didn’t have a whole lot of chocolate in it, but still, a strong presence of the real chocolate flavor with each bite.
We did have lots and lots of items from here, and we loved them all… Before we headed back to New York City, we had to visit just one last time!!! This time, we arrived early again before the crowds. We started off with Peppermint Latte ($4.50) with whipped cream. It had small bits of peppermint candy on top! The whipped cream was real deal heavy cream. It was a festive and fun drink!
We had desserts first again, this time, Chocolate Crème Brûlée ($5.25) and Cheesecake des Tropiques ($5.25). The Chocolate Crème Brûlée is made with Darl Chocolate Mousse, Dark Chocolate Biscuit, Vanilla Crème Brûlée, and Dark Chocolate Glaze. It was very sweet and decadent, but not much crème brûlée flavor. It was mostly chocolatey. It was nice and velvety.
Cheesecake des Tropiques ($5.25) is made with Almond Lime Joconde, Mango Pineapple Coulis, and Cream Cheese Mousse. It was great! I really enjoyed this! It had Strong tropical fruit flavor with light sponge and fluffy mousse. Refreshing and not overly sweet. It doesn’t look like much, but it certainly was a pleasant surprise.
For the main breakfast, we ordered Quiche Lorraine ($5.25), made with White Flour, Butter, Eggs, Cream, Milk, Black Forest Ham, and Emmental Cheese. It was super fluffy like a cloud! Sweet and comforting, filling and satisfying. You could taste the high quality ham, and crust was great too.
Another breakfast item we ordered was Focaccia du Jour ($8.95), since the last focaccia we had was pretty awesome. On this day, the focaccia was made with Potato, Onion, Bacon, Provolone Cheese, and Tyme. It was large just like the last one we had. Fluffy, cheesy, packed with flavor! Bacon was cooked just right, not too crunchy but perfect texture to me. Very satisfying.
We bought just one item to go, Torsade (3.75), which seems to be one of their popular item. The last time we were here, they were all sold out on this item. So we just had to get one! It is made with White Flour, Butter, Eggs, Dark Chocolate, Pistachio Almond Pasty Cream. It had lots of dak chocolate bits on top, which overpowered the pistachio flavor in my opinion. I wanted more pistachio flavor.. But otherwise, it was a tasty treat.
We visited this spot three times in a short time, but it was all so worth it. Everything we ordered was tasty and well crafted we enjoyed them all. The staffs here were very nice and welcoming, polite and warm. What a lovely bakery café! We will be sure to return the next time we are in Cape Cod!
Maison Villatte – 267 Main St, Falmouth, MA 02540