Café Salade de Fruits

Café Salade de Fruits
1551 West 7th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

It was one of those days that I took the day off (*) and… Well, from the work perspective, let’s just say things happened while I was not there. (sigh). But, otherwise, it gave me the opportunity to visit restaurants that would be unlikely for me to visit (time, location, etc.). Salade de Fruits was such place.

* – Actually, it was a day off in-lieu of flying during the weekend.

I know the picture above is a bit different from my usual outside sign/entrance picture. And there is a reason for that: This restaurant is located in the same place as the Centre Culturel Francophone de Vancouver. As a result, if it wasn’t because of a couple of tables outside, most people won’t even know there is an actual restaurant there.

In the case it was not evident enough… Cash only!!!

Ordering was actually a bit… Problematic. No, it was not what was in the menu; rather it was *how* it was written in the menu. As you can see in the picture above (or not really…), everything is in French. Sure, there were a couple of things I could have easily guessed; but, there were a couple of offerings that between translation and thought process were not taken into consideration (which would have been probably good dishes to try). Anyway, it was a day off, I did not want to think too much and (almost randomly) chose a dish.

When I got the bread, I had mixed feelings. For some reason, it felt… disappointing. Probably because of that perception of a French baguette, I would have expected something cut from that, not from a regular looking baguette. Oh, yes, since I was seated outside and it was difficult for them to check on me constantly, I was just given the whole jar of water!

I started with a soupe of légume or a vegetable soup. I know, I know, the picture looks strange, I admit that. Just that liquids like this is a bit difficult to take pictures of due to the glare. I wish I could have done better. Sorry… As for the taste, it was quite good. Not over seasoned, not bland, with enough vegetable. I finished this in almost no time.

“What?!” some of you might say. How the hell I was in a French restaurant and I ended ordering pasta? Did I mention I was a bit lazy and ordered almost at random? hehehehehe. This dish is ravioli aux champignons avec sauce pesto, aka, mushroom ravioli with pesto sauce (see, you could have easily guessed without a translation!). I know, I know, I could have ordered the grande table which had soup, steak, crepe and coffee but I did not really want such heavy meal. So, how was the pasta? I must say it was quite good. Although the ravioli itself did not have that al dente chewiness, it was a good thing as it did not try to “fight” with the mushroom’s consistency. I must say I enjoyed every piece. And, the extra cheese on the top gave it an extra umami/savoury layer. In fact, when I finished the pasta, there was a bit of left-over pesto sauce that I use the bread to “swipe” the bowl clean! ^_^;;

I must say that I had some bias toward French restaurants in general, i.e., fancy sounding dish names, tableware, really expensive, etc., based on feedback from others, some of the local French restaurants are worth what you pay for (Le Crocodile, anybody? Check a post from ET and Christina of Doesn’t TaZte Like Chicken here). However, I prefer more down to earth food. In this case, Salade de Fruits showed me that French food can be as such (not to mention relatively inexpensive, as the total bill was under $20!). And, while this place does not have the glamour associated with fine French dining, all the waiters and waitresses were quite helpful and genuine. Would I come back? Certainly!

Tagged under: French • Kitsilano • Lunch • Vancouver