Tiny Bites: La Crêperie Causeway Bay

The new Causeway Bay La Crêperie location is a great dinner spot for the whole family offering a comfortable, kid-friendly atmosphere and delicious dishes that will have you and your little ones saying tres magnifique!

You ask either of my kids to list their top three foods and crêpes will always make the cut. So, of course, they were ecstatic to hear that we were going to go for dinner at La Crêperie in Causeway Bay, a French restaurant known in Hong Kong for their delectable Breton crêpes. And don’t think my husband and I weren’t excited to go, too. We both love a good crêpe, and have been hearing about this place for a while now.

But of course, as parents, whenever we’re contemplating taking our kids, and especially our 2-year old, to a restaurant, we have to wonder, “will we be able to dine there without one of us (usually me) having a total meltdown?” Meaning- is the place kid-friendly enough in its food and facilities to accommodate a young diner’s palate, but especially an energetic and moody (sigh) toddler? We couldn’t wait to find out. And the fact that this Causeway Bay location is close to our home, made it appealing to us out the gates.

La Crêperie has two other locations in Hong Kong; one in Sheung Wan and another in Wan Chai. The Causeway Bay restaurant is the newest of the three and is located on the 8th Floor of the L Square. As someone who is relatively new to and continually getting lost in Hong Kong, after initially passing the building in a cab, I was relieved to see that there was someone from La Crêperie in the lobby of the L Square greeting guests and escorting them to the floor. Nice touch.

The elevator doors opened to a warmly lit, inviting space decked out in a nautical theme complete with port-hole mirrors and tall ship models. The kids loved the theme, and I loved to see the walls of banquettes, knowing that we’d have a bit of privacy and not be completely exposed to the other diners, just in case the kids got ‘restless’, which rarely happens (said with sarcastic flair).

We were warmly greeted by Yann, one of the owners of the Le Crêperie trio of restaurants, who immediately got us situated with some coloring pictures and crayons for my daughter, and a bottle of Kerné apple cider ($165 HKD) for my husband and me, which we sipped from a “bolee” or small bowl, that was part dry, part sweet, right in between and all around refreshing. As we sipped the cider we realized that Radiohead was playing overhead. Kids were occupied, adults were relaxing- we were all in a great place. I was liking this place already.

We started off with a spicy chicken roulé de blé noir bretons ($58) otherwise known as a spicy chicken Brittany roll. It was spiced ground chicken wrapped in a crepe with dijon mustard to dip it in. It was just spicy enough to thrill our tastebuds, but not so much that the kids wouldn’t eat it. In fact, my 13-year old loved it.

We then moved on to the pan-fried foie gras ($98) which was topped with asparagus and sat upon a bed of caramelised apples and salted caramel butter- what?! The sweet and savory combination was a big winner. We devoured it in under two minutes and uttered at least a dozen “mmm”s collectively.

Once we’d finished with the starters, the beyond friendly and attentive staff made sure to bring the kids’ dishes, first. This wins big points in the eating with kids department. It’s nice to dine at a place which realises that hungry children aren’t good at waiting and do much better in a restaurant setting when they can get started on the food right away. We’d ordered the kids a classic galette to share, La Complète ($78), which is filled with ham, emmental cheese, a sunny-side up egg, and salad. But confession- we ordered it without the salad to cater to our kids’ aversion to leafy greens. The two of them gobbled it up. And in between bites, I heard my son say something like, “this galette is the boss of all galettes.” That’s pretty much a five-star review for 13-year old standards.

While the kids were devouring their galette, my husband and I enjoyed scallop carpaccio with Hokkaido scallops and black truffle paste. Each bite practically melted in our mouths. This was one of our favorite dishes of the night. Wait, more Radiohead from the speakers? You really know how to get to me, La Crêperie.

We started into the main course with the La Gabier galette ($138) which is filled with pan-fried lobster meat, fish bisque, homemade tomato sauce and garlic. The tangy tomato sauce tasted fresh off the vine and pairing it with the lobster meat and garlic made for a beautiful flavor.

We quickly followed that up with a Les Poulains galette ($128) stuffed with French raclette cheese, ham, smoked ham, potatoes, pickles and salad. My husband and I being huge fans of raclette, really loved this one. The generous portions of ham, potatoes and oozing cheese made the dish quite hearty. The galettes are made of buckwheat flour providing several delicious gluten-free options.

And of course, our visit to Le Crêperie would not have been complete (i.e. our kids would have royally lost their minds) without the decadent treat of a sweet dessert crepe, a dish highly anticipated by our kids…ok, by ALL OF US.  We decided on the classic Nutella crepe (duh!) ($45) and the Mademoiselle crepe, an item off the new menu which is a crepe covered in imported berries, vanilla ice cream and dollops of whipped cream topped with a drizzle of caramel. After looking at the pictures do you expect to hear anything other than ‘they were AMAZING!’? Of course not. The nutella crepe was insanely delicious and the Mademoiselle, with the salted caramel, whipped cream, berry party was nothing short of OMG!

The verdict

All of us, from my 2-year old to my 13-year old to my husband gave our dining experience at Le Crêperie a big thumbs up. The menu had plenty of kid-friendly items along with an extensive variety of dishes to please any galette-loving, discriminating adult’s palette. Yann and the staff just “got it”. They knew how to keep the kids occupied and what to recommend for them. The outlay of the restaurant gives it a spacious feel, and the atmosphere was relaxing, friendly and fun. I would definitely recommend this spot for a comfortable, casual dinner out with the family. Both kids and parents will enjoy it!

Stroller Access?
Yes – the elevator goes straight to the restaurant from the street level. And there is ample stroller parking.

Highchairs
Yep!

Kid’s Menu
No designated kids menu, but plenty of items on the general menu that kids will love.

Price Range
Dishes range from $45 to $158, and you get a big bang for your buck.

Opening Hours
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday: 12 noon – 11.30pm. (last call at 11.15pm.) Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: 12 noon – 12 midnight (last call at 11:45 pm) Closed Monday.

La Crêperie, 8/F the L square, 459-461 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, 2898 7123, www.lacreperie.com.cn