French Village Cafe & Bistro

The menu all sounded very tasty, it was actually quite hard to choose. The serving staff were all very friendly and efficient. You have to pay at the counter even if you're dining in so don't forget! The deli attached had some delicious looking baked goods and you can sandwiches and salads there without a queue. We had to queue to get in on a Thursday so it must be popular.

Really enjoyed a slow Saturday morning breakfast here. The cinnamon swirl was delicious warm. We had the Veggie Fry and the French Fry. Coffee was good and smoothie was delicious. Slightly confused by the pancake, potato bread combination in the breakfast but individually all delicious!

Lovely place, good food, fair prices. We were here on a Saturday morning, cafe was not too crowded. Service was still quite slow and didn’t bother to check in after a while if we wanted order something else. Still probably the best cafe in this area, would recommend for sure!

The food has always been great here, but the place was recently refurbished and I think they've removed a lot of the character from the place. Used to feel homey and relaxing but now it puts me in mind of an American diner. Menu has also been reduced so there isn't as much choice in either food or drinks, though as said, what's there is still good.

Anytime I’m out for lunch I always get a Caesar salad and this is one of the nicest I’ve had and definitely great value for your money. I am so bored of food places charging you extra for chicken.This place doesn’t :) For £9 the salad was huge… there was so much I honestly couldn’t even finish it. I also love cheese and it was covered in parmesan which just made it super tasty! We also ordered the club sandwich which was super filling and delicious. There’s a lovely seating area outside, perfect for the sunny weather coming in :) However, there are a few steps leading to the front door so I would be wary of this if you suffer from mobility issues as it may not be totally suitable for you. I’d also like to add that the iced chai latte was super small…. Honestly about a third of what you get from Starbucks or any other coffee shop :( which is why I removed a star

Very nice food and service. Had the club sandwich with gluten free bread. Super fresh salad - perfect bacon - chicken a little dry.

So I got a bit too excited and forgot to take a picture of my food, but atleast you get to see my empty plate. The main reason that it was empty is because it looked like a damn kids meal. The food was very good tho. The lads had their english breakfast which I shouldve picked as well to be honest.

We had breakfast in French Village Botanic last Saturday 26th July. We were seated very quickly and were asked if we wanted drinks immediately. We ordered coffee but the wait for this was longer than it should have been. This meant that we didn’t get ordering food until we got our coffees. The wait for the food was much longer than expected, which was surprising as the place was not full, and this meant that we had to order more coffee. However the food was superb- it was clean, hot and delicious!! The waitress was super attentive and very polite so hats off to her(although I didn’t get her name) 👏 I had the Fry up which was delicious and my wife had Mushrooms on sourdough- she thought this was superb but thought that 2 slices of sourdough bread should have been on the plate. We thought prices were slightly more expensive but I guess everything is going up in price nowadays. I would go back but would like to see quicker service.

Perfect early or midmorning breakfast/brunch spot. Bay window perfect for people watching, friendly staff and on the morning I went they played a very relaxing playlist of American Motown Even the whipped cream and marshmallows were handmade. When is the last time you've seen a handmade marshmallow?

My friends and I were staying close by at the Global Village hostel and on our last morning in Belfast, we were craving a good sit down brunch. We hopped on Yelp and saw that French Village was just down the street, so we just walked on over. For a Saturday morning it was quite busy, but we were lucky to get a table for 4 people right away. They have a pretty standard breakfast menu with your typical french toast, pancakes, bagel, hash, scrambled eggs, etc. Between the four of us, we pretty much ordered the whole menu, which was great because that means I got to try a bit of everything. For myself I ordered the bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon. It was good, but I don't think it was exactly what I was feeling that morning. I really enjoyed bites of their raspberry & white chocolate pancakes and frech toast though. I'd definitely recommend that if you've got a sweet tooth. On top of that, we got an assortment of different coffees and smoothies at our table. I went for a soy milk latte for myself and a strawberry banana smoothie. Both hit the spot perfectly. Service was a little spotty. Our waters were never really refilled (and on a hungover morning, endless water is a necessity), and our server looked a bit angry to be there. The manager came around to see how everything was doing though, which was great! They have a bakery on the other side of the restaurant (where you go to pay), and have an assortment of macarons, muffins, and other baked goods. Before we left, we got a small box of macarons to share and they were lovely! I can't remember all the flavours we got, but everything I tried was delicious. If you're in the University area, definitely a good spot to check out for a nice breakfast.

Another great BYO restaurant in Belfast, I dined here recently with 5 friends and had a really great night. Staff are friendly and welcoming and food is scrumptious. I had always heard for French Village bakery but had always thought it was a cafe, this however proved me wrong! This is a really lovely intimate restaurant and well priced. Great selection of food to choose and I don't think one of us had anything left on our plates. Definitely one to put on the list for a return visit.

This is a two part review. Part one is for French Village the bakery and delivery service. Part two is for The French Village bistro and cafe in Botanic. The online ordering portal is class. You can order cupcakes, buns, tray bakes and donuts for next day delivery right up until 5.30pm the day before. The portal allows you to select a delivery address (free delivery to certain postcodes) or choose to pick up the buns. On Thursday I had some buns delivered and they arrived bang on the time I selected and today I opted to pick my boxes up. I did have to wait a bit on pick up but you can't really complain when they are baking your order from scratch. The cafe in Botanic is beautifully put together, a distressed wooden interior creates a rustic look whilst maintaining a comfortable setting. This is a tough mix top perfect so hats off to French village. On Thursday morning I picked up 6 cupcakes (perfectly decorated) and 6 tray bakes for £13.50 - excellent value! The staff were great, advising me that I was better to get tray bakes if I wanted to share the buns with more people. The cupcakes themselves are an absolute work of art. Each one is created to the highest standard. My personal favourite was the toffee topped one. It was so full of sugar it left me feeling a little light headed - that's a good thing in my book! I will definitely be using French Village again - I'm dying to try their evening menu at Botanic. It's also BYOB - bonus!

Let's just say that those cupcakes didn't last long! The good people at Yelp sent us a delivery of assorted cupcakes and they were delicious. (I my have had 2) I enjoyed a chocolate and a red velvet cupcake and they were both great. Might have to make afternoon tea at French Village a regular thing!

Have only been here for tea/coffee in the evening. Place is always busy, and its bring your own too!! The food looks great and i have heard great reports about it. Service can be a bit slow sometimes, but staff will always make up for this with a smile or free refill of coffee.

Our friend, who is a regular in Belfast, told us this café is very popular and usually extremely busy. When we arrived on a dreary saturday morning we were one of the few customers there though. A lovely menu, not overly long, but with good choices of hot breakfast, pancakes and eggs. And cakes, oh wow those cakes I saw on display (YUM!) My eggs benedict with smoked salmon were good, but unfortunately both eggs were overcooked. Would have sent back, if I hadn't been feeling ravenous.

Whilst I have never been to French village, I have sampled their delights on countless occassion. I'm not sure if all offices have a BYOBB© policy (bring you own birthday buns). But ours most certainly does. French village has become increasingly popular in our office over the last few months and it's not hard to see why. They have an easy online ordering system where you can select multi boxes of various treats. Cupcakes, muffins, donuts, traybakes and more. They even deliver them right to the office, making it such an easy and effortless process. The 'buns' themselves are amazing. They look fabulous and taste even better. Plus your colleagues will love you. Winning all round.

Sitting on the corner of University street ad Botanic avenue, sits this wonderful place. You have the choice of sitting in or take away. Very comfortable (huge sprawling sofas) and bright. Excellent atmosphere, populated with attentive staff and an excellent eclectic menu. Great selection of food - Firstly lets talk about their bread, it is unbelievable. Secondly their muffins!!! They have plenty of choice in their baked goods but the apple & cinnamon is divine, its almost like God baked it himself. Decently priced, nice environment, doesn't seem like grey skied Belfast when you're in there. They have free wifi which is a major plus so I will definitely be back there more often. Perhaps I'll try another muffin

Came here on recommendation from our Air BnB host. He recommended we request an Ulster Fry...the typical Northern Ireland breakfast. This was called a FV breakfast on their menu and came with soda bread toast, pancake, sausage, bacon (ham), beans, and mushrooms. It was good...but the item I liked the most was my fresh iced tea. It was frothy and delicious. I cannot recall the flavor I chose, perhaps passion fruit? I liked it so much, I had to order one to-go as well!

I have pretty mixed feelings about this place. On one hand, I love sitting in it. It's cosy, cute and everything a small, family-run coffee shop should be. The staff are also lovely. They're usually really friendly and attentive so they make you feel right at home. On the other hand, I don't think I've ever really enjoyed the food there. The cupcakes were especially disappointing, and a lot of the time when I go they seem to be out of a lot of things. I'd understand this if I turned up 20 minutes before closing, but I'm going at 6 or 7 in the evening! To be fair, the place hasn't been open that long and the stock level could just be a teething problem, so I will continue to go there. I heard a rumour they did massive chocolate eclairs and if I go enough, I'm bound to get one eventually, right?

A regular haunt on a Saturday afternoon, great coffee and the cupcakes are delicious, my favourite is the dulce de leche cupcakes, totally indulgent and fattening. But a brisk walk around the nearby botanic gardens and a few startups and you'll have it burnt off in no time ;) I would recommend their order online service of you need some tasty treats for a special day, they range from tray bakes, desserts, cupcakes to proper cakes. We ordered an assorted box of cupcakes for a hen party, and they even decorated them to our requirements. (Picture attached). Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner this is a great all round cafe/bistro. And BYO, seems to be a standard requirement based on most of my reviews! I've had dinner here a couple of times, more recently with 4 of my friends, unfortunately we were squashed around a table in the corner which would be more suited to 4, by the time you got all our wines on the table, glasses and glasses and water there was hardly room for our dinner! Plus if you were the unlucky one sat right in the corner there was a lot of upheaval to everyone else just to get to the toilet, so that would be a small criticism that they could manage better. That being said the dinner was delicious, I had the bang bang chicken with a side of chunky chips, it had a lovely sweet but spicy sauce and the chicken cooked perfectly in a light batter. Their desserts are the winner here, they change daily along with their tray bakes and cupcakes but we shared a couple of different ones between us, the crack pie was yum. Staff were friend and efficient and price was reasonable at roughly a tenner for a main with side. I will definitely be back and I will hopefully have some opportunity to order one of their assorted cupcake boxes again, I don't think ordering one just for myself would be acceptable!

Im a big fan of this place. I use to live around the corner and when I was in university there I use to pop in here every week. So when I went up to Belfast for the weekend I just had to pop back into this place. The only thing that has changed is the roof decor... Which is actually really nice! The staff are as attentive as ever. Really friendly and welcoming. I had the chicken burger and sweet potato fries... The fries are the best sweet potato fries ive had in a cafe/restaurant. Burger was solid. Great feast. Great chillout spot for a coffee and a bit of grub. Definitely recommend to everyone.

I felt I had to add my own personal experience to the mixed reviews, purely because I had an overwhelmingly positive one. In fact, it was the perfect start to this particular day, and I must praise French Village for being such a fab little place. When I arrived at French Village at around 11am on a beautiful sunny morning, I was pleasantly surprised by its size, decor and general atmosphere. With two separate sections for sit in and takeaway, it was opulently decorated in terracottas and neutrals for a really glam, yet relaxed feel. I grabbed myself a seat on the comfy sofa, and soon lost myself among a pile of cushions, before one of the waitresses came over and asked me if I had gotten a menu (I stupidly hadn't realised you were supposed to do that bit yourself). Leafing through it while waiting for my friend, I noted the wide variety of breakfast dishes, pastries and other delicious goodies. Despite having already eaten, I couldn't resist a toasted croissant with jam (no butter, thank you very much). My friend soon arrived, and she selected the stack of pancakes covered in maple syrup. Mmmm. And oh, that croissant. It was the best I've ever tasted...seriously beaut. I did quite want another one, but felt that would be a tad overindulgent. Just a tad. My friend, meanwhile, was seriously enjoying her pancakes, which looked and smelt amazing. After all these wonderful smells / tastes etc, my mouth was saying "more", my stomach was saying "enough". Stomach won, luckily. But I knew that I would be back before long...

I've been a fan of the doughy goodness the French's have been making since they started with a small bakery in Stranmillis back in the day, and the produce here is still of that high standard. Serving a belt-loosening selection of sandwiches on their own gorgeous bread and a good range of hot lunches like lasagne or burger and chips, the reasonable prices in here, going by the frequent queues, seem to keep workers and students happy alike. The service isn't the quickest so if you are on a strict lunch break it may stress you out a bit if you are a Monica like me. Then again, with pastries like they have here for pudding, what's the rush!

Visited here as a pit stop during Ciclovia, absolutely heaving but still quick service to a table outside, prices were very reasonable and the food was lovely. Now that I've visited once, I will surely be back.

Damn it! They got me again with the lovely decor and the name! I'm a sucker for the outside look of a place and will always want to go in if it looks cool and hip. The French Village cafe does look cool and hip but at the end of the day it is just a reasonably sized coffee house that bakes and sells its own tray bakes, buns and bread. I had a coffee and a croissant, and that is exactly what I got - nothing special and nothing to write home about. In fact I felt this place was missing a certain je nais ce quax - there ain't nothing French about it!

Lovely cupcakes from French Village being given away free at the Hotplate Noshery! Great stuff guys

Nice little spot for lunch and coffee. Ordering is very handy. Standard menu, with some tasty bites.

Another happy experience here yesterday...took a friend I had bought a voucher for. She loved her bang bang chicken & me my chicken salad. We shared an amazing sticky toffee pudding with our tea and coffee. Although the dessert was slow to arrive we were impressed at their flexibility when our table number increased last minute at a peak time for them.

French Village on Botanic's breakfast menu is so good that I happily just went in by myself when none of my friends were free. A little expensive and the place can get pretty packed but a real treat!

I always enjoy the food in French Village. Their superfood salad is delicious, today however I felt like stodgy food so opted for their veggie lasagna and chips - tasty and filling. Feeling extra greedy I also had a dessert of banoffee which was so amazing I completely forgot to photograph it before I devoured it! I've eaten in this cafe/ restaurant numerous times and find the staff very pleasant - service has been a little slow on a couple of occasions - but in fairness to the staff it has been when they have been very busy. It's BYO and they offer breakfast/lunch, early evening and later evening menus so there's a good selection to choose from. Good coffee too.

I ate here a few times over the week I was in Belfast, once for takeaway- consisting of the duck wrap which was very fresh tasting, but next time I would have them go lighter on the sauce. I also came here for lunch and was seated at a table. The bang bang chicken was excellent. However, the real show stealers are all of their desserts. There are so many varieties, all baked fresh, and all reasonably priced. I hope I get the chance to come back here one day!

One of the more interesting coffee shops on this stretch of road as it boasts that everything is baked fresh in the premise's bakery. It's your standard café/sandwiches fare but the setting is cool and there's always a nice buzz in here. Best slot is heading out to the back area where there are comfy sofas and the large windows give the corner slot a great vantage point for watching life bustle by. When I last visited it was quite busy so I just hung outside despite it being a bit damp and cold. The coffee is pretty good and the takeaway seems to do a roaring trade. A cool little addition to this part of town. Pros: Food is fresher than fresh Cons: Can get busy so snag those comfy seats early.

mmm!! French Village is a cute little bakery/cafe serving lovely cupcakes, pastries danishes, cakes and fresh mad sandwiches. The interior is really nice and has that real french sweet feel to it! The sandwiches are made right there in front of you which I love as you can see exactly what's going into it! I love their Cajun chicken salad as a filling. I also got a danish which was most excellent and really indulgent! I like this place as its slightly different to the pretentious modern coffee shops which seem to be springing up everywhere and it has a much more homely welcoming ambiance.

French village is a family run business and I have used it for both lunches and catering (birthday cake and cupcakes). The café bistro has a great selection of fresh baked goods and savoury . There are a wide selection of newspapers and the food comes quite quickly after ordering. The café has a young and friendly vibe, the staff are all quite young and knowledgeable. The initial service before being seated can be slow at times (I've had to hover in the entrance a few times before I was seated), so it would be handy if they just had the menus and customers can pick their own seats. I am repeat customer because of the quality of food and the fact it is all freshly made to order. If you are in the area I would highly recommend.

My boyfriend and I passed this place on our first evening here on holiday and decided we would return another day for lunch when it was open. We arrived around noon and the place was packed. We were quickly seated and within the first five minutes we were approached three times for our order. A bit annoying to be rushed so much even if they were busy we weren't pressed for time. I ordered a bacon and brie sandwich and the beau ordered a chicken fried sandwich. I also had a salted caramel mocha. All was delicious and would have deserved a 5 star review if we hadn't been approached about seven times throughout the meal.

Warm atmosphere, friendly staff and a great menu! Love coming here for a coffee and cake or for a more substantial lunch.

I love this place, it's always a 1st on the list for breakfast or lunch. I'm a sucker for anything with goats cheese and they have an amazing goats cheese salad..I tried to re create it at home but it's just not the same. It is always busy and can be a bit cramped but definitly worth it. So glad to hear they are opening a new one just round the corner from me. Even handier now.

My favourite place to come alone and relax with a cup of tea and a scone!

So much potential here. A broad coffee shop menu, comfortable interior and friendly staff. However, they seem to be finding it hard to get into the swing of things. I was a devotee of their Stranmillis branch in the 90s so I was very excited to see it reincarnated in Botanic recently. I've been three times now and every time they have messed up my order in some way. Uncooked porridge, drinks not arriving, forgetting to bring my friend's order... I'm hoping that they get the service issues resolved as the baked goods are excellent! I'll be back in a few months...

A regular haunt for me and my family at the weekend. A really extensive menu and breakfast served until 3pm. Not the biggest place so always a queue but with the wait. Food is excellent and so are the smoothies and milkshakes.

Not as much garlic as one might think but besides the name quiet a pleasant place. The food is nice, especially the baguettes - mmmmmmmm. The price is reasonable. Nothing to shout about but certainly worth the visit.

French Village is a great place to chill with a coffee sometime, hopefully on the outside, enjoying watching the hustle and bustle of Bontanic Avenue. But that's all it is really good for. Food wise the place is a disaster. I've only have a few cakes an buns there, but everyone of them has been disappointing (you'd think I'd learn after the first time). I keep coming back because I like the way this place looks. It has a really good vibe that I like to relax in. If only they could improve the food!

Nice enough place to be in but was at a very wonky table. Staff were a bit slow on the draw. I got pancakes with bacon and a latte which came to near £8. I'm not poor but I think that is a bit expensive. Also, they did not bring any maple syrup to the table. There was some on it but applying it should be to the customer's discretion. I would go back but just for a coffee and only because it seems like a nice place to sit (despite the wonky table) compared to some of the other cafes on Botanic Avenue. Also the menu states you can have cream with a scone, when I asked if it was clotted cream I was told it was whipped cream. Who has whipped cream with a scone?? Get some clotted cream in and I'll definitely be back.

Nice place, reasonably priced, good food. All staff seem very nice although one young man in particular seems very reluctant to hand out loyalty stamps, only giving one even when I've bought myself and my two daughters a coffee each! This has happened twice but he rectified the situation when I pointed it out so I will definitely be going here again. Only other issue is that they only accept cash payment at the moment but I think they are changing this

The food is nice and there is a variety of sandwiches an usually two soups to choose from also the interior decoration is pleasant. However I find the service is hectic! I have ate there a number of times and the last time has really put me off. Ordering a take away felt like we where putting the girl out! Her snappy attitude made we want to walk out and spend my money else where. After ordering sandwiches the till service was ridiculously slow with so many people walking past us and no one asking could they help! Ordering buns on the same occasion was also an effort for the staff. They had intended to be a gift to a person whom were visiting later that day. With that in mind they put the 6 variety of buns into individual paper bags, instead of a box you would expect from such a pricey bakery. I really don't intend to return due to the attitude of the service which is a shame as the sandwiches are nice but I would rather go somewhere with friendly service.

A mixed bag. Staff are friendly and helpful, unfortunately there aren't enough so it takes very long for the menus and then the food to come. I've been here a few times and it's a bit of a coin flip if it's nice or not. A while back after getting the Sweet chilli chicken I really enjoyed it. I decided to order it again and got a sloppy mess between two slices of bread. Portions are nicely sized but what's the point if the food isn't nice. If you're a lucky person you might just like French Village but personally there's too many nicer places close by.

Anytime I've been here I've liked it. Some people who've not been on Botanic Avenue in a while will probably remember this place better as 'Natural Rhythms' which has since closed down and the premises have now re-opened with this new name and looking a lot smarter and with a great buzz about it. It's in an excellent location, being so near to the University and obviously attracting students, tourists and shoppers alike, so it's always busy. They make the sandwiches in front of you, which I really like because you know it's fresh and also made from very good quality ingredients, and the decor and environment is inviting, welcoming and warm - very well thought out. The highlights are the bakery items, cupcakes, buns, pastries and other gorgeously glazed delicacies. Worth a visit if you're passing by.

Absolutely awful experience here, staff were just so rude and ignorant. Had to ask to be seated, for menus, to wipe the table!!Had to ask for cutlery and drinks twice. Will never return here!

Been to French village before and had a nice enough experience staff weren't all that competent and a little overbearing. I was here today and had a particularly bad, ordered a sandwich (BBQ chicken) and it wasn't nice at all, 'the roasted peppers' were raw and not pleasant to eat and the chicken was dry. When we went to the till they had lost our order and a particularly rude female member of staff acted as if it was our fault. We then asked to split the bill (this is a common request as it is one of the closest cafés to Queens University and this was met with a cold stare and a comment that bills cant be split between 12-3, after the woman making us stand and wait for her another male member of staff who was clearly better trained agreed to split the bill, it was a quick request and she spent so long creating a fuss she caused a great queue behind us, which left other patrons unhappy, wont be back.