Le Gamin Cafe

Love this place. I had the eggs, bacon and greens. All delicious. Love the ambiance. The coffee was heaven. I could easily sit here for hours

Super cute café. I love their brunch and its usually easy to get into (not a super long line). A good go to spot on Vanderbilt.

Nothing super fancy, but good lunch of gazpacho and tuna and chicken sandwiches.

Charming when you look in through the window on a cold day, once you get inside, Le Gamin is. .. a little less appealing. My girlfriend and I stopped in for breakfast on a February day, and were greeted pretty gruffly by the host, who seated us in a table basically in front of the door to the outside. Note to the fire inspectors: how this isn’t a hazard is beyond me. We froze, and shot dirty looks at incoming patrons who didn’t shut the door soundly behind them.
We ordered two coffees, which resulted in two problems: 1) only one came, the other forgotten until we were able to flag down the lone waitress; and 2) it wasn’t coffee, it was a (lousy) Americano. I don’t have a problem drinking watered down espresso if you tell me that’s what I’m getting (she didn’t) and it tastes good (it most definitely didn’t).
But we both got omelettes, and they were both good but not great. The merguez sausage in mine was delicious, but what they have listed as «tomato confit» on the menu, though, is just some diced tomato – pick another omelette filler, for sure. Omelettes came with a side of fried potatoes and a bit of salad.
It could still be transportative to sit in Le Gamin and imagine you’re in Paris or Lyons (even down to the semi-​hostile service and French crooners on the stereo), and that has its benefits. And if you order well, you’ll be satisfied with the food, I bet. But nothing all that outstanding, I’m afraid.

Good food, it’s fresh and taste very nice. French fries are not especial amd resembles McDonald’s.
Why not a 5 star because two things: it’s freezing cold inside and server was extremely boring and not caring. Prices are okay would just expect more from this little and sustaining local french spot.
Where is the owner or manager? Need better tightening management, that’s all.

A charming little café on Vanderbilt with delicious café au laits and a good menu! Im a fan of most everything French so the fact that their servers can understand/​take your order in french (with great pronunciation might i add!) definitely enhanced the experience. Le Gamin Café is a good sized establishment that can get quite crowded, but there is a lovely patio area in the back that i’m excited to try in the spring/​summer. Food was very tasty — lots of poached eggs on the menu so this is a great place to try if you like a perfectly poached egg. Decent prices and warm ambiance makes this a really great brunch option in the neighborhood!

This is my favorite place to sit and pretend I’m abroad. I’m always scared it’s going to go out of business because there’s not many people inside. But it seems to do just enough business. Le gamin makes you feel like you’re not somewhere crowded which is unusual for somewhere so nice.

No room at Chuko, so we land here. They are out of the Corbieres, so I have the recommended Malbec to drink. The spouse has the Chardonnay and my friend the Bloody Mary (Tito’s vodka) so far, so good. An appetizer of pâté is savory, nice toasts, not too chunky, mustard omitted. Good bread and butter for the table. An onion soup passes muster, as does a croque madame. It would all be four star except for the moules. They are small and tasteless. The herby broth looks like it would be delicious, but is not so special. The frites are thick cut, but hot, tasty and fresh. It I came again I would plump for an omelet, those looked swell.

Food was great. French style. Had adequate seating. Very quiet and i like it. Perfect place to have breakfast with hubby

Lovely, classic french café. Brunch is spot on. Crocque Monsier was delish. Fresh squeezed juice and fries made my day. Ambience is understated, neighborhood French Café. If I lived down the block, i’d stop in several times a week. Local jewel.

I love it because it’s consistently good, the service is warm and friendly, and the back garden is a comfortable place for brunch, a third date, or a laid-​back dinner with friends. We often get a bottle of whatever and chill out for hours at a time.
I’m going to contradict myself and say that the burger is not good. Kind of bland. But otherwise, I’ve had the crepes, risotto, french toast, branzino, croque madame, mussels, and several sides (artichoke, potato salad, olives and been happy every time.
One time it got busy and the service took forever – I’m not sure but sometimes I think they get some young French 20-​somethings and so that will affect the service. But they are friendly and try, and on a Sunday morning we tend to be forgiving. You’ll calm down once you pretend you’re in Europe.

I used to frequent this place for brunch years ago. I miss the croissants which were not bad for this side of the atlantic. The egg dishes and brunch fair were flavorful and consistent.

Decent brunch. Ambience is very nice. Mellow environment. Whatever you do don’t get the salad include. I usually stick to the creeps. They can be a bit heavy handed with their omelette a so keep the order simple. Great espresso drinks.

My group came here on New Years Day because they were pretty much the only place open in the neighborhood. We got seated right away, drink orders were taken and 5 minutes later our order was in.
I ordered the Gamin Burger. It wasn’t anything special, but it wasn’t terrible. The bread it was on had a weird crunch to it that I didn’t care for. I tried the risotto that was ordered for my 2 year old niece and that was delicious.
My sister and I both had dessert. I tried the flourless chocolate cake and she had the pot of chocolate (mousse) The cake was excellent, the mousse was just okay. The service was excellent. I would definitely come back again.

Thank goodness Chuko had a two hour wait. Le Gamin accepted us with open arms.
Not only was the food delicious and the ambiance romantic, but you get a good bang for your buck. The beau ordered their spicy lamb and sausage sandwich, which was almost a revelation. I ordered the onion and Brie sandwich, which was sweet and buttery (though the baguette was a bit soggy) which was served with a hearty side of greens in a fantastic mustard vinaigrette. The Pomme frites were perfect. The Bordeaux was tasty and warming. The crème brûlée was a dream. All of this cost us short of $ 35. Good food with good portions at a reasonable price? I’M sold!

Got a glass of malbec and chocolate brownie. Was excellent
$ 20
I would go back

Price while this is not bad. However I think they should change their menu according the season. I order the mussel and boy they are like size of a penny. I felt cheated.
Service is really good up to the class. While seating outdoor, I don’t expect full attention however the waiter is always there to ask us if we need anything.
Beside sitting too close to this big mouth customer of their (we heard you too), we had a great experience with the food, ambiance and pricing. I will try to come back for dinner instead of brunch.
Tip: do ask or know what is in season before you order thou

comme ci comme ça. A good café to get brunch or lunch with a friend in close quarters (NOT to sit by yourself and read a book or type) but nothing exceptional. There is a backyard, but when I went in March it looked like it had been ransacked – random items thrown in there, which, from inside, could be seen. Not an attempt to keep it looking orderly.
The place itself didn’t really impress me with its décor or cuteness, the French feel definitely is confined to the food itself, which is well prepared and presented, at a fair price. Their lattes are epic, that is one thing you must try. Enormous.
Service is really unattentive both times I’ve been here, the waitress totally forgot about us. Which is fine, up to a point.

Why have I never been here? This is the question that I asked myself after a friend and I arrived on a street that Is very familiar to me and wandered through a cute restaurant to go sit in their über cute outdoor area. I even repeated the question out loud to my friend, who in turn shrugged and said, I don’t know”.
Let me rewind a bit, while out enjoying the day, the hunger monster paid a visit while I was out at a non– hunger friendly establishment (read this as bar). When my friend suggested a French restaurant nearby, I mini– frowned and complained that French restaurants try to fill you up on bread and I love big olé American sized helpings that allow me to overeat and take home leftovers… but I also love mussels and compromising with friends.
Here we come Le Gamin.
I ordered a salad and moules pastis. The salad was perfect with bits of carrots, apples and a medley of greens while tossed in a very light dressing. Delectable. The mussels were pretty tasty as well and cooked in some type o don sauce. The salad was a great addition, since the mussels would have never filled me, but from a flavor perspective they were great and the quality of the mussels was good as well. I also ordered a glass of wine, a cote du Rhone. You should know that you’re on to something when the waitress smiles ear to ear as you place your order.
When we finished up and looked around there were no other patrons and the waitress insisted that we take our time since there was no rush. It was so relaxing in that outdoor area that we seriously considered taking naps until we reminded ourselves that was pretty inappropriate.
The food and service was great. This place should never be empty on a Sunday afternoon– just saying. I’ll be back and I hear their brunch is pretty tasty too.

Adorable quaint atmosphere. Great backyard seating. This is as cute and quaint as they come.
Our waitress was a bit neurotic, but she gave great service and was a lot of fun. She was perfect — attentive when we needed her and gave us space when we were OK. Perfect service.
Second time we came, our waiter was perfect as well.
Les Boissons Chaudes
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Grand Moka: A–
Needed a bit more chocolate and espresso and a little less milk. Otherwise, very good. Even if you don’t normally put sugar in your coffee, like me, I would consider doing so. The sugar brings out the chocolate a bit more. You’ll be glad you did.
Café Francais: A+
This is actually an Americano (espresso cut with hot water). Such a nutty chocolatey roast. Might have been my most favorite cups of coffee ever outside my own home.
Les Crêpe Sucrees
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Butter and Sugar: B
Don’t bother eating the outside of the crêpe; it’s wasted calories. Start eating from the center and stop eating when the butter runs out. Unfortunately, only the very center had butter.
Flambée: B
The waitress didn’t let the flame burn for as long as it should, so the Grand Marnier wasn’t fully burned off. The crêpe had a slight taste of alcohol in places which wasn’t pleasant. But where the Grand Marnier was burned off, it was absolutely delicious.
Entrees
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Homefries: A+
Cut to perfection, spiced to perfection, cooked to perfection. I normally like the idea of homefries more than the homefries themselves. These lived up to all my expectations.
Ratatoulli: A
Again, perfectly prepared, spiced and cooked. One of the best ratatoillis I’ve ever had.
Bacon: A
This was slab bacon. Nice and thick. It was done *slightly* more than I normally like, but just ever so slightly. If you like crispy well done bacon, consider this «A» an «A+».
Gamin Omelet: A
My omelet was cheddar /​leek /​merguez. It was perfect. The merguez was nice and spicy.
Les Desserts
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Café Liegeois: A+
One of the best desserts I’ve ever had. Hands down. Period.