Petite Rêve Cafe

Great coffee, great atmosphere, great location. Can’t go wrong!

I was excited when I saw the website, it looked so charming and the pastries looked delicious. Somehow the décor wasn’t so charming in real life, just OK, and the danish I finally settled on from the uninspiring selection was completely forgettable. In contrast to the other Ventura bakery you’ll see in my other reviews, this one doesn’t come close. Makes me sad, I really wanted to like Petite Rêve and I can tell it’s a labor of love and the owner is putting her heart into it, but I wouldn’t recommend it from my one experience there.

A fine place to grab a coffee — can’t say that the baked goods are all that fresh and delicious. Our coffee and service were just fine — the croissant tasted as if it would have been better the morning before.

Invited a friend to meet me at the café yesterday afternoon at 2:00 pm. When I got there the place was packed except for one table that was without a person but had a laptop and a drink.
I got my coffee from the barista and asked her if she knew whether the person was coming back. She said «oh that’s my table.» And she proceeded to sit down at it and go on Facebook.
My friend had not arrived but if there had been a table, we would probably spent about $ 20 there.
I met my friend outside and we spent our $ 20 at Starbucks. Would have rather supported this local business.

Went to a party a couple of months ago where the hostess served a beautiful array of the most delicious rich chocolate brownies and equally amazing lemon bars, all cut into tiny 2-​bite squares, just perfect for a party. These were from her favorite bakery she informed me, located in the Pierpont district. So when I was creating the menu for my holiday party last week, I contacted Petit Reve right away. That is, I tried to contact by phone, but when no answer to my voicemail, I decided to traipse over there and talk to them in person. Well, the lovely girl behind the counter did not know about party platters but said we could choose anything in the counter, which only contained a few desserts of regular size (not bite size for a party). Huh? I again explained we had been told the party dessert tray was definitely from Petit Reve, and described the cute little pastries in great detail. She seemed sort of dumbfounded, as if we might be confused, or have come to the wrong place, so we just left, extremely surprised, dumfounded ourselves, and majorly disappointed. After researching several other bakeries in Ventura, I still could not get those fabulous pastries out of my mind, and decided I would give Petit Reve one more try. Lo and behold Kate, the owner and baker, answered and told me what a nightmare they had been having with their phone system, but seems it repaired now which is great, but does not explain staff’s lack of product knowledge, nor the effort to track down what I was wanting and had gotten there previously. Had it to been for determination and persistence I would never have been successful in getting my party tray, and Petit Reve would have lost my business forever. Now THAT would have been awful! ;-)
Now that said, I MUST go straight to the GREAT part! Kate is miraculous! That’s all I can say! She’s talented, professional and great at customer service as well! She baked the most adorable array of tiny pastries, all decorated on top with the cutest frosting designs, and the lemon bars even had tiny lemon wedges sitting atop cream frosting leaves. Everyone was scarfing them down and raving! So I hope Kate gets lots of business from this. And I hope she makes sure her team members are brought up to speed on ALL the fabulous offerings. And if per chance they don’t know? Then ASK! Wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on such delectables! Thank you Kate. (btw, I did tell everyone to ask for Kate when they called!)

This jury is out:
In favor:
Tasty drinks.
Great handmade pastries (usually with one vegan option).
Quaint small-​town, home-​town, vaction-​esque atmosphere.
Family run.
Against:
Sometimes slow service.
Not too accommodating with requests.
Bought drinks there consecutively for a month and they never mentioned their «buy ten get one free» option.
You be the judge.

Pretty good. Puddings and custards are great! The cake is very dry and flavorless :(. Good coffee not the best bake shop.

I could not wait to try the famous lemon bars. Or maybe that light chocolate fluff thing. Unilocal says they close at 4 today, when I got there at 3 o’clock they had already closed. I peered through the window longingly, hoping the staff would take pity on this sweet-​starved soul. No such luck.

Cakes are extremely dry and flavorless. Tried to give this place a shot three times, but it let me down every time. I miss the old place :(

The sign outside the door caught my eye. It was a description of a proper espresso starting with the crema. I knew I had to try it out. The espresso was very good. The crema was thick and smooth, slightly tangy, with a bitter chocolate finish.
Since this Café is also a bakery and catering company, I couldn’t resist a pastry. Kate, the owner, suggested a lavender lemon bar. Only two bucks! It was excellent in a subtle way. The flavors and textures were balanced in a way that’s hard to describe. The crust was thick and slightly chewy, yet buttery and ever so flaky at the same time. The lemon bar was sweet with a very fresh tanginess to it. The lavender was faint, yet when you looked for it, it was always there.
The shop itself is small and cozy with some nice outdoor tables. Kate, the owner, was very friendly and knows so many people in the food community of Ventura County. Unfortunately, they do not have wi-​fi due to a hacking incident. They are in a great location, only a block from the beach end of Seaward Avenue.
I will definitely be back for espresso, and I can’t wait to find out what the cakes, croissants, and other pastries taste like!
Update: Tiramisu cake! Only $ 2.00 for a generous slice. It had two layers of light, buttery sponge cake topped with a fluffy cream filling, and a delicious chocolatey sauce drizzled on each layer.

Wonderful, cute, delicious! The journey from my house in Oakland is worth it if only for the lemon crêpe cake!

I really do not understand why people are bitching about the prices.
They have fresh, deliciousy meyer lemon bars for only $ 2.00, if you go to shitty Starbucks and get a Lemon iced cake — that isn’t fresh, it’s literally the same price.
They are REALLY great, my grandmother’s favorite is their Chocolate Crème Cup, it’s a soft, flavorful and rich mousse in a small cup, doesn’t look like ‘much’ but it’s perfect for one or two.
As I mentioned about the lemon bar — that is my dad’s personal favorite, it’s not so much hit or miss but I’ve gone on a day or two and didn’t think it was the best they’ve made that morning, but they ARE baked fresh. For gods sakes… They are only open until 2 — 3, what do you think they do? They’re COFFEE, TEA and PASTERIES, why wouldn’t they make them fresh every morning?
I think their flourless chocolate cake is my favorite, and HONESTLY: Being REAL here I’ve never paid over $ 5.00 for ANY pasteries they’ve had. They’re all around 2 — 4 $, and they’re worth trying, if you honestly didn’t care for it the first time around try them again I guarantee you will like something. They have unique and interesting flavors as well, rose crème cakes with buttercream frosting and rose water/​rose cream, lavender, and various other things. I can easily spend $ 15 on pasteries here — and I have, I’ve tried most of them, but if you really want to try something I would personally recommend any of those.
Also, the service is great, the owner is lovely and so are all the girls there.

Overrated. After reading much hype about the limited edition blood orange cake, I finally got one this morning.
At first glance, the cake looks beautiful. Yellow butter cream flowers make a lovely dome atop the small-​ish round cake.
After slicing the first piece you see white cake with a thin strip of blood orange filling.
Beyond this initial impression, I’m not sure what the hubbub is all about. The cake was extremely dry and tasted foul, as if it was a few days old and/​or had been thawed. It was over-​frosted to the point where I felt like their was more frosting than cake. Worst of all, the star of the show, Blood Orange, was virtually non-​existent.
I would give Petite Reve a second chance only if I got a fresh cake from the baker herself. Today was such a let down. :(

What a precious little surprise this coffee shop turned out to be. In fact, I think it’s unfair to just call it a coffee shop, the pastries were amazing too. My husband and I were staying at the Marriott just around the corner and walked over to Seaward Village one morning. I smelled the coffee brewing and had to follow my nose.
The owner was behind the counter putting out fresh cakes and muffins. I got a vanilla lavender cake and my husband got the orange cava cava cake. For him to branch out and try something so bold meant he must have been impressed. We took our treats and our coffee out the the little patio and enjoyed watching the mist rise off of the beach.
The cakes were moist and the flavors were amazing. I expected a heavy lavender hit with mine, but was delighted that it was very subtle, like vanilla birthday cake with something extra. I do have to say that I may have liked the orange cake better and had more than a few bites of my husband’s dish! Our coffees were also fantastic.
I’ve been back since with my sister in law and we were both charmed by the customer service. We walked in at about 3 PM and the girl was just closing the door. I said, darn, we just missed you. She asked what were you interested in? We said we wanted some pastries and coffee. She explained how the coffee was all shut down and cleaned up but would be happy to get us some snacks. She even offered to make us some iced coffee since she had some regular brew left. We took our cakes and walked the one block to the beach and talked about how much we loved the Petite Reve!

Small little café by the beach. Has a great feel. Perfect place to sit down, enjoy the sunshine, a cup o Joe and a delicious pastry after a wild night.

I have been meaning to try this place for forever now!
My husband and I stopped in to try some treats. The shop is simple yet elegant. It was getting close to closing time and the place was packed. We quickly ordered some thing that looked yummy in the case. It was really hard to choose– everything looked so amazing.
We finally decided on a slice of vegan berry chocolate cake, a lemon pumpkin tart and a slice of apple tart to share. They were all delicious but our favorite was the apple tart. It made our taste buds sing.
We’re so lucky we live so close to this little bakery gem. I’m looking forward to trying more sweets.

Chef owner creates gourmet high quality creative and delicious treats including gluten-​free and vegan pastries, too. The deserts are a little pricey but worth it for special occasions and catered events. Aprés Surf: Good lattes and open early for morning surf/​swim sessions a block away at the beach. My favorite aspect of this place is the chef’s warm and friendly manner. She even shared some of her baking secrets w/​our daughter recently which was so cool.

Recently, some friends and I decided to try this re-​opened café. We found it to be new, clean… refreshing from the old place, however, after sampling a few enticing delights from the cases, we were let down. Truly love French pastries, but I expected more for the prices. Service was very slow with only a few customers waiting… don’t be in a hurry for a beverage!
P. S.: I neglected to mention the young lady serving us was not only slow, but rude. A miss next beach get together!

Stopped in today to the newly opened Petite Reve. Have already experienced Kate’s delicious pastries so knew whatever we decided to have would be excellent. We had coffee and scones and sat outside at the patio on a perfectly, beautiful Ventura morning. The girls at the counter were very sweet and Kate was busy in the back making cream puffs.
The inside has 2 – 3 tables and the patio I think has 4 tables with plenty of seating. Zhena’s tea is available for purchase too.
Perfect little place to enjoy coffee and pastries.

Stopped in for a cup of coffee this morning at Ventura’s newest sensation Petite Rêve Café.
The selection of «too die for» pastry’s (cookies, cakes, bars) was more then we could hope for.
We tried a lemon bar. The shortbread crust was perfect and the lemon curd topping was the best.
Owner Kate Slaton Dunbar makes this spot a little bit of heaven.
Not only does this place have great coffee and goodies but it’s just off the freeway and steps (literally) from the beach.
Congratulations on a winner!