Cote d’ Azur Cafe and Bistro, 8935 Towne Centre Drive, Suite 110, San Diego, California 92122
By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — I found myself in the eastern portion of La Jolla to meet with one of my author clients. My friend wanted to grab some food, so we decided to meet in the University Towne Centre area before the meeting.
We looked for a place that served brunch and happened upon the French cafe Cote D’Azur. It’s a tiny little restaurant that looks more like a coffee shop than a restaurant. The ceilings are covered in burlap bags that bear labels from various coffees. It was a cute and interesting touch. The tables are really close together, too close if you ask me, but I understand that they are trying to maximize their space to fit the most people in. Walking in, you might think you’re at a glorified Starbucks or something, but the food is actually quite good, and the owners have charming French accents.
As we were there at brunch time, I ordered from the lunch menu, and my friend ordered off of the breakfast menu. I was happy to see that not all of the dishes relied on bacon for flavor; there were plenty of non-pork options. I ordered the Chicken pesto sandwich on ciabatta, which comes flattened panini style. It’s served with mixed greens or French fries. I chose the mixed greens. I also ordered a cup of the French onion soup. The sandwich was surprisingly good. The pesto was flavorful and the bread was both crispy and soft. The chicken and lettuce were in good proportions and the overall texture of the sandwich was very pleasant. The mixed greens were also surprisingly good- usually I don’t like gratuitous salads, but it was very fresh lettuce, and carrot spirals with a lite dose of dressing- maybe an oil and vinegar dressing. It was pre-tossed with exactly the right amount of dressing- not too much that would make it drippy or soggy, and not so little that the lettuce tastes plain.
My friend ordered the goat cheese and fresh herb omelet and was happy to report that the flavor of the fresh herbs really came out and the eggs were light and fluffy. He was also really happy that his orange juice tasted fresh squeezed and had the right amount of pulp. He didn’t comment on the potatoes, but since none were left on his plate, I’m going to assume that they were also good.
Honestly, I was really pleasantly surprised by how good the food was. I didn’t expect much when we walked in, and expected even less when we were being seated. The waiter must have been dealing with something because he seemed preoccupied and bothered while seating us and taking our order. I’m happy to say that his mood and service did improve once he brought the food, so perhaps we walked in at just the wrong time. I think that the sandwich was good enough that I might even want to go back there to have it again or to try something else on their menu. They seem to use a lot of fresh ingredients and have interesting twists on common cafe dishes.
All in all, I give them an 8.5 . I would prefer the seats to be a bit farther apart and was disappointed that they were out of sugar-free syrup for my latte, but overall, the food was actually quite good.
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Sandi Masori is the food and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World. When she’s not reviewing restaurants or hanging with her family, Sandi helps would-be authors self-publish their business authority or legacy books. To contact Sandi either about publishing a book or reviewing a restaurant, email her at sandimasori@gmail.com