Local artists’ work and photographs adorn the walls. It is very hip - one of those “trendier than thou” joints that are appearing in South Tampa for the upwardly mobile with big sunglasses and a taste for light emo-jazz. The couple next to us was a blonde body builder and an extremely thin 20 something with extravagant highlights, a bored expression, and a cell phone affixed to her ear.
Crepes are made in the front window to amuse patrons and attract passer bys. The menu is extensive and crepes range from $6.75 to $10.25. The crepes are large and the portions filling. 
The crepes themselves were delicate yet rich. I got the Le French Riviera, a combination of cheese, chicken, artichokes, and tomatoes in a white wine sauce. The chicken was very unfortunate. As if it had not suffered enough, they saw fit to kill it again. It was shredded into oblivion, resulting in a squishy filling and a strange taupe mound of mush plopped on top for “garnish”. I can only imagine that this chicken must have started its life in a can. I love wine sauce, but crepes are not cooked long enough to burn off the alcohol. This left all the bitterness which overshadowed any other flavor, and it made the shredded chicken taste like cheap canned tuna fish. Flavors did not blend well; the artichokes and white wine clashed with the cheese. The meal included a lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad, but my crepe was plopped on my lettuce, making it nice and hot. Jackie got La Paris which included some random cheese in addition to feta, spinach, more shredded chicken, and some token red pepper. She wasn’t thrilled with the result, and I kind of made the situation worse by commenting on the chicken/tuna connection. The rest of the meal was ruined for her, and she didn’t eat more than a few bites. Her crepe was also exuding liquid at what she felt was an alarming volume and rate. For dessert we split the Butterball, with cream cheese, butterscotch and almonds. As a meal, it would not have satiated me and and at $8 it was quite overpriced considering the size and ingredients. I wanted to try something from their extensive espresso bar, but most items were about $4 and I couldn’t justify that and a dessert crepe.
The service also was unremarkable. It took a while to get our drinks and the waitress disappeared before we could order. She presented us with our meals and tried to beat a hasty retreat, but we had to call her back to ask for silverware. We told her we were splitting dessert, but she brought only one fork after taking our other eating equipment. After giving her two credit cards, our request to add the dessert crepe to Jackie’s card was met with an empty stare, and five minutes later she was back to re-inquire about our wishes. An eternity later, she reappeared with the crepe on the wrong check.
It was a great idea and an interesting concept, but unfortunately, our high hopes were met with great disappointment.
Hillsborough County - Ybor
1729 E. 7Th Avenue
Tampa, Fl
813-248-9700
http://www.lacreperiacafe.com/index.html
Price: $-$$
Monday - Closed
Tuesday – Thursday - 10:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Friday - 10:00 AM - Midnght
Saturday - 9:00 AM - Midnight
Sunday - 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
2-3 Forks
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