Croissant Du Jour

Stopped into this little place with my uncles on my trip to Iowa and now my heart is breaking because I know I will probably never have such a delicious pastry again. Wishing I could relocate this gem to LA everything I ordered was amazing. Best spot I’ve been to in Iowa by far!

Delicious, made-​from-​scratch EVERYTHING. Even the «house» salad that came with my meal blew my mind. A smidge on the cramped side during rush hours, and not so much a kid-​friendly type of atmosphere, but overall, very impressive. Will definitely go again!

The food here is to die for! Authentic french food including tarts, croissants, and other delicious treats and meals. With a great atmosphere of a little café you will not want to leave. The staff is mostly a family and they are so kind and personable. Amazing for breakfast or lunch, and usually pretty quick service.

Our order: lobster bisque, broccoli and Swiss quiche, croque Madame sandwich, chocolate mousse, and the walnut/​caramel cake. Total price: $ 20. It was delivered to our table in about 5 minutes and it was very good food. The portion size was just right… in fact, we could have skipped dessert. The restaurant is also very nice for a lunch spot, despite being located in a dollar store plaza. We are on our way to Dallas, but if we drive through Cedar Rapids again, we will eat here.

The best French Onion soup I’ve ever had, delicious pastries, excellent lattes, gracious service.
Did I mention DELICIOUS PASTRIES?! Sublime.
It’s a wonderful experience. If you haven’t been here yet, treat yourself!

Wonderful food! Amazing pastry’s! Friendly owners and staff!
The quiche is light and fluffy. Best French onion soup I have ever had, and in the summer I love their homemade chocolate ice cream! I really like the daily specials.

Unique, quaint and delicious dining experience. The pastries are always fresh, the food is spectacular and the atmosphere is cozy. I recommend the fruit tart and the chocolate almond croissant. The best food in Cedar Rapids — hands down!

I arrived at 2:15 to be rudely told by a woman «we stop serving lunch at 2 you’re too late» so in order to not seem rude in the case of my return I bought a bakery item, it was apparently very slim pickings at this point (also if you’re not going to have anything to sell why be open? Looks good on paper but does not make a great deal of sense.) so I ended up buying the last two eclairs, which to my surprise had gobs of filling which seemed all too similar to instant vanilla pudding. Perhaps I just came on an off day, and perhaps the lunches are much better, but judging by my eclairs I will not be returning.

My first visit was 6 years ago as our vacation had us driving through Cedar Rapids on our way to MN. The last few times we passed through Cedar Rapids was on a Sunday and Croissant Du Jour is not open on Sundays. This time we were lucky enough to be driving through on a Friday just in time for lunch. We were very happy we did as the food, service and friendliness made for a perfect lunch. We will easily stop again the next time we pass through Cedar Rapids.

My dad had a meeting in Cedar Rapids and my mom and I came along since it was on the way to Minneapolis and we were headed there for the weekend. Shortly after dropping him off, we were hungry so I looked on Unilocal and found this cute place. It wasn’t much from the outside, but from the inside it’s a cute café.
You order at the counter first then seat yourself. When we were ordering we were debating over the fruit tart for dessert. We thought about waiting to see if we had room for it after we ate lunch but the employee at the counter said we should get it now or there would be a good chance it wouldn’t be there when we were ready for it.
We decided to go for it and they set it aside so it wouldn’t be sold to anyone else and they said they’d bring it to us when we were ready for it.
For lunch I ordered the tuna sandwich with a cup of lobster bisque and my mom ordered the spinach quiche with a cup of tomato basil. Both tasted delicious.
When it came time for our fruit tart I had mentioned to the server in passing to keep it whole, because being the Unilocaler I am, I wanted a picture, but she must not have heard me because they cut it in half. I was able to push the sides together though for the photo op. It tasted good like a fruit tart should.
This place was a great lunch spot and if we are ever in the area again, we will definitely return.

The place where ladies lunch. Always fantastic. Always friendly. Always fresh. Always French.
Local CR celebrities flock here and it is impossible to not run into an old friend or neighbor.
From delightful pastries to savory crepes, this café offers the perfect lunch. No burgers, no fried anything, just simple and lovely food. Try the homemade soup and mixed green salad. Or, bite into a fluffy slice of quiche. Top it off with a tiny espresso and a tasty sweet.
What’s not to like? Wish it was closer to my house and opened at night.

We are regulars of this little neighborhood gem. Fantastic pastries, delicious bisques, warm sandwiches… truly a great menu with lots of choices! And for breakfast, quiche! Wonderful, melt-​in-​your-​mouth crust with fresh filling; seriously good stuff.
The owners are there everyday and you can see their passion for good food and friendly conversation each time we visit.
This is also the perfect place to pick up cakes and pastries to go as they are usually well-​stocked. Nice variety of freshly baked goods.
A true southeast side treasure!

We had the opportunity to try this restaurant out for lunch and we had wanted to do so ever since seeing this rated as the #1 restaurant in Cedar Rapids. Perhaps we were expecting too much based on the reviews but we were not as impressed as others. The food was good (we ordered sandwiches) with the bread being the highlight, but again it was good, nit necessarily exceptional. There is most definitely a lunch rush and while it was well managed, we ended up waiting about 10min for a table, so this may not be the best place for you if you are on a limited time frame.
TLDR: Good food, good service, somewhat overpriced ($ 2 for soda, etc)

My daughter and I stopped at this locally-​owned small café for the first time today for lunch and all we can say is WOW. We walked in and were served promptly and professionally by one of the owners. She was very friendly and answered our questions about the menu. Once we ordered and grabbed a table outside, our server brought our drinks right out. She was efficient and really friendly too!
In addition to great service the food was excellent! I ordered a vegetarian sandwich with no cheese and my daughter ordered the tuna sandwich. Both were beautifully prepared and well seasoned – I’ve never tasted a tuna salad that well done before. The raspberry chocolate torte was AMAZING.
My job will be taking me this way more often, and I have a feeling we will quickly become regulars here. If you are looking for a simple, fabulous meal at a good price this is what you are looking for!

Cool change of place for lunch, sitdown or take out quick French bakery and sandwich/​quiche place that is pretty good.
I had the turkey sandwich, tomato basil soup, and some berry cookie. Sandwich was good, loved the croissant it was on very fluffy and flavorful. The soup was very good, loved the richness. The cookie was yummy as well, they have other baked items that looked great as well.
Had raspberry lemonade, with free refills to wash it down, really refreshing.
They were pretty busy during my visit, they staff did a great job keeping up. I would go back again to try some other dishes.

Croissant du Jour, you are my love du jour every jour :)
You would never suspect in its unassuming location you would find such beautifully delicate pastries, delicious and complex soups, and simple yet satisfying sandwiches. Croissant du Jour is hands-​down one of the best kept secrets of the Cedar Rapids area.
The Lobster Bisque is subtly sweet with a perfect «bisque» texture. The baguettes many of the sandwiches are served on are soft on the inside with just the right amount of crunch in the crust and the meats and cheeses are also quality. Everything I have ever had has been great — if it sound good, it will be good. You can’t go wrong.
There are two glass pastry safes with all of their concoctions on display… just try and resist.
The seating is limited, and the place is always busy so the servers are a tad frantic at times, but boy do they work to make sure you have a table as soon as possible and everything you need. Great staff and owners.

The Lobster Bisque is reason enough for a visit, but I also enjoy all of the quiches. Also a great stop for pastries and espresso. I have never been disappointed here.

This is probably one of the few only decent places where you can get good food in CR. This place is much better than Starbucks or Panera. Everything is made fresh daily. We came in on a Saturday morning and it was busy. There isn’t a menu for breakfast but items are ordered a la carte. You buy from what you see behind the glass cases. There are no breakfast sandwiches. It’s mostly pastries, quiche, croissant/​bread, and coffee for breakfast. My daughter had the hot cocoa and it was very decadent. They have a very nice dining room with a bistro ambiance. There are a few tables outside. The prices are reasonable. The croissant is amazing! You can see the multiple layers and it is crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside.
The good: Excellent food that is high quality and fresh. These people are highly skilled at making the pastries.
The bad: Not much of a selection for breakfast. Only a few hot items which is the quiche. French baguette is heavy, very chewy and soft but not crunchy on the outside.

Really really good. Highly recommend. Everything tasted so fresh. Had asparagus and mushroom soup with my sandwich. Was amazing. Be sure to save room for one of the delicious French pastries that are also available

What a find! Thanks to Unilocal,I finally managed to try this place out a few times, and the reviews have not been misleading. A great little French café/​bakery that is a fresh change from the usual in the Cedar Rapids area. I am yet to try some of their desert/​sweet dishes, as I’ve only been having their quiches, and sandwiches and soup. And they were delicious.
Croissant Du Jour is found a small strip mall in Mt. Vernon. Both times I went, there was a line of regulars queuing up for their usual Saturday lunch. Space is fairly limited, but they do a good job of setting up tables and utilizing their space. The décor is classier than expected, and quite clean.
The Croque Madame– a pannini style ham & Swiss sandwich with a over easy egg on top is very tasty! And the lobster bisque… amazing! Their quiches are also tasty, no matter what they have on that day. Their portions felt ideal for lunch. I also love how they advertise Orangina!
Can’t wait to try their tarts and other sweet goodies… but just looking at their treats gives me a sweet tooth!