La Bazenne

I love this place so much I can’t stop thinking about it. We went for my birthday today’s ago from the East Coast of Florida. I love Naples but I will never go back to Naples again without stopping by this adorable sidewalk restaurant. Thank you so much to our server Alyssa a.k.a. Candace! She was super sweet.
We also love Salvador but next time we come back will start with happy hour and then also have dinner.

My wife may have gotten food poisoning. She was sick for two days.
…and the manager/​owner, Romeo, didn’t even return the call we made to discuss it. The woman who answered the phone when we called was aggressively defensive, explaining to us how it couldn’t possibly be their food.
Very disappointing. In addition to possibly getting food poisoning and having no response from management, the server was slow to get to us. When he did he told us all the many things on the menu that were no longer available, was curt and failed to respond to requests for water, etc.
On the positive side, the hostess was sweet. The food was fine while we were consuming it and the setting was nice. But, the overall experience of no empathy and no follow up leads me to think that this has happened before.

Fabulous Bistro with great food and service. Be careful of the bread it’s so good it’s dangerous!

I am writing this review with mixed emotions. I have been a semi-​regular guest of La Bazenne for over a year now. They have an outstanding selection of authentic French cuisine with a very cozy atmosphere. I have met the owners a few times (a married couple) and they are warm and convivial hosts. However I have to question their judgement on a situation that occurred this past weekend. I witnessed an altercation between two of their servers which culminated with one server (an older man with a NY sounding accent) screaming at the top of his lungs at a co-​worker. He used profanity numerous times including saying «go fuck yourself» which I think was directed at his co-​worker. It was loud enough for the ENTIRE restaurant to hear. I thought for sure this employee would lose his job over this as this clearly is unacceptable in a work environment, or any environment in my opinion. So just out of curiosity I phoned the restaurant the next day to ask if this employee who I now know is named Sal is still an employee, the woman who answered said he was. This being the case I refuse to ever step foot inside this establishment again. Even if this employee was of the utmost value to this restaurant, his behavior on that occasion far supersedes any value he may or may not have. As I said I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to «overhear» this outburst as it was loud enough to be heard across 5^th avenue. Again I will repeat the food is excellent and the service is wonderful, but our meal was ruined on this day and I won’t run the risk of coming back and having another meal ruined by someone who cannot control his behavior.

Excellent! I had the whole wheat crepes with smoked salmon… wow wow wow. Everything our table ordered was great. Definitely will return if we’re in the area

Probably the best burger in Florida, fantastic happy hour mimosas, kee royal and crepes.
A must go in Naples, perfect for a relaxed lunch

The first time I went to La Bazenne, the restaurant owners shut down the place and hosted an amazing 30^th birthday party! With this, I had the unique opportunity to sample many small tastes of a majority of their food! Smoked salmon app was to die for! Also got to sample their mussels, vegetation lettuce cups, quiche, simple French salad, scallops with risotto, frites with truffle sauce, cake, dessert crepes, and many glasses of delicious ice champagne (which is now my favorite!) All their food was so good and the service was amazing! I had an opportunity to meet Amy and her husband was working behind the bar, the hospitality and service was amazing! It was a 5 star night for sure!
After my awesome experience, I couldn’t wait to get back here for brunch and sample one of their savory crepes. Here is where they only get 4 stars, and in their defense they were short staffed because the owner was ill, but when I came back for brunch the service was lacking. The food was good, but our waitress was a bit inattentive. They food came out wrong so they fixed it, but by the time I got my plate back, my date was almost finished with his meal. Was good but not great, but looking forward to coming for dinner another time! The food really is outstanding!

Food is good. Service needs improvement.
Ordered the Top Sirloin Benedict for lunch. The highlight of this dish is the truffle hollandaise sauce, I wish it had a little more on it. The eggs poached perfectly and steak was cooked to medium temperature.
The service can make or break your dining experience. It started out great with Alley until she took my lunch order.
Here’s what I observed of my server, Alley (older lady — I’m not sure if there were 2 servers with the same name):
1) Bread and butter offered to all the other tables, but not mine.
2) Spending a long time chatting with other guests. It’s understandable when you have return guests to ‘catch up’ with but there’s always a polite way of excusing yourself to take care of other tables (trust me, they understand) and picking back up on the conversation AFTER all of your tables are taken care of.
3) Did not return once to check on my meal after she dropped it off.
4) No steak knife served, I had to ask the other server for one — since Alley was still busy chatting.
5) Dropped off the dessert menu and 5+ minutes later, still did not return to take an order, because she was chatting to her regulars. The owner of the restaurant politely whispered something to her that triggered her to leave the table to take care of something more pressing.
6) Not coming to a full stop when she asked me questions, but continued to walk. Quite rude.
She did not do this with other tables. She took the time to stop and talk/​listen.
I would have loved to try their dessert crepes, but had to forego since it took so long for my server to get back to my table.
I liked the ambiance and how they put events, specials, happy hour on their blackboard.

Really nice little family-​run French place with excellent good and friendly service. We had frog legs (with a terrific lemon butter sauce), steak frites and sea scallops on risotto, plus the house white. Top notch. Service is European paced and very attentive. We had a very nice conversation with the owners lovely wife, who has an fascinating back story. Recommended.

The service is amazing! We were waited by Salvatore who makes the experience go above and beyond. The food was well prepared and when you have such a good ambience everything tastes and sounds better!

My husband and I visited Naples last weekend and by pure luck ended up at this restaurant. We were celebrating my birthday and I don’t think we could have picked a better place. Starting with a friendly hostess Maria, followed by an outstanding service by Amy and concluding with a delicious meal. My birthday dinner rocked! Can’t wait to come back!

The food is scrumptious. The menu is so different and mouth-​watering. The staff and servers are friendly and efficient. The ONLY criticism i have is: a. A bit too warm, and b. The chairs, tho comfortable are hard to move and take up too much room. They also screech when they are moved, which could easily be remedied by felt pads.
I feel bad even for mentioning these paltry flaws. DO NOT MISS THIS AWESOME RESTAURANT. OH, and they are reasonably priced with a lot of special deals, for example dinner for two on mondays, including a bottle of wine, for $ 38.

Per 10 year year old’s request, I must preface this review by pointing out that La Bazenne on Fifth was one of his favorite restaurants… ever. Now for a 10 year old, my little guy has a fairly sophisticated palette, however, I am not sure why he adored this place so much. In my opinion it had some good, solid French food, but nothing extraordinary.
Our evening started by trying to get into the highly acclaimed Tulia. When we were turned away at the inn, we stumbled upon La Bazenne a few shops away. The hostesses lured us in with their friendly manner. Unlike most of the places on Fifth it was pretty empty which was a little scary, but also inviting since we were starving.
We dined on the indoor patio. I found it to be a bit warm but sustenance was calling me. The indoor patio is actually the biggest part of the restaurant, their indoor bar area being pretty small. The place did not have much ambiance, décor, or charm to speak of. To me it just looked run down.
We ordered the following and as I mentioned, everything was tasty and solid:
Smoke Salmon Appetizer
French Onion Soup
Short Rib
Scallops (over Risotto for Husband, with veggies for me)
Ham & Cheese Crêpe
A Dessert Crêpe
My only disappointment with the food was that my scallops dish did not have more veggies as an accompaniment. For $ 29, I believe there should have been more than a few julienned vegetables with my meal.
Our server was congenial and eager to please. He kept our glasses and bread basket full.
Really a three and a half star rating for me but I will make it a four since 10 year old loves the meal so much. I would not rule out returning, but I will not be in a rush the next time we visit Naples. I guess the items on the menu and the atmosphere were just a little boring for me. Plus, it was not a cheap meal either ($ 180 for 3 adult meal and 1 kid’s meal, 2 apps, no alcohol). For that price, there are many other restaurants in Naples I would like to try first.

We had this place to ourselves one night during a rain storm. The food was very authentic and tasted great. I had the lobster bouillabaisse and my husband had the steak. Great service. Romantic atmosphere. Next time we are in Naples, we will definitely return.

My wife and I visited this place 2 weeks ago when vacationing in Naples. I had the fish burger combo and she had the vegan risotto. Both were phenomenal. Some of the best food on our trip.
The owner was also extremely friendly and nice — with exceptional service. I didn’t catch her name, but we loved her story.
Her father-​in-​law owns the sister restaurant in France and has had it for many decades. She was in the oil and gas industry with her husband, but after having a baby decided to open a restaurant and settle in one location.
It took them a bit of time to get the restaurant up and running, but it was totally worth it.
We highly recommend this place to anyone looking for great food and service.

Went twice for lunch over the past few months. Leisurely and unrushed feeling without seeming slow (granted, out of season). Enjoyed very much chatting with co-​owner Amy who was super friendly. Had the salmon first time, which came with greens and a fantastic quinoa in a mushroom-​based sauce. Excellent. Got the grouper sandwich last time, a bit more workmanlike but still enjoyable.
They serve a nice espresso as well. Haven’t been for brunch but I hear it’s fun.

OK, it’s summer in Naples, and hot at noon, but there should still be a line at the door for this little gem. We liked it so much Tuesday for lunch, my husband and I went back again Wednesday for my birthday lunch (and didn’t need dinner)
The owners are wonderful people serving great food and outstanding French (and others, if you must) wines by glass and bottle. It’s a charming, small, casual, friendly bistro in the midst of larger, more pretentious restaurants. I’m actually glad there wasn’t a bigger crowd, because the owner/​chef and wife team gave us samples of various Kirs (I loved the sorel !!) and wines, and allowed us to have a few items off the dinner menu, which I assume they can’t do in season when they are busy at lunch.
The duck lettuce wraps were devine; the bouillabaisse was fresh, light, and very tasty. (Also loved the steak frites yesterday). We defied convention by having a wonderful Clos Canon St. Emilion Grand Cru 2009 with it (had to save some for later, too). And, because we were celebrating, I had dessert … a very nice crème brûlée with a Tariquet Les Premieres Grives Cotes De Gascogne.
There is a nice lunch menu for those who have afternoon plans; and a dinner menu which should suit any taste. The desserts are exceptional, too: we didn’t save room for the apple tart, but it looked amazing. The happy hour menu/​specials looks like a lot of fun.
You must try it!

Nice location, has an authentic Parisienne feel about the place except that the wait staff is cordial. In fact Samir who manages the place truly adds to tech experience as he really knows the menu well and is a great conversationalist
The prices were higher than what I expected but I think in keeping with what the neighborhood bears. The availability of a draft Belgian brew was greatly appreciated. The crepes of whole wheat were tasty and filling though the claim that the mushrooms were of the exotic variety was a bit far fetched. I was expecting chanterelles etc, bout just got the regular fungus. The Brie that was in it was just about par, lacked the essential super creaminess to take it to the next level.
The burger was very disappointing. The fries were great but the patty was tasteless.
Bread pudding was good but not good enough to go back for

It takes me about an hour to wait for my food, even half tables are empty in the hall… Why we choose it? Because it get the least people under the rush hours. Do not recommend unless you have patient and favorite in French food, or you want to spend lots of time talking with your friend.

LaBazenne’s owners are second generation restauranteurs. Their parent’s restaurant of the same namesake is in the south of France. La Bazenne translates to «fisherman’s wife,» which is not the blue collar appeal of this lively, upscale bistro on Fifth Avenue South. Instead, one can reserve a place each week at the French Table, where members of Naples’ Alliance Francaise agree to speak only French. Cooking classes and special events abound. Frequent patrons can benefit from paying a $ 50 annual membership fee. That entitles two people to benefits, like discounted meal and special event pricing. Don’t bother asking for a single’s membership. It doesn’t exist. But a single can join and designate an «other,» married partner or not.
The chef cut his culinary teeth at La Playa, Naples, and at French Laundry, California. I enjoyed a savory crêpe, one of the house specialties, that was filled with brie, mushrooms and wine sauce. Paired with a local brew, it was delicious. Unlike many nearby restaurants, La Bazenne does not close between lunch and dinner. Instead, it defers to a luscious selection of crepes between meals. Sidewalk, interior, and bar dining divides this tiny place into lovely seating choices.