Le Doux Cafe and Bakery

We visited when they were first opened. They were supposed to have a real chef! I thought this place was nice until they served me raw chicken breast. Then I told them about it and they said shall I reheat it for you? No, I like my chicken raw. This place let me down and I boycotted them for the rest of the time they were open. Now they are closed!

closed

I have been an advocate of this café and hoped to heaven it would do well in downtown Wilson. It is an oasis of culinary sanity and taste in a desert of the mediocre of fast food and chain restaurants.
When I visited Wilson recently over a period of 2 ½ weeks I must have been at Le Doux Café a dozen or more times. I had breakfast, lunch and dinner there and was so impressed I wrote a letter to the Wilson Times in the hope that it might help spur business.
Dinner is served only on Friday night and it is not to be missed. My dinner there was exquisite, from the mouth watering pan seared foie gras to the marvelous duck breast and the excellent salad.
On my last visit, my sister ordered the savory crepes. When the plate arrived it had but one small crêpe, about which we complained to the waitress. Although nothing was done to correct this at the time, I wrote to the owner and she has informed me that two breakfast crepes per order are now being served. This is positive sign that a change was made in response to customer input. And it is a sign that Le Doux Café will continue to improve.

It’s really hard not to love this little French-​style brasserie in Downtown Wilson. Tucked in between an empty movie theater and a tattoo parlor, this clean, bright restaurant with a bakery counter in back delivers good soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts.
I’ve not yet gone there for dinner so I’ll restrict my comments to the lunch menu. They generally offer a soup du jour in addition to a few standards, including a very respectable French onion. The last time I went they were doing a cold gazpacho, which my tablemate said was a bit oily but still palatable. Their salads all look excellent, with a good balance of fresh greens, meat/​protein, and apparently homemade dressings; my companion had one with shrimp that looked very tasty.
I am a particular fan of the warm chicken pesto sandwich, which despite perhaps not being the most authentically French thing on the menu, is one of the most flavorful sandwiches I’ve gotten in Wilson. As a side, you can get your choice of fresh fruit or homemade shoestring fries. (If you’re feeling healthy, the fruit is good although nothing special; the fries are great.)
The service has been polite, friendly, and responsive every time I’ve visited; once there seemed to be some confusion and delay over bringing out the check, but I’ll blame that on my requesting a split tab. During the warmer months you can either sit inside or at café tables out on the sidewalk.
Definitely worth stopping by if you’re in Wilson; as a bonus (as if you needed any), downtown Wilson has free WiFi, making Le Doux a nice place to sip a cup of coffee and get online.