Lunch, Anyone? Crispy Crepes Café

Crispy Crepes Café’s has moved from Park Drive to the center of campus. The new place is smaller but still offers dozens of delicious crepes. Photos by Alexandra Wimley (COM’17)

When Crispy Crepes Café closed its doors last fall, many BU students and Boston residents were disappointed. The café in South Campus, near the intersection of Park Drive and Beacon Street, had been a favorite of crepe lovers since it opened in 2002. Happily, the restaurant, reopened in April and right in the center of campus, at 714 Commonwealth Avenue, a cause for rejoicing for BU fans.

We stopped by on a recent Saturday to see what had changed and what remained the same. It was mostly empty when we arrived, with a few people coming in every now and then for to-go orders. The café had to downsize when it moved—the new spot has seating for just 18 (it could accommodate up to 48 previously), which means that it has less of a sit-down ambiance than it once did. But the menu that earned legions of fans over the years has remained mostly intact.

Naturally, we knew that we wanted to try one of the crepes, but choosing was no easy decision. The menu has five different kinds of crepes: sweet crepes, one of the dozen plus is banana and honey-glazed almonds ($6.95); savory gourmet crepes, a tomato, grilled zucchini, and roasted pepper crepe ($6.50) is among the several options; vegetarian crepes, like a three mushroom crepe ($7.75) that comes with roasted mushrooms, spinach, and creamy goat cheese; signature crepes, which feature the popular California crepe ($7,95), loaded with turkey, tomato, cucumber, avocado, spinach, and jack cheese; and the super crepes, giving diners the option of ordering one of four specific sweet crepes and adding their choice of two sides (potatoes, bacon, ham, sausage, and scrambled eggs) ($9.95).

We settled on a sweet crepe, but that was only half the battle. Next we had to decide whether to go with something seasonal like the apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and caramel ($7.95) or something fruitier. We chose the strawberries, banana, and Nutella ($7.95). The presentation was mouthwatering: the powdered sugar and Nutella gracing the top resembled a work of art. The strawberries and bananas balanced each other nicely, but the Nutella was a bit of a disappointment—not very flavorful and the consistency was a bit watery. Fortunately, the powdered sugar provided the missing flavor. Next time out, we’ll try the apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and caramel crepe.

Along with our crepe we also ordered from the breakfast menu. (Breakfast is served until 4 p.m. daily.) We opted for the Blue breakfast, a grilled blueberry muffin, a small cheese omelette, turkey bacon, and home fries ($7.95). We’d never tried a grilled muffin, so we were curious and decided to order it. It exceeded our expectations—a tasty balance of savory and sweet, the crunchy and buttery top was grilled to perfection. The rest was soft and the juicy blueberries packed a lot of flavor. Our only complaint about the small cheese omelette was its size: the combination of melted American cheese and fluffy eggs was so good it had us wishing for more. Restaurants often undercook or overcook turkey bacon, but not here: it was a balance of chewy and crisp without being overdone or burnt. The home fries were well-seasoned and had a distinctive tang that made them stand out.

Crepes and breakfast food aren’t the only dishes the Mediterranean-style café offers. The menu also includes salads, like a new one topped with grilled lamb ($10); grilled paninis, such as the Tuscan ($8), with chicken, wild greens, roasted peppers, provolone cheese, and pesto mayo; meat roll-ups, among them one stuffed with beef shawarma ($7.85); vegetarian roll-ups, such as one filled with hummus, tahini, lettuce, and onion and seasoned with lemon and garlic ($6.50); and pasta dishes, e.g., the BU Special: ziti with sautéed chicken, garlic, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, and roma tomatoes ($12.50).

Crispy Crepes may have moved, but its goal remains the same: as its website states, the café aims to bring “the delicious taste of French crepes to a convenient location right in the heart of BU in Boston.” Stop by to see for yourself why this café has so many devoted customers.

Crispy Crepe’s Café, 714 Commonwealth Ave., is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; phone: 617-859-9585.

This is part of an ongoing series featuring Boston lunch spots of interest to the BU community. If you have any suggestions for places we should feature, leave them in the Comment section below.

Kyler Sumter can be reached at kssumter@bu.edu.

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