Reviews Le Rendez-vous Cafe

The Picacho is turkey (and lots of it), Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. The avocado was firm and fresh (as were all the dressings). You get your choice of bread and I picked a croissant. The sandwich includes a side. I got the roasted veggies. Turned out to be a good choice.

GREAT food, Great Location. This restaurant used to be called Big Chair Cafe and was Country. Then the pastries came. Now it has a french flair with lots of french pastries to choose from; any many people come in just to take home these scrumptious creations.OH, will you find such fine pastries anywhere else in southern New Mexico? No! We find the location fine, and with Mariachis just down the street, and on to Mesilla via Motel Blvd. with other quaint restaurants, I find it fine exactly where it is located. The atmosphere could use a bit more touch, but overall it makes for a lovely breakfast/lunch destination. ENJOY!!

FORGET ALL THE NONSENSE ON THE NET! FOR A CASUAL MEAL LE RENDEZ-VOUS IS JUST OK.......NOT REALLY THAT GOOD! 

2017 UPDATE:  YOU'LL PROBABLY WANT TO STICK WITH THE SALADS.......THE SANDWICHES AND FRIES ARE NOT THAT GOOD! AND.....DON'T EVEN PRETEND THIS IS ANYTHING RESEMBLING A FRENCH RESTAURANT. 
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In January 2017 Mr. Sensitive stopped in to re-check on Le Rendez-vous as I had not been there is quite awhile. The interior had not changed much (see below) but the place seemed a little bit worn. It's ok for a casual meal. Rate the ambiance about a B-. Shortly after I arrived the place got pretty busy with mostly 60 and 70-year old regulars. (Not usually a good sign if you are looking for real quality food.)  

Regarding the service end of it, my waitress was friendly and efficient. She did check back once and overall did a good job. I would argue that her service was a solid "B." But, I did notice a few issues. While I was dining a woman walked in and stood by the door waiting to be seated. A waiter led her over to a table that had not yet been cleaned while there were numerous other tables available. The lady just stood there by the table in the middle of the restaurant for a couple minutes while the waiter went to get a wet towel to clean the table off. Not top drawer service.  A few minutes later another woman walked in and waited by the door where there was a "Please wait to be seated" sign. Eventually a waitress approached her, looked around, and pointed somewhere to the rear of the restaurant while saying, "There's a table over there!" The woman walked over to a table and seated herself. It was probably about five minutes before a menu arrived. Not real professional to say the least.  

As I looked over the menu I did not see a lot of meals that appealed to me.......mostly a few appetizers, some specialty salads, and sandwiches. I can now see why 90% of the customers this afternoon were age 65 -75! (THERE IS CERTAINLY NOTHING ABOUT THIS PLACE THAT SUGGESTS A FRENCH CAFE!) Eventually I tried their GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH FRIES.  I ordered it with the avocado rather than green chile.....the options I was presented with. The sandwich roll was heated on the grill and was pretty good flavor wise, but the bread was a little tough. Most of the sandwich was comprised of avocado, several slices of tomato, onions, romaine lettuce, and a little bit of grilled chicken.....they seemed to skimp a little on the chicken. I believe they intentionally "bulked up" the sandwich with the tomatoes and lettuce because there was not a lot of chicken in there.  I am not certain how fresh the avocado was. It didn't taste that great. Ditto the Romaine lettuce. The chicken was the big disappoinment; it was somewhat dry and not very flavorful. THIS CHICKEN WAS CUT IN SLICES AND SEEMED LIKE THE KIND OF CHICKEN YOU GET FROZEN IN BAGS IN THE GROCERY STORE. I do not believe it was fresh....probably had been sitting around a bit. The chicken itself was barely warm as I bit into the sandwich. Overall, this was not a good sandwich. RATE IT A "C" for pretty mediocre.  Not something most folks would look forward to.  A Wendy's burger or a Whataburger may have been preferable. 

The fries  were dry and flavorless like they came from the freezer. Not good fries. THE FRENCH FRIES WERE ONLY MADE PALATABLE BY THE ADDITION OF KETCHUP. Rate them a "C" for very mediocre.

So, today's meal.....two "c's" and two strike outs! I would not order this stuff again. 

Previously I rated Le Renzez-vous three-and-a-half stars. I think it now deserved THREE-AND-A-QUARTER STARS (3.25).....meaning kind of mediocre. Best left to the 60-75 year old regulars. 

BOTTOM LINE: WILL I RETURN TO DINE HERE? NO. I'M DONE!

  Original review appears below:    

 "Great." "Amazing." Wow! Here we go again with the frivolous superlatives. If you pay attention to all the crazies on Yelp you would think this is the greatest bistro on the planet. Well, it isn't!

Want a more informed and balanced opinion. Well, here goes:

Located right on the S.W. corner of Picacho and Motel Blvd, Le Rendez-vous Cafe is a nice enough little bistro serving mostly soups and sandwiches ( with some good looking pastries in the front case ). There are approximately twelve to fourteen small tables inside. The wood chairs have limited padding on the seats, but the backs are comfortable. THE AMBIANCE IS A LITTLE PLAIN, BUT THE CAFE APPEARS CLEAN AND WELL MANAGED. Rate the ambiance a B minus....nothing too special.

The service during my visit I would classify as fairly good, but nothing too professional. Polite and efficient enough, no complaints. Rate the service a B.

I ordered their version of the Philly Cheesesteak. I had the half size so I could get a cup of the soup of the day with the sandwich for about $7.50. The soup was a lobster bisque. It was thick and creamy, but had little or no lobster taste. It was ok, but I would never order it separately. Rate the soup a B minus.

The Philly arrived with some potato chips and a pickle. It came on a warm hoagie roll made with their French bread. I found the bread to be less than desirable for a Philly. It was a little soft and became somewhat mushy as I finished the sandwich. It also seemed to overly absorb the oil from the meat. I did not care for the bread on this Philly. The cheese, grilled onions, and the green peppers were the usual. The beef, however, I thought was particularly tasty and this salvaged the sandwich for me. I would rate this Philly Cheesesteak about a B minus. It was an above average sandwich, but certainly not a superior product.

All in all, consider this cafe an ok place for a quick, casual lunch, but I honestly cannot say a whole lot more that is favorable (though the pastries up front did look good!). The food I consumed at Le Rendez-vous didn't leave me exactly craving some more. It is ok, but that's about it.

*********BREAKING NEWS********* February 2013 I enjoyed a couple samples of their famous pastries. The strawberry tart was very good....too complex to describe in detail....but very good. Rate it a B to B+. The lemon cake was very good boardering on excellent with a little twist of raspberry inside. Rate this treat an A- to B+. Good stuff. But, keep in mind, these delights are not exactly inexpensive. I do feel that you may be a little disappointed in the pastries if you go there expecting something "fabulous" or "out-of-this-world." While the pastries are very good I don't think they rise to that level.

Out of five possible stars....rate this place THREE-AND-A-HALF....meaning a little above average as a dining experience. AFTER ALL, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A "DINING" EXPERIENCE HERE.....NOT SIMPLY DESSERTS. If you are primarily interested in the pastries or desserts....you might like this place. It is really o.k. also as a casual lunch spot. So......like so many other internet reviews....don't take the superlatives you find here seriously. And certainly don't pay attention to the people who get off by trashing nice places. But, you already knew that. Right?

BOTTOM LINE: WILL I RETURN TO DINE? UNSURE. IT'S POSSIBLE.

Great Place for lunch!. This is a great place for lunch. They feature very good soups and sandwiches (made with bread made right there). One nice thing is a combo of half sandwich and small bowl of soup. Be sure to save room for dessert, though! The owner is a French pastry chef and the pastry case is a thing to behold!! They have very good service and very reasonable prices.

I really like this Cafe. Great food, friendly owner and good service... Make sure you leave room for dessert cause they're delicious!!

Love going there my best girlfriend and I come in the French onion soup is yummy and I want to try their lox and bagels and quiche it's a fav of mine and roomies won't touch it can't wait. Great staff and sitting outdoors in good weather is perfect hope they consider it once the crazy lockdown rules change. The cashier was a little frazzled yesterday but he took a deep breath and powered thru he's a trooper. My waitress was perfect she made sure we got what we wanted and the prices are good too

We go there for multi-grain baguettes and pastries! Phenomenal baked goods. Just noticed they have a tent outside to eat a meal there! Yeah 60 degrees.

Everyone wore a mask! And the pastries were fantastic and beautifully done! I bought most of what they have available and brought it home to family. they all enjoyed the variety of tastes and textures!