The French Baguette Cafe

The place looked great, had so much promise cos the place was huge and had oodles of pastries to pick from. Until I saw a bug/​fly in one of the display cases that had such a delicious looking cake. And then another one where the cookies were. And then another. I noped right outta there after that!

If you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth after a bowl of phở or a banh mi at one of Footscray’s excellent Vietnamese restaurants, The French Baguette has sugary treats galore: Glass cases filled with Italian chocolate dipped biscuits, Aussie «hedgehog» cakes and vanilla slices, and cream filled eclairs fill the centre of this huge café, while French style cakes (opera, chocolate royale) tempt from the display cases along the periphery.
We ordered a rich, decadent chocolate royale cake: Mouse layered on a hazelnut ganache crust and dusted with dark chocolate on top. My Frenchie declared it as good as anything you could get at Parisian bakery… Maybe not from the top patisserie in the Marais, but solid nonetheless. At only four dollars it was priced at half what you’d get in any other suburb in Melbourne. (In fact, the next morning we spotted an almost identical looking cake at an upmarket café in neighbouring Yarraville that sold for 8.50).
They also sell giant banh mi sandwiches, smoothies, and an array of fresh juice.
Ambience is typical of Footscray (i.e, «absent») but you’ll be so absorbed in your dessert that you’ll hardly notice.