Voila French Bakery Bistro

It appears they have shut down operations a couple of weeks ago.

I had lunch with my buddy Christina R. here today. I had the berry french toast, let me just say it was yummy! I am definitely a fan of this place. The only con is the drink selection, they did not have fresh OJ! I wanted that along with my french toast!

I have driven past this place many times with my parents who live in Plano but my mom and I finally decided to try it.
After being a little confused on where to place our order I ordered a half sandwich (vegetarian) and half salad (chicken caesar). My sandwich was wonderful! It had roasted vegetables and a peanut sauce on fresh baked bread. Mmmmmm! My salad was also really good. But I will definitely be going back to try more things or just for that sandwich… Yum!

My sweet tooth follows me when I am out and about. I was actually looking to bring in some sort of pastries for my co-worker’s birthday so I figured I’d check this place out. I pretty much started drooling as soon as I saw what was in the display case. I picked 4 different desserts to try — hazelnut mousse, key lime tart, a napolean, and a mini chocolate cake with a pecan coconut filling that was covered in chocolate and toasted coconut.
So we tried a bit of everything — the napolean was perfect — just enought pastry crème between the puff pastry and the icing had just the right amount of sweetness. The key lime tart had just the right hint of sour and the crust was heavenly. I didn’t really care for the mousse but there wasn’t technically anything wrong with it — I just don’t like mousse. But hands down, the favorite was the chocolate cake/​pecan concoction. There was just a thin layer of cake and the rest was the coconut pecan goodness.
There’s no question that I will be back here again. I really want some pain au chocolat. Maybe tomorrow morning…
updated ¹²⁄₁₀: I went back and the pain au chocolat was top notch. As was the pecan pie, the chocolate tartlet and the carrot cake. My co-​workers and I loved it all!

EDIT: I am giving Voila that 1 last star because the organization has improved!
Voila is what La Madeleine wishes it could be – a true French bakery and café.
I still haven’t tried their sandwiches, but I’ve eaten (or at least tasted) their Banana Nutella crepes, bacon egg breakfast croissant sandwich, the mediterranean salad, tomato soup, chicken & wild rice soup, croissants, and the vanilla éclair.
Everything I’ve tried so far has been amazing. The Mediterranean salad had fresh balls of mozzarella and really good prosciutto. Their salad dressing was great – perfect blend of oil, balsamic, and herbs – not too tart. I also recommend the crepes. I’m sure all varieties are good, but the banana nutella are to die for.
I would suggest going for yourself for breakfast (served only on the weekends) or lunch for the great food, but don’t take their bakery for granted, either. Next time you just need a good loaf of bread, stop by Voila and take home one of their many varieties of fresh bread.
Only reason for 4 stars – the management could use a little help and organization. The music was slightly inappropriate and the overall flow from order-​taking to paying was dysfunctional and confusing. Still well worth the visit.

This place has gotten a lot of hype on some other Dallas foodie websites for being a great little french bakery, and since my sister lives right around the corner & spoke highly of it, we decided to meet here for a late breakfast/​early lunch. I especially wanted to try their croissants as the Dallas Morning News gave them 2^nd place in all of Dallas & D Magazine gave them 1^st place.
So the restaurant is small, but when you walk in, you are greeted with an beautiful and tantalizing display of fresh pastries & breads. The place smells fantastic. Between four of us, we sampled:
–the Mediterranean Salad (spring mix, sun dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and some of the juiciest bits of prosciutto (hmmm!)
–Croissant (which is one of the better ones I have had in the states– compared to France)
–Hubby ordered the breakfast sandwich served on a croissant w/​egg & bacon– decadent
–And for dessert we tried an éclair
–Also sampled their house coffee, café au lait & hot tea (all of which were excellent– we all have pretty picky palates when it comes to coffee & tea– they have a nice selection here)
The staff are a bit frantic, and the service is slightly unorganized, but it is well worth it. It is not overpriced– the portions are generous, so you can split dishes. A lot of customers were coming in just to get fresh baked bread (which they have a lot of) and they also had homemade packed granola (like pistachio, white chocolate chip, & craisins)! Definitely worth the drive. I’d be in trouble if this place were right down the street from my house.
*Not giving it a full 5 stars only because the service was unorganized– the line was sorta backwards & once we ordered, we had to tell them again at the cash register what we ordered, and they didn’t ask if we wanted drinks or anything, we just had to tell them– it was just awkward overall. The staff just all seemed confused. If it was really busy in there, I think it would suck. If they could just smooth that out, it would be 5 stars no problem, because the food rocks.

Small restaurant with hardly enough space for the customers. So the food is good, and this place is popular here on the edge of civilization. Popular maybe because there’s nowhere else to go nearby. Also, ask yourself why you’re all the way out here.

Great food, when you can get it. I love the idea behind this place and I’m really rooting for them to succeed, but I have to admit they don’t make it easy. Service is crap. Layout of place is awkward and you never know where to stand when ordering or paying. Drinks, of all things, are only single serve bottles and cans from ONE refrigerator so the thing is stocked with warm drinks half the time during busy days. But the food is excellent. All fresh ingredients. Unique sandwiches. My first visit I fell IN LOVE with their Catfish Sandwich, and I have been in at least 5 times since that day and they are «out of catfish» every time. What can I say man? They make it hard to love!