Cafe Francais des Arts

The quiche champignons is delicious! And the accompanying baguette with butter organic strawberry jam top it ever so delightfully! My café au lait is perfect. The French understand how to make it.
The owners are French and Francoise welcomed me so sweetly. I thank her for the lovely conversation!
A demain! I shall return with my college sons tomorrow!

Why do I not know about this place? It’s so wonderful, feels as if France finally came to Bozeman. I would highly recommend the almond croissant and drip coffee.

Crepes are pretty good, but I’ve had better. Cappuccino was very foamy and dry that I hardly got any liquid. Perhaps, I could ask for less foam next time, but I’ve had better and more cap for a cheaper price. The value of this restaurant is so-​so.

My family is French, so I quite appreciate when I can eat great French food in the United States – and in Montana, of all places.
The owners and wonderful and kind hearted. Their passion for France is, I think, reflected in the kind of food they produce. It reminds me of food that my grandmother would prepare for us any given day in the South of France. It’s food that is made as if you were a guest in their home, not in a restaurant. This does not mean, however, that the food is anything but amazing.
Café Français des Arts is absolutely one of my favourite places to eat in Bozeman.

I had gone here to meet a friend who was having breakfast after I had just eaten elsewhere. Her food had just arrived so I sat down with her to chat and keep her company while she ate, I did not order anything as I had just eaten before I got there. I stood up to get some water and the owner with pen and paper in hand right behind the water dispenser looks at me and say «what do you want» — I replied «nothing I’m fine I just want some water» and she says «this is a restaurant — you are supposed to order something if you come to a restaurant» in a very rude way, as if I was just bumming around the place. Another time I went back (I guess I shouldn’t have) to see if I could get a birthday cake made and the answer was «no.» Just rude owner which is obnoxious to me — the food I tried was fine though.

Enjoyed a delicious and healthy breakfast that allowed me to feel no guilt around a wonderful fruit crêpe. This isn’t my first time eating here and each time I’ve visited the owner has been very attentive and makes me feel I’m home eating a wonderful homemade meal.
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I wanted to really like this place. The menu was intriguing and the pastries looked wonderful. Unfortunately, the food was so-​so, and we were confused by the procedures.
When you walk in, you go to the counter where the owner gives you two menus. You take these to a table, then come back and order your food. We ordered and waited a few seconds, but she didn’t give us a total, so we assumed we were to pay at the conclusion of our meal. As we went to pay at the end, we finally figured out that we probably were supposed to pay up front.
The counter is very crowded, so we also didn’t notice that we were supposed to get out own silverware and paper cups of water. We got those after the food was delivered to the table.
My husband’s croquette monsieur was pretty good, but it was served with a baguette for breakfast, which was carb overkill. My quiche tasted fairly good also, but was neither warm nor cold, rather room temperature, which makes me nervous with eggs. My daughter tried the chocolate pear crepes, and was disappointed to find that the chocolate was Hershey’s syrup, or at least indistinguishable from Hershey’s. The coffee and hot chocolate both seemed weak and watery.
We’d like to come back and try the pastries, but today was kind of meh.

It was a very stormy morning, leaving the streets and Café Français des Arts empty. The atmospheric greeting was warm, but strange and uncomfortably open. The interior is best described as French-​countryside-​meets-​restaurant-​warehouse. Tables are draped in cloths featuring a cursive writing design, adding a touch of Parisian class, but red pleather (plastic-​leather) chairs detract from the authenticity. Then again, it’s hard to ignore the entire staff speaking French. Fascinating watercolors line the wall — produced by the owner — and offer a door-​peephole look at various scenes in Bozeman. Altogether, the atmosphere is eccentric but feels purposeful — not confused.
Upon entering, a glowing display case serves as a focal point and boasts a number of mesmerizing pastries. Beautifully ornate tarts sit alongside irresistible eclairs. Apple puff pastries and apricot turnovers accompany lemon meringue — and the lot are enough to get your heart racing with the thrill of losing self-​control.
I began with a chocolate croissant fresh out of the oven. It was exquisite — spectacularly fluffy with a perfect, thin crunch on the outside. Immediately, my mouth was overtaken by warm, smooth liquid chocolate coating every taste bud. It was best described as a religious experience.
My Crêpe Madame — filled with bacon and swiss cheese and topped with egg — was underwhelming at first but I soon came to realize that this was, in fact, what made it so perfect. Packaged inside the perfectly rectangular crêpe was a collection of sweet and savory flavors that begged the closest attention. The bacon was refreshingly mild — not overwhelmingly salty or overpowering. Bacon did, of course, dominate the bites containing it. However, there are just a few strips in the crêpe to allow for the appreciation of the other fine flavors. The texture is just as important and was unique and outside the typical consistencies we’re used to in North America.
To further increase my carb intake for the day, I snacked on an apple puff pastry. The lattice-​topped confection was almost more savory than sweet, bringing the apple flavor to the front. It created an experience that highlighted the primary but nuanced flavors typically muted by the added sweetness in American pastries.
It’s important to note just how much the flavors and cuisine philosophies between France and the U.S. differ. In the éclair I tried, the outer shell was firm, the chocolate was delicious but not overwhelming, and the cream inside was outstanding. The cream itself highlights that difference in food culture. Our foods tend to be overpoweringly sweet, but sugar is not so prominent in pastries at Café Français. Instead, owner Françoise Manigault focuses on flavor. The cream tasted like it was crafted right on the Loire River — its flavor was so unique and outside of the range of American gustatory norms that it’s impossible to describe.
Françoise Manigault — who established Café Français des Arts in 2011 and continues to run it today — grew up in the small community of Olivet in the Loire Valley of north-​central France. «I always cooked,» she said. «It’s our culture.» Manigault started baking at seven years old. «I would make all of this cake and bring it to school and sell it to the kids to make some money. I liked to do that.» After attending college for psychology and working as a therapist for many years, she changed course and moved to Bozeman, starting Café Français. «I came back to what I did when I was very young,» reminisced Manigault.
Café Français des Arts is located on South Tracy, less than a block from Main Street. It’s a prime but largely unnoticed location that unfortunately doesn’t seem to get much traffic. But I implore you to seek out Françoise’s café and sample her cuisine. I recommend that you get there early — they tend to sell out of the best stuff by midday and it’s certainly worth it to try some pastries right out of the oven.

Café Francais Des Arts is a hidden gem in downtown Bozeman. The food is prepared from scratch and delicious. The steamed omelettes are amazing. The owner is a lovely woman from France who takes excellent care of each guest. Don’t miss this place!