La Cité Francophone

Cafe Bicyclette catered an event that we held in La Cite and the food was delicious as always! We LOVE the patio, the poutine, the lattes and the service! The staff was kind and very accommodating and the building and view from our banquet room was beautiful! I would definitely recommend this venue for rentals!

I would not recommend planning your wedding here. I provided the Executive Director a detailed list of issues and requested some answers and a refund on the food that was paid for and never received. I tried to just paste the email in, but it was too long. As I have not received a response in almost 2 months after the wedding, after multiple follow ups, they clearly do not care, so I will summarize my issues for you: issues involved: Demanding payment in full or threatening to cancel your reservation a week before the wedding, and giving you a total of 3 hours to get the payment to them (We received the email at 2 pm on a Friday requiring payment before days end) Double booking you, then not telling you until 3 days prior to the wedding... after the payment was verified. We booked over a year in advance and was at the site multiple times for various other mistakes through the week. Promising you everything when you give the deposit, then slowly taking every promise away, including decorations, condiments at the bar such as salt, limes, etc. Changing the menu completely 3 months prior to the wedding with a price increase by about $10/head and not offering any of the choices we have previously selected advising they can accommodate allergies, and then refusing to, to the point they suggested some guests bring in their own food because they could not guarantee anything would be allergy free refusing to take your calls or answer your emails until you show up at the door Not knowing how to operate a buffet, it took forever for people to get their meal Not giving anyone extra plates, so no one can go for seconds taking away the plates before you could finish the first plate immediately throwing all of the extra food, so when you ask for another plate to go for seconds, the food is already gone. Many people including myself left hungry. I think they threw away half of the buffet. Not giving you all the dishes you asked and paid for The staff ignoring you and walking away when you ask about the missing dishes completely messing up half the menu, including forgetting to include meat on the gluten free options. It was a turkey meal, with no turkey... seriously. When people saw the gluten free option, they decided to risk it and have the regular meal. The bride is gluten free, instead of allowing her to have seconds, they immediately through out the extra gluten free plates. Not providing the same quality of food at the buffet that you received at the taste test. At the taste test the food was very extravagant, hand made, very good. The buffet, yes they were eggs, but very plain, not at all the same quality as the taste test. More what you would expect at an all you can eat breakfast buffet for $5.99 quality. I honestly had more issues, this is a quick point form highlighting the major issues... I had to make my post shorter and remove stuff. These people do not know how to cater to any large group of people and are just making it up as they go along. The cook changes his mind on a moments notice, they tell you one thing and then change their mind, sometimes before you get home from the meeting. If you have already booked here, I would recommend sending an email and including everyone, including supervisor and your spouse so the conversation is in writing and everyone has a copy. Print these emails when you go to the next meeting, because they will deny something they said in the meeting or receiving the email, so make sure it is written down and recorded.

We would highly recommend having your wedding at the beautiful venue La Cite Francophone. At first we were somewhat leary based on some of the reviews we had seen about La Cite Francophone as a wedding venue, however, we were totally blown away by how friendly, helpful, and how genuinely concerned the coordinators and caterers were with helping us have the best possible wedding. We ended up having a wedding which WAS EVEN BETTER THAN WE EXPECTED, and a big big part of that was because we had it at La Cite We know our guests enjoyed the wedding based on the number of compliments on both the wedding and the food. PRICE: The price was on par with several community/cultural halls around the city. With La Cite, you have a beautiful venue set in a quiet neighborhood that opens up to a large glass wall with the sun streaming in during your evening reception. The ability to have the ceremony in the rotunda or courtyard for only an extra $75 was a huge bonus for us, allowing us to keep the entire event from ceremony to photos in the beautiful courtyard to reception in one venue. Not having to run around the city (and have your guests run around too) allowed us to save money and made the choice to use La Cite easy. AESTHETICS: The courtyard is beautifully decorated with flowers and Cafe Bicyclettes outdoor patio. An excellent spot to have your outdoor ceremony and to take photos. As mentioned before the reception rooms open up to the high glass walls letting all the natural light in. If it rains, you can have your ceremony inside the brightly lit rotunda. COORDINATION WITH STAFF AND CONTRACT DETAILS: We made sure to keep in close communication with the coordinators and to ensure that we had all our deliverables to La Cite as early as possible. The staff were very flexible and worked with us. Other reviewers seemed to have some issues with payment, booking and food etc. however reading those reviews more closely, I suspect that they were likely not communicating their needs to the venue. It also sounded like they hadn’t even paid the venue the week of their wedding, when it is quite clear that payment is due two weeks prior (10 business days to be exact). The contract was very clear in what is included and what is not included and we made sure to get our guest numbers, and meal selections into them on time. We were even surprised at the flexibility the coordinators allowed us. There were times when Ghislaine was difficult to get a hold of or away, however, Elyse - the events coordinator - stepped in and ensured that everything went smoothly. FOOD / DINING EXPERIENCE: The food was delicious and came out just a few minutes after the scheduled time. Everyone had ample time to get seconds and even thirds. Extra plates were handed out as soon as you needed. Dessert included with the meal is VERY generous. There was a large variety of cakes and squares. The tasting gives you exactly what you will see at your buffet minus desserts, though I’m sure if you asked, they would provide it. In our case, I think they even gave us more varieties of salad than we expected as well as delicious grilled bread). We noted that some guests waited a bit long (maybe 20-30 mins) for their specialty vegan or allergy meals. We pointed out the situation to the staff who were very apologetic. When the meals were received they were enjoyed by our guests and we were happy that the situation was resolved. We booked in 2016 and the menu and prices changed slightly in 2017, they honored all of the 2016 prices, though we had to go with the 2017 menu. Not a big deal as the menu was delicious and still just as good value. OVERALL: 10/10 would recommend!

I love this place. I got married here, love the cafe, and the farmers market is small but mighty.

Couldn't be bothered to show up to an appointment or even answer there phones. Tried every number even the operator. Will never return!