Crepes Bistro began the same way its menu items do—from scratch.
Yasser Alkazzaz, the owner and manager of the French-themed bistro in Colleyville, developed the concept along with his wife, Sirine. Besides the help of a cook who has prepared French food for about 30 years and a baker with 25 years of experience, the couple has been behind every aspect of the business so far.
Alkazzaz said they have done everything from decorating, which his wife was heavily involved with, to developing software programs to track the accounting and purchasing for the restaurant, which opened in June.
Alkazzaz said the main menu items the restaurant offers are not necessarily foods people would plan to come in for daily.
“Our food is really about an experience,” he said. “It’s not everyday food.”
In addition to crepes, quiches, sandwiches, salads and sweet crepes, Crepes Bistro also offers bakery items and an assortment of coffees, wines, champagnes, beers and ciders.
Macarons ($1.99 for one, $9.99 for six, $17.99 for a dozen) are also sold.
Alkazzaz said the biggest seller for the restaurant thus far is the crepes. Although customers always have the option of building their own crepes, there are menu items the restaurant has already crafted, he said.
“It’s all about authentic French crepe[s], savory and sweet, [and] some additional sweet food items, like quiches and friands, and sweet bakery [items],” Alkazzaz said. “It’s really about also adapting this French cuisine to the U.S. market, in particular Texans,” Alkazzaz said.
Some of those crepe-based menu items include dishes that combine French and Texan flavors, such as the Texan ($12.99), which includes Texas-style sausage, sauteed potatoes and onions, cheese and jalapenos with barbecue sauce.
Other crepes on the menu offer a more traditional French flavor, such as the Forestiere ($9.99), which features a house-made Forestiere mushroom sauce, cheese and the option to add prosciutto, chicken, beef or ham.
Everything Crepes Bistro offers is made from scratch in the restaurant, with the exception of the Nutella for the Nutella crepe ($8.99), which also features sliced bananas and strawberries, whipped cream and slivered almonds.
“It’s also about the freshness of the ingredients [and the] quality of ingredients,” he said. “I mean, we use very, very expensive ingredients.”
One such ingredient is buckwheat flour, which is several times more expensive than all-purpose flour, but it adds a richer flavor and more nutritional value to the crepes, he said.
Customers get to pick out toppings for the crepes ahead of time, and then they get to watch them being made right in front of them.
“That’s very fun because people can see all of the ingredients, and they can compose their own plate,” he said.
Alkazzaz said he is confident the bistro offers something for everyone.
“[They will] have a new experience tasting [our] food,” he said. “We please all tastes.”
Crepes Bistro
5615 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. 300, Colleyville
817-893-5313
www.crepesbistro.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
