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Le Petit Cafe
Le Petit Cafe is a southern French bistro and restaurant located on 6th Street at 308 W. 6th Street. They have indoor seating, with a large screen window during the warmer months.
The atmosphere at the cafe is warehouse-chic, with plants and cheery lighting. The restaurant is owned and operated by a husband and wife team, Patrick Fiore and Marina Ballor, who are both chefs and servers and live on the premises.
The restaurant is setup in the "European way" according to Patrick, where the front part is the restaurant and the back part is their house.
The menu is written in French on a whiteboard at the front of the dining area, and consists of a beef, a pork, a poultry, and a fish entree. The vegetables are whatever looks good at the market that day. All entrees are well-prepared, and all sauces are fresh. The whiteboard also features guests' favorite quotes from Marina, such as "Not too much for you," usually spoken while delivering a huge portion.
In addition to evening menus, Le Petit Cafe provides a Thursday lunch buffet and a prix fixe Sunday brunch. The opening of the B-Line Trail prompted a walk-up window where passers-by from the Farmer's Market can order freshly-made treats such as strawberry shortcake.
The owners often will sit down next to customers to talk, suggesting appropriate wines with the dinner.
Prices are extremely reasonable for French food-about $14 per person, excluding alcohol and dessert.
Little is it known that they also do catering.
History
Patrick and Marina opened the restaurant on September 2nd, 1977. The building used to be occupied by the taxi company Campus Cab. A cinder block garage used to be where the main dining area was. They had to renovate the entire front with the help of a loan. When Marina called her parents to tell them that they had opened a restaurant, they said "Are you crazy?".
Most of the decor was bought in the 70s and early 80s and had remained the same ever since.
Location
308 W 6th St Bloomington, IN 47404 Phone:(812) 334-9747
