Renaud’s Patisserie and Bistro – Arlington

Renaud’s makes his fine croissants available to the downtown masses!

Finally, downtown dwellers are now in walking distance to the best croissants in town, because Renaud’s has opened a new location in Arlington Plaza. We wandered down there on a crisp morning, the first week it was open and Renaud himself was there overseeing business. I love being an early adopter.

If you thought the uptown location was cramped, well, don’t hold your breath. Or DO, because this one is even more “bistro” like. There’s room for perhaps six 2-tops, scattered inside and outside the shop. So, really, consider it more of a shop rather than a restaurant, because the chances of you snagging a seat are slim.
Unless you’re like me, who walked in on a late Sunday morning and no customers were there! But within 5 minutes, every table was full of hipsters and young professionals.

And that’s another equation to ponder:

Uptown location = old people
Downtown location = young people
You choose your fancy!

My table’s fancy was an almond croissant, a rum baba, a coffee and a fried egg sandwich. Yum, yum, yum, and….yum. But I got lucky scoring a table before the deluge of customers piled in. Next time, I’ll anticipate a quick dash to the counter to snap up the pastries, and the FLEE to nosh in the privacy of my own home. Or the park.

Renaud’s
1324 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
renaudsbakery.com