I just completely fell in love with Pates et Traditions. It’s located in Williamsburg and is just perfect for warm weather as they have a small outdoor seating section. The servers are incredibly friendly and accommodating and the quality of the food is top notch.
Pates et Traditions specializes in savory crepes, the authentic kind you’ll find in France made with buckwheat and savory fillings. This is clear from the roughly 15 crepe options on their menu. Of course, you can also add, subtract, and customize them as you like. The crepes are just as thin as normal crepes, but are a charcoal color, and don’t have any sweetness to them. The savory ingredients are placed inside and the four sides of the crepe are folded over about an inch. This leaves the ingredients well contained inside, but exposed in the middle so you can see what you’re eating.
They have plenty of veggie and meat options as well as some more unusual ones like snail and duck. We ordered “La Chevre” which came with goat cheese, black tapenade (olive), walnut, Swiss cheese, and provence herbs. It was very hearty and filling, certainly a bit on the heavy side, but you won’t leave hungry. All of the crepes come fully stuffed – they don’t scrimp at all. The “La Chevre” crepe was absolutely delicious, and a welcome change from the typical crepe in New York.
If you don’t feel like crepes for whatever reason or want something lighter, they also do have a few pastas, salads, croques, and omelettes. You can create your own 3-egg omelette with whole eggs or egg white only, choosing from a variety of add-ins. The omelette we ordered was perfection. One of the best I’ve had, cooked exactly the way I requested. It was incredibly flavorful and well-spiced, with amazing texture.
I highly recommend going, sitting outside, and having a relaxed brunch or lunch, watching people walk by. If I lived in the area, I’d go quite frequently. This place is a fantastic Brooklyn counterpart to another spectacular French cafe, Buvette. Truly a gem. One note – Pates et Traditions is cash only.
