Café Ficelle - Oxnard

I was referred here to get a retirement cake for a co-worker. Flourless chocolate cake, her favorite. It turned out to be a flourless chocolate mousse cake. Dark chocolate on the bottom, lighter chocolate in the middle, light and fluffy whipped mousse on top. It was a huge hit, everyone loved it. Ordering over the phone was easy, picking it up not quite so easy, their parking wasn't obvious, at first, but when I got inside everything was ready to go. I'll definitely be going here again. Went again, got the French Dip sandwich, and hubs got the croissant sandwich. Both excellent.

What happened to this place? Decided to stop in (after having not been in in a while because we couldn't justify the price point) and treat ourselves to pastries. I have so much regret. We did take out so we didn't know this was a mistake until we got home. Almond croissants were hard and stale, the marzipan was scrambled inside. The Kouign-amann was equally as hard and stale and had no sugar caramelization, just covered in powdered sugar, which did nothing to hide the strange, almost floral perfume taste, as though it was contamination by soap or something. For $5.50-$6.00 a pastry, I expect quality. My husband remembered that they are now baking offsite in a commercial spot so maybe they no longer pride themselves on fresh baked promises. The frozen pastries from Trader Joe's are better and your get 4 to a box for $5. I don't know why success has made them think they can charge this much while cutting back on quality. Will not be returning, wish we hadn't given them another chance and wasted our money and have other pastries to throw out. There are other small locally owned bakeries that could use the business.

Stopped here to kill some time (very close to Ventura hospital). Interior is really spacious and clearly a local favorite as there were a good amount of people here. The drinks were good, I got a matcha latte with rose syrup. Do wish the drinks came out hotter though. And the food was very delicious. If I lived locally I could easily spend time here and read or work.

Good coffee, and enjoy the fresh bread and pastry options. Staff could improve a little with service. 3 stars off for being overpriced for bakery and drinks, rude staff on many occasions. $7.00 for the tiniest cappuccino with oat milk is crazy. As mentioned in reviews, the quality of their bakery items is not as good as it used to be.

Great French Bakery and Restaurant! Really enjoyed the Croque Madam and a cafe mocha. My wife liked her Ficelle Sandwich with Tri-tip. Great service.