Rendezvous Bakery, A Family-Run Artisan Bakery Quenches Sweet and Savory Cravings
Apricot tarts, pistachio cakes, crispy baguettes, and buttery croissants fill the French utopia that is Rendez-Vous Bakery in Sarasota.
Inside two locations, a family of artisans lovingly concocts savory and sweet delights to serve onsite and at area farmers’ markets.
Owners Joel and Sophie Garcia originally started their own bakery in Sete (south of France) two decades ago, moved to Sarasota in 2015, and opened their first restaurant on Clark Road. Two years later, they launched the Siesta Drive locale, and several of their relatives—including son Julien and his wife, Orlane; and daughter Mylaine and her spouse, Aurelien—came to Florida to work together as a family.
Now, their Rendez-Vous regulars return for specialty menu items to devour alongside their cafés au lait and cappuccinos.
“Our almond croissant is our bestseller, and if we take it off the menu customers would kill us,” Joel Garcia says with a laugh. “Customers love our quiches because of our recipe and personal touch, and they love the Rendez-Vous sandwiches because they are real French sandwiches and you can find them everywhere in France.”
Some Rendez-Vous specialties include the Le Rendez-Vous French breakfast with a baguette and three mini croissants; the Le Canard (smoked duck breast flamed with Grand Marnier French liqueur, and cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses, on a croissant); a variety of salmon, chicken, bacon, and spinach omelets; and the Le Nordique sandwich on a baguette with cream cheese, basil, smoked salmon, and sun-dried tomatoes.
“For all of our pastries and bread, our first policy is to use maximum fresh and natural products. The flour is never bleached, no GMOs, no bromate,” Joel Garcia says. “The butter is from Isigny, France, and we use local businesses like Sutters for cream, eggs, orange juice, and cheese.”
The pastry menu is packed with pear-caramel sponge cakes; peach, raspberry, or amandine tarts; Napoleons; St. Honorés (choux pastries with diplomat cream); and Paris-Brest (choux pastries with praline mousse)—a delectable array of French authenticity.
“I’ve wanted our customers, when they open the door to our bakery, to feel like they passed the frontier from the USA to France—with the table layout, the colors and the atmosphere. I hope did it,” Joel Garcia says. “After you come in, you are in front of all of our pastries, smell the bread and butter, and hear the French language—it feels like France.”
Rendez-Vous Bakery: 5336 Clark Rd, Sarasota, 941-924-1234; and 2117 Siesta Dr, Sarasota, 941-552-9240; rendezvoussarasota.com
