Mired in layers of red tape since its purchase in March 2007, Fontaine Caffe and Crêperie has been the fascination of Kyong Yi, formerly of Teatro Goldoni and Galileo, and her sister Sunyi stemming from a trip to Vienna, Austria. The crêperie, which opened in late January, now sports a bright red sign, easily spotted from its location just off of King Street’s busy thoroughfare.

Apart from its simple exterior, the caffe’s interior motif is a modern spin on French country-side/tourist trap crêperies, fully adorned with a large wine-rack and a stainless steel espresso maker set behind the bar. The dual dining rooms utilize subtle lighting to ease you in the mood to eat.

Despite a smattering of a few starters, including pate and provencal salads, and other daily specials, such as melon and prosciutto, Fontaine’s crêpes are the clearly featured item on the menu.

The dinner crêpes are made from buckwheat, reflective of the Brittany region of France that inspired the Yi sisters' menu. Although the taste of the buckwheat goes well with the savory ingredients, it creates a VERY dense crêpe. The Washingtonian, filled with steak, potatoes, and mushrooms, is a must-have, as the meat melts in your mouth and releases an earthy aroma. The Berliner, billed as the restaurant's signature crêpe (by the server, anyway), combines grilled bratwurst, sauteed onions, and curry sauce. Although it seems like a weird combination – the French version of the Germany’s currywurst - it worked. The curry was flavorful and distracts from the heaviness of the crêpe. Skip the fries served on top, though, you won't need any extra carbs. A third crêpe, the Zenist, is filled with lentils, spinach, and tomatoes in a coriander coconut sauce. Although the texture of the lentils was spot-on, the sauce was lacking punch and brought out neither the coriander nor the coconut. On the other hand, the Zenist filling would be suitable for a low cholesterol diet. Each dinner crêpe is served with field greens lightly tossed with a non-offensive vinagrette, serving as a veritable palate-cleanser between bites or when moving from crêpe to crêpe.

Dessert provides the true reason to get excited for crêpes, as one deserves a light, sweet reward for finishing a serving of buckwheat. Faced with a decision between seven dessert crêpes, all of which sound fantastic, which way does one go? Nutella needs to be part of all crêpe experiences; given the opportunity, it would have been covering the dinner crêpes listed above. It's hard to resist the Marathon, which layers peanut butter and Nutella on top of your choice of bananas or apples. The Late Nighter, featuring poached pears and butter pecan ice cream covered in cognac and chocolate sauce, provides the right mix and interaction between the ingredients, although an abundance of pecans got in the way of the pears' soft texture.

A night at Fontaine can get a little pricey, with dinner crêpes ranging in price from $12.95 to $17.95 and dessert crêpes priced from $7.95 to $9.50. Add in a diverse wine and beer list that combines old world, new world, and Malta, and the wallet starts to get lighter and lighter. Stop by for dessert and leave satisfied.

Caffe Fontaine
119 South Royal Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.535.8151
Alexandria Dash Bus: AT7 from King Street Metro stop, corner of King and Royal
Metrobus: A10, A11

Hours:
Tuesday-Friday: Lunch: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday Brunch: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Dinner: 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday Brunch : 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.