Crepes the South Bay may not be as popular as they are in, say, Northern France, where they are sold in kiosks all over, but their popularity is growing. I swear I’ve been seeing a new crepe restaurant pop up around here every couple of months.

Here we are less prone to serving crepes in kiosks, and prefer to serve them in casual cafes. Delicious Crepes Bistro, which opened recently in Santa Clara, has a nice coffee shop feel to it. There are a few scattered tables in the two rooms, some couches, newspapers and WiFi for your laptop. You can grab a cup of coffee and just hang out if you like, but it’s the crepes that are the focus—and they are big, some of the biggest I’ve ever seen, so big they come pre-sliced into 8-10 squares, presumably to facilitate sharing.

They have three different crepe batters, which are all good—it’s a subtle flavor that allows the fillings to shine. Of the batter choices, all are vegan and two are gluten-free. There is no meat on the menu, and cheese, sweet cream and sour cream are about the only non-vegan options available, so a person with a gluten-free, vegan diet should find their way around this menu with no problem.

Delicious Crepes serves freshly squeezed juices and smoothies as well. I had a glass of the orange juice (12 oz: $3.75; 16 oz: $4.50) that was incredible. You just can’t beat freshly squeezed orange juice. The smoothie I tried, the Strawberry Honey Love ($5), didn’t appeal to me. It had strawberries, honey and almond milk. To be fair, I don’t particularly like almond milk. I found it intruded on the other flavors.

Typical of crepe restaurants, the menu is divided between sweet and savory crepes. Off the savory menu, I tried the Special Crepe ($9). It was packed with baby spinach, tomato, green onion, lemon juice, feta and cheddar cheese. When I say packed, it was stuffed so thick that even the pre-cut squares were too big to eat without first cutting them up into smaller pieces. The flavors didn’t disappoint. It has everything you’d want inside a savory crepe.

Off the sweet menu I ordered the Sweet Works ($8) which had strawberries, banana, sweet cream, chocolate and Nutella. Like the Special Crepe, it’s a grab bag of all the best sweet crepe fillings. I also tried an Apple Cinnamon Crepe ($6.50), which wasn’t as good. I would rather they’d used real apples instead of applesauce.

If you order a savory crepe, be sure and add a Borscht soup for only $2.25 extra. It’s a traditional, hearty Slavic soup with beets, cabbage and potatoes. It can also be ordered a la carte for $3.75 (cup) and $6.25 (bowl).

Delicious Crepes Bistro
57 Washington St., Santa Clara. 408.260.6885