My roommate, friend, and I embarked upon a new café this weekend named Moulin, a small French beau (beautiful) café.
We were all studying at our local Starbucks because midterm exams happen to be this week at our university. We all agreed we needed a break and decided to go to the French café my housemate had heard about the day before. It didn’t seem far from campus, and the reviews online were nothing but good.
We arrived at a small shopping center and drove to the far corner where the restaurant is located. It was instantly beautiful. The waiters and the ambiance made me feel like I was in France though I have never been to France. I’d like to imagine this little café is something similar to an experience I would have if I were there. Our waiter was actually French, and his accent made me die a little every time he spoke.
Laurent Vrignaud is the owner of this café located in Newport Beach, California. I asked Laurent about the story behind the café, to which he responded, “I left Paris 30 years ago and there’s tons of stuff that I miss that I could only find in Paris so I created it [Moulin café] right down the street from my house.” He recently opened Moulin on the 25th of September (2014) and has had great business since. “I always told my friends I would do this eventually when I had time,” he said. His friends and family were a couple of the inspirations Laurent had when creating and opening Moulin. He has kept the café up and running with he help of his wife and daughter who work with him. I asked Laurent if he has any intentions of opening another café somewhere other than in Newport Beach, and he said, “extending it becomes hard because you can’t do it as well if you have a second place, so right now I’m very focused on only this place,” which he describes as his ‘second home’.
Laurent and the staff were very kind. It was their kindness, the food, the presentation, and the atmosphere that would lead me to go again.
Moulin is located in Newport Beach California, 1000 N. Bristol St.
You can reach them at (949) 474-0920 or contact them via email at info@moulinbistro.com,
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