The 10 best French restaurants, crêperies and bakeries in the Charlotte area

French food around Charlotte runs from duck à l’orange in an Uptown brasserie and Chateaubriand sauced tableside in SouthPark to crêpes in downtown Matthews and croissants baked with flour imported from France in Cornelius. This list covers 10 restaurants, crêperies and bakery-cafés in Charlotte, Matthews and Cornelius, from $3 pastries to a $140 chateaubriand for two. It is for date nights, weekend brunch planners and anyone after a proper croissant. Most entries name dishes and prices from the current menu, and each has a tip on reservations, parking or hours. Entries are listed alphabetically, not ranked.

How we chose

Every restaurant, crêperie and bakery-café here passed a 2026 Mecklenburg County health inspection and posts a current menu or hours. Picks are based on independent coverage, including Charlotte Magazine’s 2024 Best of the Best awards, Axios Charlotte, WSOC, Our State and the Charlotte Business Journal, along with how long each place has been open and how French the menu is. Restaurants where French cooking is a side note on a New American or Latin menu were left out, and so were national chains, places that could not show 2026 evidence of being open and two well-known French spots that have closed since 2018. The list has five restaurants, two crêperies and three bakery-cafés. No business paid to be included. Prices and hours were last checked on October 27, 2026.

Amélie’s French Bakery & Café

Eiffel Tower legs come out of the walls at the NoDa café, which the bakery calls the flagship. Amélie’s opened in 2008 in Villa Heights, Axios Charlotte reported, and now runs six locations, including a Plaza Midwood L’Express that opened in 2026 as the bakery’s first spot without seating. The NoDa café stays open until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday, so a late dessert run is easy.

Why we chose them

• Macarons are $2.95 each, $14.75 for a half dozen or $29.50 a dozen.
• Soup is $4.99 a cup or $8.25 a bowl.
• Lunch and weekends are the busiest times, so order online for a scheduled pickup.
• Private event space can be booked at the NoDa café.

Address: Charlotte (NoDa) — 136 E. 36th St., with five more locations in Charlotte and Rock Hill

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Bentley’s Restaurant

Classic French dishes are prepared tableside on a gueridon, a rolling cooking cart, in this SouthPark dining room, including Bananas Foster and Crêpes Suzette, according to the restaurant. Owner Jim Emad found the first space, on South College Street in Uptown, in December 2003 and named Bentley’s for his wife Kay’s family. The restaurant moved to SouthPark in 2020. Starters include escargot bourguignon for $18 and French onion soup for $12.

Why we chose them

• Charlotte Agenda covered the 2020 reopening as an upscale French-American restaurant.
• Dover sole bonne femme is $68, and steak au poivre is $66 on the dinner menu.
• Chateaubriand Bouquetière for two, with bordelaise made tableside, is $140.
• The restaurant serves dinner only, Monday through Saturday, with the bar opening at 4:30 p.m.
• Dress is business casual, and a free parking deck sits behind the restaurant.

Address: Charlotte (SouthPark) — 4620 Piedmont Row Dr., Suite 110

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Brasserie Copain

Chef Jim Noble’s Copain bakery added full-service dining for the first time when this Ballantyne brasserie opened in January 2026, according to the business. Go Ballantyne reported in April 2025 that the 3,100-square-foot space would seat 102, including a brasserie-style patio. The bakery side opens at 7 a.m. and sells a $4.50 butter croissant made from a 72-hour dough, so the same address covers breakfast and a date-night dinner.

Why we chose them

• Dinner mains include coq au vin for $32 and moules frites for $25.
• Steak tartare with black truffle is $22, and onion soup gratinée is $17.
• Steak frites range from a $52 New York strip to a $125 dry-aged côte de boeuf.
• Brasserie dinner starts at 5 p.m., and the restaurant recommends reservations.
• Parking is free for three hours for drivers who register their car in the development’s parking app.

Address: Charlotte (Ballantyne) — 14020 Stream Way, Suite 118

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Café Monte

Breakfast, lunch and dinner all come out of one SouthPark room at this French bakery and bistro, which opened in 2007, according to the restaurant. Bistro plates include beef bourguignon and mussels and frites, savory crêpes get their own section of the menu, and the daytime menu has duck confit waffles for $19 and quiche Lorraine for $16. Hours run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and reservations can be made online.

Why we chose them

• Charlotte Magazine readers voted Café Monte the city’s best French food in the 2024 Best of the Best awards.
• Beef bourguignon is $28, and mussels and frites are $24.
• Savory crêpes run from a $19 vegetarian crêpe to lobster and crab at $28.
• Wednesdays from 4 to 9 p.m. are all-you-can-eat mussels, and Tuesdays have half-price wine bottles.
• The restaurant is closed Mondays and serves Sunday brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Address: Charlotte (SouthPark) — 6700 Fairview Rd., Suite 108

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Cocotte Bakery

Head baker Alexandre, a former civil engineer from Uzès in southern France, and Angela, a Parisian, ran a café in Savannah, Georgia, before opening this Cornelius bakery to the first customer on August 4, 2024, according to the bakery. The flour is imported from France, and everything is made on site daily, with no frozen pastries.

Why we chose them

• A croissant is $4, and an almond croissant is $6.
• The Parisian ham-and-Gruyère baguette is $12.
• Quiche Lorraine and a croque monsieur on brioche are $14 each.
• Items sell out most days, so come early or preorder online.
• The bakery is closed Tuesdays and otherwise open until 3 p.m., from 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends.

Address: Cornelius — 9623 Bailey Rd., Suite 110

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Coquette

Restaurateur Jill Marcus fell for French food during a junior year abroad in Brittany, and she founded this Uptown restaurant, which the restaurant’s site describes as a French buvette. Executive chef Stefano Gallo runs the kitchen, with pastry chef Megan Goldman and sommelier Fabien Boudart. Le Menu du Midi is a weekday three-course lunch for $36, with a $10 sommelier’s pour.

Why we chose them

• Charlotte Magazine’s staff picked the fried chicken as the city’s best fancy fried chicken in 2024.
• Duck-fat fried chicken is $28, and duck cassoulet with Toulouse sausage is $34.
• Red-wine boeuf bourguignon with Wagyu short rib is $45.
• The chocolate soufflé is baked to order and takes about 25 minutes, so order it early.
• Valet is free nightly out front, and daytime parking at 150 S. College St. is $10 with two-hour validation.

Address: Charlotte (Uptown) — 101 S. Tryon St., Suite 14

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Hazelnuts Crêperie

Asaf Agajan landed a job at a small crêpe shop on Long Island and later opened this crêperie in Uptown in 2012, according to the business. Hazelnuts grew to four Charlotte locations, then closed three in 2020 and refocused on the Blakeney store. The full menu runs all day, from breakfast and savory crêpes to vegetarian options and sweet crêpes such as the Nutella Banana and The Lemon Drop, with butter, sugar and lemon.

Why we chose them

• Gluten-free batter is available for guests with a sensitivity.
• All items share equipment, so the crêperie warns that the gluten-free option does not suit celiac guests.
• The crêperie is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• The counter does not take cash.
• Online orders cover pickup and delivery.

Address: Charlotte (Blakeney) — 9830 Rea Rd.

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La Belle Helene

A French brasserie in Uptown, La Belle Helene opened in 2018, closed in October 2020 and reopened under new ownership in May 2021, WSOC reported. Chef partner Jamie Lynch, a Top Chef alum, created the current menu, according to the restaurant. Duck à l’orange and crispy duck confit share the menu with beef bourguignon, steak frites, French onion soup with Gruyère and a chilled seafood grand plateau.

Why we chose them

• Charlotte Magazine voters named the dessert menu the city’s best in the 2024 Best of the Best awards.
• The same 2024 awards ranked the restaurant runner-up for French food.
• Duck à l’orange and crispy duck confit are $40 each, and steak frites with béarnaise is $59.
• On weekdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Pick 2 lunch is $20.
• Thanksgiving Day brings a three-course prix fixe for $80, or $35 for kids 12 and under.

Address: Charlotte (Uptown) — 300 S. Tryon St., Suite 100

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Renaissance Pâtisserie

Classically trained French chef Sylvain Rivet started Renaissance Pâtisserie in 2013 as a farmers market stand and grew the business into a shop in SouthPark, according to the pâtisserie. Bistro plates and soups are on the menu too, along with wine, Champagne and beer, indoor seating and a heated patio. Hours start at 8 a.m. daily and run until 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Why we chose them

• Charlotte Magazine voters named the dessert menu runner-up for the city’s best in the 2024 Best of the Best awards.
• A butter croissant is $4.25, and an almond croissant or kouign amann is $6.25.
• A cannelé is $3.25, and a French macaron is $3.50.
• On select Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the shop hosts a free, open French conversation session.
• Check the events page for conversation dates and bring your schoolbook French.

Address: Charlotte (SouthPark) — 6401 Carnegie Blvd., Suite 4A

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Royal Cafe & Creperie

Mother and daughter Elena Mizrahi and Alexis Botero opened this downtown Matthews café in February 2013, and Botero’s grandmother made crêpes for her as a child, Our State reported that year. Diners can build a custom crêpe from the ingredient list, and a customer’s custom crêpe might end up named after them if the kitchen likes it, according to the café.

Why we chose them

• Gluten-free crêpes are available, and the coffee is roasted in Charlotte.
• Ingredients are sourced locally whenever possible, and the menu changes as the owners find new ideas.
• Mecklenburg County inspectors scored the kitchen a 99 in May 2026.
• The café is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day.
• Online orders can be scheduled ahead.

Address: Matthews (downtown) — 131 Matthews Station St., Suite E

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Prices, hours and opening status last checked October 27, 2026. Call ahead where an entry says to.