‘Zen, cozy and inviting’: New French café delights tastebuds in New Smyrna Beach

In the States, truly authentic crepes can be hard to come by, often known as a Nutella-layered dessert in their most common form. For Sylvie Le Nouail, they’re a years-mastered craft; a lace-like delight she traces back to evenings of her childhood in Brittany, France.

After years of success as a restaurateur and chef, making crepes — and other French fare — everywhere from England and Paris to right here in Florida, she now crafts them from the local kitchen of 829 Canal St. in New Smyrna Beach — the newly opened Voo La Voo Café.

“I’ve been making crepes since I was maybe 6, 7 years old. I remember being home — my mom used to work nights— so I had to cook very often,” she said, reminiscing on the crepe-eating competitions with her sister that followed.

“She always beat me … we used to make like 30, 40 maybe. We’d be eating crepes for dinner and then we had leftovers for breakfast. You eat them cold with jam or butter and just roll them up. They’re so delicious.”

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Le Nouail, who owns the café alongside her partner Larry, opened the original Voo La Voo in Fort Lauderdale, where it’s successfully remained for a decade now.

However, redevelopment plans underway in the area prompted the cafe's expansion.

Le Nouail began looking in Orlando, until her realtor approached her with the idea of settling in New Smyrna Beach — a town that quickly surprised her.

“The next day we drove here. We were by Flagler (Avenue) and people were so super friendly, I mean it struck me really,” she explained. “It’s not pretentious — very laid back, friendly, you know? You feel comfortable.”

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Le Nouail secured the new space, formerly Auntie’s Soul Food Kitchen, in February before quietly opening shop just three months later. The restaurant’s soft-hued, floral interior, she says, was inspired by the serenity of its tucked-away location.

“She wanted something zen, cozy and inviting,” café manager Karim Laudier said.

And Canal Street property fit the bill.

“When we came here, I said to Larry, 'This is the place. We have to get that place,'” Le Nouail said. “Because the trees, the nature in the back — it’s just so peaceful.”

Cuisine at Voo La Voo Café

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Whether treating your taste buds to the beef bourguignon — a crown jewel of French cuisine, featuring rich, beef tenderloin, slow-cooked in an indulgent burgundy wine sauce; or savoring every soft spoonful of the house-made honey lavender crème br?lée, I’d argue there’s only one problem you’ll have at Voo La Voo Café — restraining from ordering the whole menu.

The quaint restaurant already boasts a handful of regulars, frequenting the hidden gem for its scratch-kitchen creations, each of which seemed to command the room’s attention, with gazing guests licking their lips in anticipation of their meal’s arrival.

“This is my third time here,” a neighboring diner noted during my recent visit. “It’s too good.”

Voo La Voo started out serving a generous brunch assortment, including the French toast; capers-and-brie-layered smoked salmon panini; and baked ham-and-cheese-stacked croque monsieur.

However, the restaurant’s crepes — reminiscent of those my own family makes across the ocean — deserve a spotlight of their own.

The dish originated in Brittany, after all, so it’s no surprise chef Le Nouail exceptionally captivates the culinary excellence of home with her delicate “dentelle” creations.

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While the restaurant’s sweet variety — like the raspberry cream cheese crepe — is made with white crepes, typical for most creperies, its savory selections, or galettes, are made with buckwheat flour, a choice that Le Nouail says makes all the difference.

“When people come here, that’s the first thing I say — if you’ve never been in here, there’s one thing you’ve got to try; the buckwheat crepe,” she said.

“To me, there’s so much more flavor. It's not even a question.”

Beloved for their thin, crisp texture and nuanced flavor, the buckwheat crepes are Le Nouail’s signature, something only time and patience have enabled her to perfect.

“I cut it with a little bit of white flour — so it's only buckwheat, white flour and water. That’s it,” she explained.

“And that’s why it makes it so hard to make, because, you see, there’s no egg in it to hold it together. You have to practice for a while before you get the technique.”

Voo La Voo began serving its evening menu early last week, with an array of steak, seafood and vegan dishes to savor, including the glazed Canadian maple syrup pork tenderloin; the shrimp pistou over linguini; slow-cooked ratatouille; and roasted rosemary Cornish hens.

Best seller? Undoubtedly the seafood crepe.

“That’s one of the signatures … and all the fish we have is fresh fish,” she said of the buckwheat selection, layering Atlantic salmon, scallops, shrimp and crab in a carrot and leek saffron cream sauce over a bed of wilted spinach.

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For dessert, don’t overlook the red velvet crepe. It’s the only sweet crepe she makes with buckwheat, a perfect pairing to the dish’s dark chocolate ganache, fresh-cut strawberries, vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis drizzle.

The café also offers a selection of French beer, wine and Brittany cider, as well as a catch-of-the-day fish fry special on Fridays and Larry’s old-fashioned barbecue on Sundays.

A life-long passion

Growing up in Brittany, Le Nouail says food was always part of her life, then, as a young girl stacking crepes with her sister and now, as an accomplished chef with an international resume.

“We grew up in the countryside, and we had a lot of land. So, I mean, you didn’t even go to the supermarket to buy vegetables — we always had gardens,” she said.

“We grew all our own vegetables, so everything was always right there. And in the summertime, I used to work on the farms, so I was always around food … and my mom was an amazing cook.”

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The seasoned chef often makes her rounds, making conversation across the dining room that, so far, rarely encounters an empty seat.

With the restaurant’s immediate success, it’s clear Le Nouail practically pulses with culinary talent, offering unparalleled French fare that has, time and time again, hooked the taste buds of local crepe connoisseurs and converted buckwheat skeptics across counties.

“We do a very unique product,” she said. “It’s so simple, but so delicious.”

Voo La Voo Café is located at 829 Canal St. in New Smyrna Beach and open for brunch 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday – Friday and 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and dinner 5 – 9 p.m. Monday – Friday and 5 – 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For information, call 954-310-7293 or visit voolavoocafe.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Voo La Voo Café offers authentic crepes and more in New Smyrna Beach