La Cité Francophone

We booked this venue for a group of 80 ppl. The event was to celebrate a retirement. The evening was simply PERFECT. Food was delicious, drinks were generous, staff was friendly and helpful with any requests we had. The patio offers a beautiful venue. the ambiance was awesome. beautiful flowers all around, some sunny areas, some shaded areas. A mix of high cocktail tables and regular tables with chairs, everyone could find a spot where they felt comfortable. We were there for 3 hours and time flew by so fast! Would definitely consider re-booking this venue for future events. Many ppl had never been there before and LOVED it!

Cafe Bicyclette catered an event that we held in La Cite and the food was delicious as always! We LOVE the patio, the poutine, the lattes and the service! The staff was kind and very accommodating and the building and view from our banquet room was beautiful! I would definitely recommend this venue for rentals!

We would highly recommend having your wedding at the beautiful venue La Cite Francophone.

At first we were somewhat leary based on some of the reviews we had seen about La Cite Francophone as a wedding venue, however, we were totally blown away by how friendly, helpful, and how genuinely concerned the coordinators and caterers were with helping us have the best possible wedding. We ended up having a wedding which WAS EVEN BETTER THAN WE EXPECTED, and a big big part of that was because we had it at La Cite

We know our guests enjoyed the wedding based on the number of compliments on both the wedding and the food.

PRICE:

The price was on par with several community/cultural halls around the city. With La Cite, you have a beautiful venue set in a quiet neighborhood that opens up to a large glass wall with the sun streaming in during your evening reception.

The ability to have the ceremony in the rotunda or courtyard for only an extra $75 was a huge bonus for us, allowing us to keep the entire event from ceremony to photos in the beautiful courtyard to reception in one venue. Not having to run around the city (and have your guests run around too) allowed us to save money and made the choice to use La Cite easy.

AESTHETICS:

The courtyard is beautifully decorated with flowers and Cafe Bicyclettes outdoor patio. An excellent spot to have your outdoor ceremony and to take photos. As mentioned before the reception rooms open up to the high glass walls letting all the natural light in. If it rains, you can have your ceremony inside the brightly lit rotunda.

COORDINATION WITH STAFF AND CONTRACT DETAILS:

We made sure to keep in close communication with the coordinators and to ensure that we had all our deliverables to La Cite as early as possible. The staff were very flexible and worked with us.

Other reviewers seemed to have some issues with payment, booking and food etc. however reading those reviews more closely, I suspect that they were likely not communicating their needs to the venue. It also sounded like they hadn’t even paid the venue the week of their wedding, when it is quite clear that payment is due two weeks prior (10 business days to be exact).

The contract was very clear in what is included and what is not included and we made sure to get our guest numbers, and meal selections into them on time. We were even surprised at the flexibility the coordinators allowed us.

There were times when Ghislaine was difficult to get a hold of or away, however, Elyse - the events coordinator - stepped in and ensured that everything went smoothly.

FOOD / DINING EXPERIENCE:

The food was delicious and came out just a few minutes after the scheduled time. Everyone had ample time to get seconds and even thirds. Extra plates were handed out as soon as you needed. Dessert included with the meal is VERY generous. There was a large variety of cakes and squares.

The tasting gives you exactly what you will see at your buffet minus desserts, though I’m sure if you asked, they would provide it. In our case, I think they even gave us more varieties of salad than we expected as well as delicious grilled bread).

We noted that some guests waited a bit long (maybe 20-30 mins) for their specialty vegan or allergy meals. We pointed out the situation to the staff who were very apologetic. When the meals were received they were enjoyed by our guests and we were happy that the situation was resolved.

We booked in 2016 and the menu and prices changed slightly in 2017, they honored all of the 2016 prices, though we had to go with the 2017 menu. Not a big deal as the menu was delicious and still just as good value.

OVERALL:
10/10 would recommend!