by Margot F.

Rendez-vous has furniture so cheap it's nearly disposable, exclusively paper cups and plates, bagged tea next to the register on the company displays (tazo and republic of), a dozen or so pump thermoses filled with coffee brewed god knows how many hours ago (multiple fair trade, flavor, and decaf options), and a mediterannean-inflected deli menu of sandwiches, pitas, and salads.  The mozarella on the pesto sandwich is pressed, not fresh, and I take that to be paradigmatic although I dearly hope the hommous is homemade.  What is it about this place that I adore?   #1) Smoking, upstairs.  Between that and the furniture mismatch and miscellaneous inoffensive grime and the half-heartedly decorative booksheves obviously turned functional, it actually feels like the kind of place one could be productive.   #2) Hookah. Whether or not you partake, it smells lovely and when you're done trying to be productive, there are interesting people doing interesting things with a pretty pipe.   #3) A complete lack of pretense, rare in this town and reflected in the prices.  It makes things like the high-quality espresso beans and fresh juices seem impressive.   Further perks include wifi, a second-floor deck that will open during the several seconds of summer that may eventually arrive in May, a complete chess board, and a pleasant array of baklava-esque sweets.

by Ann e.

Oh Rendez-Vous! So many good memories! Late nights drinking fairly good coffee and loooong heart-to-hearts. Plus, they stay open LATE and they're not a chain! Bless their hearts! Good prices (on drinks) and the place next door has some yummy food! (I can't remember the name, I think they're owned by the same people).

by Bonnie P.

Why there isn't a better bagel place than this on South U is beyond me. I appreciate their free wireless and their late hours. I used to adore their hummus but eventually got sick of it.

by Farah F.

I always end up getting the Nutella crepe when I go there. Since it's pretty hard to mess up a crepe with Nutella, I won't base my opinion on that, though they get major points for *having* it in the first place. The tuna salad and macaroni salad are pretty decent, and the sandwiches I had there were okay. The cake selection is pretty good, I do like the fact that i can get blackforest cake there. All in all, decent and close to my classes :)

by Erin G.

Some things about this cafe are good, and some are bad. I give it 4 stars for the good, which I will presently elaborate upon. Their crepes. Something you must have in order to die happy is their banana nutella split. This is a warm crepe spread thick with nutella (hazelnut chocolate spread for those unfamiliar with it, a.k.a. heaven), add some chopped bananas, fold it over, put on a scoop of vanilla gelato some chocolate syrup (and sometimes whipped cream). This thing is better than an orgasm from Brad Pitt. Other than this, they have coffee, teas, wraps, bagels, salads, and lots of things---sometimes too much to choose from. They're generally pretty slow in making food, but it's usually good when it's done. Now, this place has an upstairs hookah lounge, and you can enjoy your hookah inside or out depending on the weather. You order the hookah downstairs at the food counter (bring your ID they're usually sticklers that you're at least 18). Even if you're not really the hookah type of person, you should try this once in the summertime, or on a wonderful unseasonally warm day in early spring. Their upstairs (outdoor) patio, overlooking South U, is a perfect place to chill and people-watch and enjoy friends and nice weather.

by Sarah W.

This place might not be the nicest inside. But you have your choice of first or second floor seating. There is outdoor rooftop seating for warmer weather and seating outside on the sidewalk.It's a great place for studying or late night meetings because they are open until 3am! I can't think of another cafe that is open this late around here. This place totally helped me pass some of my classes. Oh yea, they have free wi-fi. Very essential.I have not eaten anything here, but I have tried the coffee. It's ok, but I didn't like the Turkish coffee at all.

by Cyrus S.

Get tea or coffee.  THATS IT.  Trust me.  Maybe things have changed since I left AA, but... I knew quite a few people that worked there, "studied" there, slept there, woke up there... and the horror stories of what went on in that kitchen are not things you'd want ot share.Drink the coffee or the tea and don't touch the food.  Forget eating.. don't touch it.But, the upstairs was a great spot to watch the Naked Mile!!! haha.. I'll give them that.  Plus, if you were in the "in" crowd up there, it was comfy and relaxing up there.If you didn't belong you wouldn't find a seat.  books, jackets, mugs, plates were on every table.That said, it was a fun time.  probably what college is all about anyway.

by Lisa N.

This place is ok, but the edge it has is the free wi-fi and the smoking section upstairs.  Though I am no longer a smoker, when I was, I would trudge myself up these stairs to do writing because it was one of the few cafes in Ann Arbor that offered indoor smoking.I would usually get a salad -- I liked their tuna salad ok, plus there are other salads that are fine.  The crepes aren't the best, but I'm a tough critic on those.If you're a student, or you work on your laptop a lot, then this can be an ideal place.  It can be social if you want it to be, or you can put plugs in your ears and drink your coffee slowly.

by Rivkah B.

Why would you pay $20 USD for use of a low-quality hookah?  Buy your own for USD 50!Bathrooms are horrible and service is inconsistent.  The food and drinks are not worth comment-- I wouldn't order them.

by janelle p.

I despise this place.  Some of the rudest service in Ann Arbor, which is saying a lot because Ann Arbor is certainly not the place to go if you're looking for hospitality.  But do I really deserve a nasty glare because I special order my bagel?  It's a bagel!  Everyone orders it a different way.  And really, it isn't even a very good bagel.How about instead of making bad bagels and giving me dirty looks, you try to find some sturdier chairs?  Maybe a fan to vent some of the secondhand smoke out of the place?  At the very least, find someone to clean the trash so it stops smelling like old lunch in the eight-foot-radius around the trash can?

by k t.

This review concerns the rooftop porch section only. If I had to rate the indoors, I would say 2 stars, but I never sit inside so nevermind.If you are like me and need distractions while studying, the porch is ideal during the warm months: sunny, with wifi and outlets (bring an extension cord), crowded (good for people watching but bring headphones). The tables are a tad small for group study, but fine for solo missions.Last spring I saw three people passing around a pipe when I was the only other person on the porch. I wonder what was in it? Regardless, they were good looking, and many of the other patrons are as well.Lose one star for watery iced coffee, and for the fact that winter exists.

by Alayna H.

I have so many fond memories of Rendez-Vous.  It's an awesome spot to stop for some lunch...the wraps are amazing, or for some dessert-type fare...I'm a sucker for nutella anything.  Also, absolutely LOVE the rooftop porch in the summertime, great spot to smoke a hookah and relax with friends.  This is the way cafes are meant to be!

by Jenn V.

Wow, some of these reviews are just plain pretentious.  "The mozzarella on the pesto sandwich is pressed, not fresh." Don't worry, I fixed your spelling of the word mozzarella BTW.  I hate to tell you but more than half of the places you probably frequent will have pressed (sliced) mozzarella, not fresh.  Get over it-- go to Whole Foods and get yourself some fresh mozzarella.It is locally owned by a family, I'd prefer giving my money to them over the corporate and franchise places.  Give them a break about the chairs/furniture.  Our economy sucks, and you want them to go out and buy new furniture for their whole place?  Yea.. sure.  Especially considering the fact that they make hardly any money-- c'mon, everyone goes there to study and they buy a $2 coffee and sit in their cafe for hours.  How are they making money off that?So back to my review:They have hookahs.There is smoking upstairs.Their coffee and tea is decent.Where else can you get crepes in Ann Arbor at 2am?Free wi-fi.Outdoor seating.Yes, the chairs and tables are run down.  Yes, the place seems a little dirty.  But if you are going there for the free wi-fi and caffeine and need to stay til 3am, well, you won't care that their garbage needs to be emptied.

by B B.

Lentil soup is good. Coffee is middling; way better than Espresso Royale, probably not as good as Starbucks (both of which are near by). Sandwiches are OK I guess but too much money for what you get. Crepes are fine, but there isn't much competition for that in A2 that I know of.  Staff is somewhat incompetent. There are often like 3 guys behind the counter but 1 of them is doing everything, from taking orders to making all the food, while the other 2 just get in the way and argue, slowing everything down. It's kind of comical actually.Don't go out of your way to go here by any means, but if you're already on South U, you could do worse.

by Adelais T.

The crepes here are delicious! The Nutella Split is heaven on a dish.... if you haven't tried it yet, you are missing out. They also have pretty decent sandwiches if you're looking for real food. Try to Awesome Threesome (veggie) or the California Turkey. And on warm, sunny days, the outside roof area is an amazing place to sit, study, relax, etc.