Nestled in a quiet corner of Natomas just off the two busiest streets in town, hides Bella Bru Café. This European-style restaurant and bakery offers patio seating, a full bar and a dimly lit, full-service dining experience.

After walking through the double doors, a cleanly arranged bakery case illuminates a decadent display of gourmet cakes and pies. The glossy ganache covering the Chocolate Decadence cake looks fresh because Bella Bru receives deliveries of desserts and breads from its own artisanal bakery daily. Its breads are baked fresh every day and arranged in baskets atop the bakery case with little flags puncturing their crusts, signifying their kind and describing their ingredients.

Catchy French jazz and lounge music played overheard while my friend and I took a seat in a roomy booth with a glossy wooden tabletop. The breakfast menu offers everything from griddle eats to gourmet omelets, along with healthy choices for those preparing for spring break swimsuits. Bella Bru even has a Sunrise Special &- a simple plate similar to what you would get at grandma’s house. This special includes breakfast potatoes, eggs cooked to order and your favorite toast chosen from Bella Bru’s own selection of breads.

Although they offer the typical espresso drinks you would find at any café, I opted for plain black coffee. The specialty drink, the Bella Bru Special, is an almond-flavored mocha topped with shaved almonds. For breakfast, I ordered the pear French toast while my friend got a turkey-bacon-avocado omelet. My French toast came out quickly and piping hot, topped with thin slices of fresh, marinated pears. The bread was Bella Bru’s own challah recipe and was fluffy without getting soggy under the weight of the syrup. The pears gave each bite a nice chew.

Sarah Perry, manager and server at Bella Bru, said they receive a lot of orders for their varieties of French toast.

“Customers come back for our banana and pear French toasts. I think they go great with a coffee and mimosa. That’s probably our most popular breakfast item,” Perry said.

My friend said her omelet was just as pleasing. While she’s picky when it comes to eggs, these were neither runny nor too dry. I tasted the omelet and loved the ratio of turkey to bacon. The avocado topped the omelet &- a nice addition to each bite. Her omelet also came with breakfast potatoes and a multigrain toast called Struan.

The food was delicious and the service was just as satisfying. Perry served us with a smile and witty, friendly banter. She was knowledgeable of the menu and provided suggestions and recommendations that turned out to be on point. My coffee stayed hot and filled to the brim, while the food was served quickly and to our liking.

For breakfast (and possible chocolate indulgences), I would visit Bella Bru again. But maybe not until after spring break &- when an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weenie yellow, polka dot bikini awaits me.

Kayla Oliverio can be reached at [email protected]