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If you deem the ritzy French restaurant L’Etoile overly extravagant for your student budget, do not fret. Your epicurean taste will be just as well tended to at the equally satisfying, albeit more casual, Cafe Soleil that occupies the lower street level space of the fancier and pricier L’Etoile.

Located on the Capitol Square at 25 N. Pinckney St., the cafe features the conventional coffee and espresso, seasonal hand-crafted baked goods, a delightful assortment of sandwiches and the requisite array of soups and salads, all of which are freshly concocted with locally-grown products.

At 1 p.m. on a Thursday, the cheerily sunlit eatery was comfortably scattered with laptop-bearing, paper-reading individuals, most of whom were quietly sipping drinks out of quirky Mason jar mugs. The noise level was kept to a dull, pleasant roar as the murmur of drifting conversations and the occasional bustle of newspapers amicably blended in with the voice of Albert Hammond Jr. from the Strokes singing softly in the background.

Like its seemingly run-of-the-mill cafe fare, the interior exhibited no big departure from the standard coffee shop ambiance. Utterly low-key and unpretentious, the comfortable loft-like space was dimly lit with Art Nouveau inspired lamps and decorated with crimson velvet and gold-yellow seats and cushions. The smooth buttercup-yellow walls, strewn with framed photographs by local artist Pam Murtaugh, served as an appealing juxtaposition to the rustic and textured brick walls, thus achieving the toasty, earthy warmth its name “Cafe Soleil” (“Sun Cafe,” in French) bespeaks.

But what Cafe Soleil lacks in lavish decor it makes up for in food. The friendly and easygoing staff, most of whom were sporting “Go Local” T-shirts, helpfully recommended recipes that wonderfully hinted at its locality, such as the Willow Creek Ham & Hook’s Swiss Sandwich (whole $9.25/half $6.25), Artesian Farm Trout Salad Sandwich (whole $8.75/half $5.75) and Farmer John’s Provolone sandwich (whole $8.75/half $5.75).

Granted, most of the menu items are on the slightly pricier range for a casual breakfast/lunch joint. The serving portions weren’t staggeringly large either, but they were certainly decent. As cliche as it may sound, the saying goes that sometimes the quality makes up for the quantity, as was exactly the case at Cafe Soleil.

“That was fucking good,” commented my dining companion, a self-proclaimed pastry enthusiast, after taking a bite of the delicious Almond Marzipan Croissant ($3.50). The sugary sweet piece of goodness well rivaled or, in some cases, even outshined some of the pastries sampled in France and Italy. And this is saying a lot coming from an eater who normally strays away from marzipan concocted food products.

On a lower note, the cappuccino ($2.30) that accompanied the croissant was surprisingly disappointing and no more enticing than its Starbucks counterpart.

But my dampened opinions were quickly remedied upon sampling Wisconsin’s Own Grilled Cheese Sandwich ($8.75). The arrangement of two cheesy triangular squares with a side salad and mustard dipping sauce was simple, yet the taste was anything but. Tucked in between the two pieces of whole grain bread were slices of one-year Hook’s Cheddar and Swiss cheese and Farmer John’s Provolone cheese, along with fresh red tomatoes and the unexpected yet essential saut?ed sweet onions — all of which resulted in creating a gorgeous medley of fragrances, flavors and contrasting textures. Compared to the boring and uninspiring old grilled cheese sandwich I had at Der Rathskeller the previous day, this was the grilled cheese sandwich of all grilled cheese sandwiches, and would no doubt satisfy a gourmand’s finicky palate.

Also, the highly recommended Cafe Soleil Reuben Sandwich ($9.75) was similarly impressive, especially with the scrumptious waffle potato chips that came out as a side. The reasonably priced Wisconsin Cheese Plate ($7.50) is an excellent choice for dairy lovers who will find themselves reveling over the surprisingly filling and satisfying assortment of a freshly baked demi-baguette, two Wisconsin cheeses, delicately carved apple slices and house-made Future Fruit Farm pear butter.

Along with the admirable efforts to provide customers with fresh, homegrown menu items, Cafe Soleil has gone green by replacing light bulbs with the more eco-friendly compact fluorescents and by switching disposables with products that are made of either biodegradable materials or 100 percent recycled content, according to their website.

Needless to say, you will feel like just the eco-chic bon viveur at the wallet-friendly and environment-friendly Cafe Soleil.

4 stars out of 5