Le Pain Quotidien - Alexandria

Reviews 7

ME

Mehul Shah

were from NJ and have frequented LPQ as a regular, reliable source of fresh, healthy, tasty food options. After a heavy meal last night, we stopped by for a small, light order of breakfast to go. today was Mothers day but please keep in mind the volume was not that bad and there were many waiters and kitchen staff, as far as I could see. Efficiency of customer flow and processing and some of the staff is another story of subpar proportions. in placing the order, the vacant, indifferent lump behind the to-go counter could not respond well to a simple customization (request for wheat bread instead of croissant) and question (does this come with mayo? please ensure it doesnt as Im allergic). he had to call the manager over for help placing the order and seemed very reluctant to offer any customer service - to anyone who ordered during the 45 mins I was there. no attempts were even made to smile or be pleasant by this associate. the manager luckily was more competent. The order: 1 hard boiled egg, a fruit salad, and ham & cheese on wheat bread; 24$ total. after placing this order, it still took 45 minutes to process. None of the items i ordered are baked or require any sort of special preparation or protracted/involved cook time. The 1 egg involved perhaps 2 mins of a boil? After about 20-25 mins of I was standing right in front of him, i went over to inquire whether they had forgotten about my order. He shook his head no and didnt even bother to f/u. After 40 minutes, I walked straight over to the kitchen where the mgr was plating food and queuing orders as liasion between kitchen and waiters -- always a bad sign. I asked where my food was. She asked what Id ordered. My ticket was sitting on the right side, neglected (not started nor even seen). She pulled the ticket and they started on it. It took 5 minutes to put my order together ultimately. 4$ for a boiled egg + profusely buttered sandwich and small cup of fruit salad (24$ total). Give her credit, she walked the order over to me and said thank you, but its too late for that. 45 minutes to stand for an simple breakfast to-go without sufficient competency, quality and certainly customer service is no excuse. I will not be coming there again and caution others as well. If you decide to go, please check in on your food and be very vocal esp if you see the apathetic, indifferent lump I mention above - or someone who strikes you as similar. Also, be warned about the chaos; clearly there is not a good system in place to process food orders on a first come first serve basis. I must say the food was ok and I wouldnt have written this negative review if it hadnt been for the customer experience noted above. LPQ Alexandria -- DOUBLE FAIL.

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A

A Private User

We went there yesterday during a snowy afternoon. We just moved here six months ago and we love to check out the numerous little bakeries/bistros in old town. We ordered the cheese platter and the ham and cheese croissant. First I will start with the $13+ cheese platter. They served it with a basket of bread with no crackers and about four different types of cheeses with one sun dried tomato and three very small olives. Definitely felt like we were ripped off on this item. The bread is not all that spectacular and it was dry. We probably should have used the olive oil on the table to make it somehow palatable. The croissant sandwich was listed on the menu to include a mesculen salad. I do not believe three pieces of lettuce, two cucumbers and a radish would add up to a salad. Very disappointed in the false advertising for this item. As for the sandwich it was your typical greasy fare and I would recommend going to La Madeleine or the European Bakery for better results, better service, and better prices. For spectacular cheese with knowledgeable servers head to Cheesetique. Oh, and the LARGE pot of coffee is actually intended for one person. Why call it a pot for one? Seriously, with so much competition in Old Town for this type of restaurant I dont understand why places like this could or should stay in business without serious changes. The only reason I can think of is that this place has spectacular location and the tourists must flock there in droves. Please tourists stop going to Le Pain Quotidien and pick somewhere else to to dine.

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AL

Alex Orantes

The service was terrible, had to get up multiple times to ask if someone was coming to help us or what. They advertised a free tartine when you install their Android app, which I did and signed up with on facebook, then they said oh no that starts tomorrow. Okay, well why are you advertising it for today? Manager argued about it, kept saying its not valid yet. The waitress was inattentive, uncaring and rude, slamming plates and drinks down. She gave the impression she hates her job and doesnt care. One of the people in our party ordered a ham sandwich which came to us cold. When she asked them for a new WARM one, they just microwaved it and brought it back. Terrible, terrible!!

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LA

Larry Graham

As a regular customer to this awesome establishment, I can honestly say that today I became displeased, due to the lack of customer service. I went into the store at approximately 9:24 am and literally stood at the register, waiting to be acknowledged for 3 minutes. I enjoy the coffee and pastries that this bakery has to offer to be quite honest, But I did not appreciate how there was about 6 employees, standing in close proximity of the register, and might I add, 3 of those employees acknowledged me and did not attempt to help me at all, nor simply inquire the reason that I entered the establishment. Simply wanted a cup of coffee. Pour customer service.

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EU

Eugene Sampson

The fist few times I came here, I was really impressed and was served a greater lunch and had wonderful afternoon. The second 2 times we were seated upstairs and the service was AWEFUL!! There are a bunch of guys up there who dont seem to care about the clients, service was slow and they shooed us away with all the loud banter. Im back again today, downstairs and I was virtually ignored. Its like they doing us a favor by serving us. The server was abrupt ..... man what does it take to do a good job.!!! They really do have great food. But the service is poor.....

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MI

Miles Fawcett

I love the idea and atmosphere but was very disappointed by the quality of service. We witnessed the french manager roll her eyes while dealing with a customer who was frustrated with the service. We waited about 25 minutes for a coffee to show up. The bread is deffinately the highlite. I also enjoyed the salad. The yogurt parfait had disappointingly little yogurt for the price. Hopefully they will get the service figured out but the attitude of the manager will not be so easy to resolve. It would also be nice if they added wifi.

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PA

Patrick Giesecke

Grabbed a late lunch with my girlfriend here - she had the Quinoa Taboule and I had the Grilled Chicken and smoked Mozzarella melt. The Taboule was light and flavorful. The melt was good but the bread was a bit soggy. Both meals had this basil olive oil that was delicious. The server was nice and helped us decide on both dishes. He recommended a bread basket (small size, we ordered the large and didnt finish it so should have listened to him..) that had a sampling of the most popular offerings.

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