French Bakery & Delicatessen
| Address: | 4108 Granby St, Norfolk, VA 23504, USA |
| Phone: | +1 757-625-4936 |
| Rating: | 3.3 |
| Working: | 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 11AM–3PM |
Location
Photos 49
Reviews 5
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Samantha Pestiano
So, i hate to be the one but i dont understand how some of these people actually enjoyed this place. I walk in to a completely empty place, which isnt too much of a big deal, but most lights were off when i walked in. You have three hours until you close, but yet it already looked closed. That confused me just a little bit. Also, it states this is a french bakery. All of the pastries were italian, which also confused me. As soon as we walked in, he was offering us things that werent even on the menu. We ended up getting two small pastrami sandwhiches and a chilli. The sandwhiches we saw were $10. We just figured we would get a decent sized sandwhich. The sandwhiches were the size of our hands. When he says small, he means small. I dont mind paying 10 for a sandwhich, but atleast give me a sandwhich worth $10. He gave us the small bowl of chilli and that was also very small, that also apparently cost $10 as well. I have an italian family full of cooks. I would say i know good chilli. This chilli was all juice, some big chunks of tomatoes, a little hamburger and a gritty piece of bread stuffed in the bottom. While waiting, the guy kept offering more items and we politely declined EVERY time. Each out of the 5 times he asked us to get a drink, we said no thanks. We said no thanks to dessert as well because $30 for two small sandwhiches and a small bowl of chilli was enough. Also, keep in mind we never knew the total until after we had taken a bite of everything and after he "wrapped" everything up to go. Lastly, if we say to go, dont try and get us to stay after telling you multiple times we were in a hurry. That made our visit a little creepy. I love supporting small businesses, and it sucks that this one was such a turn off.
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Robert Dietrich
Ive passed by this place on numerous occasions and being a bit of a francophile, I promised myself that I would stop in sometime. The place doesnt look like much, but some of my favorite restaurants are hole-in-the-wall kinds of places. They dont look like much, but the service and quality are great. So, I didnt judge the place on its immediate appearance. Now I wish I had. Out for a walk with my daughter one day, we decided to give it a shot. We purchased two pastries. The total cost was $15! For $15 I expect a high level of quality, but both pastries were the same level of quality I would expect from a home ec class trying to bake pastries for the first time while following the directions from a Betty Crocker cookbook. They were edible and tasted good, but the dough for both was tough and dry - stale would be a better word. Frankly, I could get a better quality pastry from Walmart. There are much better bakeries in Norfolk and I would recommend checking those first. For $15 at even the family owned bakeries, you could get enough high quality pastries for a couple of families or more. I cant critique the deli because I didnt try any of the food. Frankly, I wasnt interested because they didnt have any deli items that were uniquely French. Their most popular selection is the pastrami sandwich. Pastrami, of course, is Eastern European in origin and either the Turkish or Greek immigrants in New York were the first to turn it into a sandwich. A little pride in ownership, a focus on quality, and charging more realistic prices would go a long way to making this business more profitable. Until then, I will avoid this place.
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A Private User
I agree with another reviewer. Its good food. Homemade breads and desserts. Imported high quality coffee. It is old and dumpy inside but the food is fabulous if you like that kind of food. There was a lady in with her daughter and grandson- they said they come all the time and she has been coming for 20+ years. I went with my mom this afternoon for the first time and I loved my pastrami sandwhich and the homemade fig turnover. All three of the men working in there were very personable. One of the men was a little pushy but rightfully so. He said I had to try the turnover and he was right- it was one of the best ever! My mom is 70 years old and she said she hadnt been there since she was 20 years old. The sandwhich tasted the same today as it did 50 years ago. It was so good that she ate the other half of her sandwhich as soon as we got home! If you choose to try the French Bakery do take some money. This isnt cheap quality subway. You cant find instant chain restaurant food here. Live on the edge a little. Try the chocolate covered bacon. Its to die for. Well, no pun intended I supposed you could die of eating too much of it. ;) If pushiness and $$$ signs scare you stay away. If you want to try really good food and have some extra cash- please go! And lastly- yes, the parking is scarey- on that busy street. But do remind yourselves this place has been there for many many years. That street wasnt that busy before and it was only 2 lanes!
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A Private User
I went into this shop today and was rewarded with a large and delicious sandwich. The owner sat down and talked awhile, and I mentioned several times it was my first time in his deli. Amazing, delicious sandwich, cost $9.95 plus tax. I dont mind spending for something that tasty and I would gladly have recommended this place to friends. However, when it came time to pay, I was informed I had to spend $20 to use my credit card. I told the manager I would leave my entire wallet, but I would rather to go to 7-11 to withdraw some cash. (within walking distance, about a block). He refused to let me leave the store, kept insisting that I buy an unwanted dessert. I told him NO, I just wanted to pay for my sandwich, but he could not hear anything other than I had to pay him $20. So I paid for the unwanted dessert and left it there for him to throw away. (He will probably re-use it.) I understand the policy, after all MC and Visa both charge a percentage fee to use their service, but catching a first time visitor unaware and not being flexible is a GREAT WAY TO LOSE BUSINESS. This might explain why for the entire lunch hour, there was no one in there but me.
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Shannon Becker
If you are looking for fancy snobby french bakery you have chosen the wrong place!!! This place is for real people looking for real food. Best French bread in HR by far. The owner is passionate about his food and you get what you pay for. His Pastrami sandwich was the best we have ever had and we have been ALL over. We asked for it "to-go" and he insisted that we take a bite before leaving- and yes the bite was magical. Then a long time customer came in and the seemingly gruff owner shouted, "You want your omelet?" The equally gruff customer (likely of 30+ years) replies with, "No make me a pastrami with an egg on it." The owner shouts at him as he is walking to the back, "You are gonna have to speak up." .....and so it went. While it may have seemed rude to some, we found it amazingly appealing. It was like we stepped into a deli from another era where people were proud, open, and honest and didnt have to sugar coat every comment. As mentioned in other reviews they do try to up sell. When we declined there was no push to buy nor were we made to feel uncomfortable. We simply gave a pleasant yet stern no thank you and that was the end of it.
