Cafe Bonaparte

We stopped by here to grab a quick bite /​snack after a long bike ride on the beach. This place Is a little cozy place right on the Hermosa Pier. My little girl ordered a chocolate crossaint. And we asked the woman with long dark hair rolled up in a messy bun if she wouldn’t mind warming up the crossaint.
Minutes later she hands us a really (HOT PLATE) with our warmed up crossaint on top ! Almost dropping the plate as it was sooo HOT! We didn’t asked to heat up the plastic plate lady ! Just a warm crossaint. Smh
Very inconsiderate in my opinion.

Sorry but there is a lot wrong with this place. First, the hygiene standards (I’m a critical care nurse, by the way). The young guy taking the money also dished up my salad with his BARE HANDS, which I had to get the young girl who brought the meal over to me to switch out. She was annoyed (no apology) but did it anyway. The TINY piece of quiche was lukewarm (guess what happens when food isn’t heated to the correct temperature?) and the chocolate éclair was stale. This is the second time I have had awful food here — the first time I was hoping it was a mistake on their part, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Not this time though, they are putting customers at serious risk of food poisoning. I shan’t be back, I don’t want to end up in the ER.

Every time I visit Manhattan or Hermosa (from Seattle), I visit Café Bonaparte. Their lattes are what keeps me returning. The staff are always welcoming — looking forward to visiting when the new space opens!

I’ve lived in Hermosa Beach the past 3 years and this place has been one my favorite breakfast spots. The egg salmon scramble, the raspberry or blueberry cheese croissants, and the cappuccinos were my regular selections.
I would say this is the best quality breakfast place in HB.

The breakfast croissant sandwiches are amazing– filled with garlic and meats/​veggies/​cheese. These should be shared between two people.
I just bought muffins & meat-​cheese-​spinach-​filled-​croissants for the office. They were immediately consumed! The croissants received a huge thumbs up from my French colleague!

I love this place! After a night of drinking on the pier a quiche and soup in the morning is the best! Sitting on the patio with the ocean breeze is great!

Very good breakfast place. My favorite is a chicken panini. Their café mocha is also great! Pastries are all fresh and baked overnight. One interesting thing that happened to me was — I lost my wallet in Café Bonaparte. Turned out, the server found it, gave it to the owner, who took it to our local banking branch. I got a call from the bank stating that my wallet was turned in. I went in to thank the honest server and the owner. This should tell you about the people that own this coffee shop and their staff. Thank you once again!

Not very often do I stuff my face before I go to the beach in a bikini. But every time I go to Hermosa, I must stop here first to get their breakfast croissant samdwiches.
I usually get the one with ham. It comes with cheese, eggs and spinach. But, I recommend to get the spinach on the side; I think you actually get more by doing this. The spinach is really good with lots of garlic! I just like to spread it around a bit more evenly.
Beware: this is very messy, but an amazing explosion of flavor!

Cute little café on the Hb Pier. All I had was a latte but it was well made, served piping hot (just the way I like it) and had plenty of outdoor seating to enjoy the beautiful morning view. Their pastry case looked amazing and it was really hard to say no to the fluffy looking croissants and carrot cake (my all time fave).
The only gripe I had was that at 8am (when I would imagine lots of peeps wanting their morning kick) they only had one barista working so there was a wait. Also, a lady that was in line several people behind me requested a re-​fill, and she was helped before I was, and the others waiting in line ahead of me. And it wasn’t even a quick re-​fill because she had to make a new drink and pay for it.
Prices are comparable to other coffee houses.

I love this café. My hubby and I stopped by this café during our bike ride on the boardwalk for a quick pick me up.
I wanted something sweet as my snack. So the moment when I walked in, you can only imagine how excited I was. I ordered the croissant. What a perfect snack after a long bike ride across the boardwalk. The croissant is flakey. The croissant melts in your mouth and has a great buttery undertone that makes the bread soft. When they serve their croissants they sprinkle a good serving of powered sugar. I am not kidding when I say you need to order a fresh croissant. It is a must when you stop here.

My last experience was nice with a good fruit croissant. But today, our turkey and egg sandwich was not good. It had zero flavor. Also, they made my boyfriends mocha with already made espresso (from whoever knows when — espresso has a life, if it sits too long, it goes sour) and already steamed milk. She steamed the milk again, burning it and making it above and beyond too hot to drink. My bf ordered an «almond milk mocha, with light mocha» — the lady put 3 pumps of mocha syrup with 2 pumps of almond flavored syrup. We had to ask her to stop what she was doing so we could retell her what we ordered. We finally got just 1 pump of mocha syrup with the already-​made milk and espresso.
I guess you cant expect people to care about what they do.

I can’t speak to the actual menu items. But as far as a great place to stop and have some dessert and coffee, this is probably the best place in the pier area.
My lady and I enjoyed an amazing piece of carrot cake and some coffee. Nice break from a hot day of riding.
Eat outside. It gets CRAZY hot in the café.

I should have stuck with my rule: no dining at places less than 4 stars! I wasted money and calories here.
Ordered croissants and it’s worse than those at Costco. It lacks that fresh buttery smell and taste. It also lacked flakiness.
The café is conveniently located on Hermosa Pier, but I won’t be coming back.

Chocolate croissant was so good, flaky and chocolatey! I didn’t really try anything else. My friends like their coffee. But all of the pastries looked good, so I’d stick to that.
Place is very clean, service was great, location is awesome if you’re already parked and walking around the beach, if not parking is annoying when it’s busy.

This review is only based on their pastries because that is the only thing I’ve had here. I have been to this place on random occasions where I’ve found myself at Hermosa Pier. This time, it was to catch a quick bite before a morning meeting. They have a lovely display case with lots of pretty pastries in it. I have had croissants, I have had danishes and I have had their strawberry Napoleon. All of those items have been really good. I really liked the cream that they put in between the layers of the napoleon. I love sweet treats and this hit the spot.
I don’t drink coffee; I didn’t come to a French pastry shop for juice. I just came here for pastries and they have been really good. There is something special about French pastries. I love the light and flaky texture of the pastries and the sweet glaze the bakers drizzle over the fruit. It is all delicious. I am not sure if the owner makes the pastries in house, but the last one I had, the apricot and cheese pastry, was still warm when I got it. It was really good.
Another sweet bonus is the location of this little pastry shop. It is located on the Hermosa Beach pier, which means you can bring your pup with you to sit outside and enjoy the crisp weather. I saw plenty of cute pooches while we were there and I thought, «How nice would it be if I had my pup with me?» He would love that spot. Any who, if I am ever in the area again (which is likely), I will stop by to pick up a pastry because I enjoy a French pastry. I will not get any of the other stuff since people don’t seem to like their coffee, juice, or other stuff. I will say that some of the items are rather pricey. I believe a bowl of berries is like $ 6 or $ 7. That’s a little absurd, but again, why am I coming to a French pastry shop for a bowl of berries? I’m not… I’m coming for pastries.

Decided to come here for breakfast on a Sunday morning. Even though it was peak breakfast/​brunch time, it was pretty empty… Only a few people sitting inside, and no one eating on the patio. Since we were the only ones ordering at the time, at least our food came out pretty fast!
I ordered the Smoked salmon and caper omelet. There was a decent amount of salmon, but the overall taste was nothing special. It also came with a green salad, two large slices of brioche bread, and a slice of cantaloupe. Cantaloupe was sweet!
The location of this café is nice. Perfect for a walk on the strand or the pier before or after your meal since it’s so close by! Though the location is convenient if you plan on spending some time in Hermosa Beach, I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to come here.

Ok food options. No effort made for pulling good espresso. Roast wasn’t that good either. I really wanted caffeine so I got down half of my coffee before tossing it.
Understaffed not completely clean (see pic). My expectations dropped when the guy behind the counter took my éclair out of the case with his bare hands.

Good french baked goods and coffee spot for breakfast/​brunch. I thought the prices for the meat and cheese stuffed croissants were very reasonable.
I was disappointed that they charged for refills ($ 1.50) of in-​house coffee. I expect to be able to get a few refills if I’m dining in at a breakfast café. Some may say that the modern coffee shop has to discourage folks from staying all day, but this feature will discourage me from having breakfast at Bonaparte again.
I find it comical that two other restaurants nearby even provide free mimosa refills during breakfast, and this place gets stingy with the coffee.

I usually get breakfast at another restaurant nearby. Today I wanted to try some place new, checked out Unilocal and this place had decent 4 start rating. But the experience I had here today was not a 4 star!
Sad looking egg omelet order (picture under the tips section) spent $ 10 incl tax and tip. Not worth it. After I mentioned the order got mixed up since it looked more like a sandwich (piece of scrambled egg in a brioche) then an omelet (plus the omelet stated it comes with side salad) the woman working there carelessly grabs salad in a bowl hands over and tells me to pay extra when they initially mixed up my order. Really? usually they say sorry bout the mix up, take back the order and change it! Who does that?!?
She also asked us what we would like to drink when taking our order but didn’t even bother to get us our drink. NOT worth my time or money.
This 4 star review of this establishment is totally misleading. ESPECIALLY their customer service and how they handle their mistake.
Eek! Methinks not. Next~!!!

Growing up a South Bay local, I don’t know how I have not tried this place all my life! I knew it was there, but somehow when I would rack my brain for a new breakfast or lunch place to try, Café Bonaparte never came to mind. Well no more! I am on a mission to try all 16 decadent croissants. Cream cheese croissant down, 15 more to go!
Café Bonaparte is the perfect place to enjoy a panini, salad, or a latte and croissant as you sit on the patio facing pier and people watch. They have a menu that has breakfast and lunch.
The lattes are pricey– I got an iced latte which was $ 5, but for the treat of pairing it with a pastry and enjoying the ambiance, it was worth it.
I will be back!
Update: I have been back for breakfast and had the spinach and feta omelette which came with a toasted baguette. So tasty! Still loving this place, and was happy we could sit outside with the dogs.