Le Pain Quotidien

While I typically really enjoy my food from LPQ, at this location I got a Belgian waffle and was extremely disappointed. The waffle was insanely sugary, not fresh tasting at all, and the fruit topping I got on it was also incredibly sweet. I still like LPQ, but will never get a waffle. I will stick to the avocado toast most likely.

The place serves great breakfast, lunch and dinner. And if you don’t want food, it is also a great place to just sit and study or chill with friends with coffee or desserts. The cappuccinos are served in a bowl instead of a mug, which I thought was very unique. The environment is great if you are alone studying or on a date. Servers are very friendly. Only wished that there is a place like this in Jersey, so I can go there all the time!

Overall average dining experience.
To get a table, you just find a seat and sit down. It took a bit for the waiter to come to us (we had to wave him over), and it took a while for our water and one drink to get to us, so that was a little disappointing. Waiter was nice, but service was slow.
I got the Roasted Turkey & Avocado Tartine. If you like sourdough, these tartines are for you, but I thought the bread was a little hard and the crust was a little stale. I couldn’t really taste the turkey at all (there was only a thin layer of it). The vegetables were definitely very fresh though, so that was nice. Altogether, it was a very healthy lunch, but it didn’t taste that great. My friend got the Lemonade Iced Tea, and that was pretty bad. It was really sour and not pleasant. The price is also a little steep for the portion (around $ 13 for the Tartine).
What save the rating for me are the bakery goods. I’ve come here a few times for a breakfast snack, and I was pleased with the experience. I can get in and get out in 2 minutes or less. So far I’ve gotten the Chocolate Croissant (Pain au Chocolat), Cream Doughnut, and Mixed Berry Tart, all of which tasted amazing.
Ultimately, I recommend this place only for its bakery. The restaurant itself is slightly unsatisfactory.

Belgian hot waffle, latte, avo mash: decadent and delicious. Service was above average. Looking forward to returning.
Edit: service was pleasant, updated my review.

bakery? restaurant? coffeehouse? dine-​in? takeout? Parisian eatery?
yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. no – Le Pain Quotidien is Belgian!
the bakery/​brunchy/​casual/​communal experience is here in full effect. with the wafting scent of pastries, bread, and such landing across noses of patrons. the quiche-​y healthful + salad ‘n’ tarine scene during morning to lunchable hours. idk much about the evening eats… we can assume it’s all French-​inspired. this is a casual eatery where you can sit-​down and get waiter/​waitress service or grab something from the to-​go counter. the seating options are a variety of small two tops and a huge communal table. the space is fairly large but prepared to get cozy bc everything feels a bit pushed together.
the space is bright. has a lot of window exposure. décor is fairly muted otherwise. not busy, but fairly modern and classy for a casual eating experience. Le Pain works for catching up with friends, killing time on a date til a movie, etc. or a relaxed business breakfast or coffee power hour. it’s got a lot of flex – which is helpful when looking for non-​Starbucks or kitschy coffee or eats places.
why do i like Le Pain? casual digs, Frenchy/​Belgian menu aaaaaaaaand… its FRENCH CREAM DOUGHNUTS!
talk about heaven in a baked confection! a QUARTER POUNDER sized doughnut (it be big yo), topped with powdered sugar filled with a healthy slam of creamy vanilla-​y butter FRENCH CREAM. so good from first chomp to last nibble as you try to savor the experience. talk about PATISSERIE holy grail of doughnuts. the doughnut, itself, is delicately soft and sweet. the cream tastes like cream and has hints of sugary sweetness balanced with healthy hints of vanilla. smells incredible. tastes even better. the presentation in the glass case… AWESOME. but if you take it to go… they enclose the divine doughnut in its own box to prevent any damage from the hustle and bustle of city life. though this FRENCH CREAM is totally about the sweet life it is not cloying or over-​the-​top saccharine. the doughnut has that well-​balanced feel of both baked good carbs and dessert-​y satisfaction!
so yeah i am pretty much giving LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN 4 stars outta 5 stars for a freaking doughnut. it’s that good and different then all the other doughnuts being lauded and pawed over.
oh yeah and they have free wifi and clean crappers.
coffee’s solid.
drops mic, so i can two-​hand this doughnut and cradle it like a baby before i devour it like a ZOMBIE from the WALKING DEAD (Not FEAR THE WALKING DEAD bc that show sucks)!
i out.
doughnut – zzzzz-​ombie.

We went for Sunday brunch and were seated right away because the restaurant was not full. Food was good as they always were, but the service can definitely use some improvement!
After a long wait our waiter brought our tea & latte, without offering any water or bringing any spoons & sugar. We went to the manager for our request because the waiter was no where to be found. When the food arrived, the waiter again did not bring the maple syrup, butter, and jam. During the meal he did not stop by once to check if everything was OK. We finished the meal, another waiter said «you’re all done?» and disappeared… we were left with a table full of empty dishes. (um, if you didn’t plan to take away our dishes why did you ask?) When we needed to leave we asked the woman at the cashier for a check; she said «oh you should ask your waiter.» Well, we looked around and really didn’t know where he was… finally he showed up with the check.
Please give me better services please.

LOVE IT!
Service is consistently great, coffee is superb as well as their Brownies and bread.

My friend dragged me here because she had a coupon, but it was worth it. I got the Belgian waffle with fresh berries, and it was a perfect brunch. The waffle was warm and flaky, which was perfectly offset by the tart berries.
I also had some of my friend’s avocado tartine, which wasn’t as good as my waffle. The bread was kind of hard, especially the crust, and the avocado spread was pretty oily. It was filling definitely, but it was literally just bread with avocado on it.
The service was also kind of slow, because we kept having to flag down the waiter repeatedly.

Normally, everywhere you go, le pain quotidian is extremely consistent: consistently solid, light, fresh café food and consistently terrible service. As if they literally hired people off the street with zero training and zero service procedures.
But this morning was different! The usual, very good food, but our server, John, was also great! Knew the menu very well, offered more bread when we ran out, and was generally very attentive. Someone needs to promote that man, or have him travel to every other lpq in New York City and show them how to service customers!

The service at this location is really awful. I love LPQ, the food at this place is good and healthy (which is why it gets 2 stars instead of 1), but I won’t be coming back. Service was really slow, even when the place wasn’t crowded. We had to ask twice for waters. They brought each of our 4 meals out separately and it took forever for a simple slice of quiche (seriously, all you have to do is slice it and heat it up)! They brought food but no silverware. It was just a mess in here.

I like LPQ. Service can be a bit disjointed– like who is my server? Why don’t I have any water yet? Why did I get my food but my companion didn’t? This time around I ordered the lentil soup which was good. I was with my parents who were pleased with what they ordered except for the hot chocolate which my mom did NOT enjoy. I thought it was fine. It’s local to me and good for small groups looking for a quick bite.

The avocado toast was very salty. It is very rare for me to not like a ham & cheese croissant
The food isn’t great, but the presentation is really nice. The restaurant is warm

Recently started coming to their various locations around Manhattan after a nice experience at this one. It is in a great location, only blocks from NYU, and the place itself has plenty of seating. The décor is rustic and cute.
I came expecting to get a pastry & coffee and go, but decided to sit down for lunch at one of the several communal tables. Wasn’t expecting waiter service, so the friendly waitress was a nice surprise. I ordered the vegetarian (it might have even been vegan) chili (note: I’m NOT either of those. It just sounded tasty for a cold winter’s day). It was very delicious. Excellent flavor with the right amount of heat. If only hey would have made it with meat then it would have been perfect, but great nonetheless. I also got a latte and a croissant. The coffee was surprisingly good and the croissant, while not the best I’ve had, wasn’t bad at all. They have a very nice bakery section. I love coming here now to sit, take out my laptop, and eat yummy things like everyone else inside. The location on Bleecker looks very nice also, so that’ll be my next target.

Fantastically delicious! We only went in to pick up pastries (fruit tarts and mousse cakes) to go but they were quick and the food/​drinks were phenomenal! We actually went back a couple more times before we headed back home.

Typical le pain quotidien spot. Waiter was cute and I enjoyed the service. For an afternoon bite this is the perfect place.

Had a pretty awful experience here last Monday 5÷4÷15. Showed up with two friends looking for a quick healthy lunch, no host was present so we seated ourselves. Server came within a reasonable amount of time and I was the only one who ordered food — a smoked salmon and arugula salad. It was about 1:45pm on a Monday, so the restaurant was not busy at all. As it was a nice day, I went to my server at his POS station right after ordering, to ask if I could have it to go instead, and he said yes.
Then we waited legitimately half an hour for a cold salad. No explanation or acknowledgement from the server or any other staff. At one point a woman even came over and asked if we were being helped, a solid twenty minutes after having placed the order. Yeah, ostensibly we were, but it just didn’t make sense why other people were getting their food and my (non-​cooked) salad was taking forever. I asked the server after about 15 – 20 minutes where it was, and he said it was coming and offered nothing in return. That’s fine, but it still took a long time after that. And when it came out, it was on a plate for here, rather than to go.
I literally ordered one thing, verbally changed it seconds later, and not only was it wrong, but it took way too long to be acceptable. Completely without apology or anything, the server bagged up the dish and sent me on my way. The salad cost $ 19.

My worst la pain quotidian experiences are done at this store.
I love la pain quotidian! It’s my go-​to spot whenever I have a extra time to kill, meet up with friends casually, or get a simple eats. But this place is really slow, not a good service, and so crowded at times.
If you are near this area and want to go la pain q, go to the one on Broadway. That one is much more organized and better vibe!

I love Le Pain Quotidien and always try to eat at one when I’m in Paris where it’s more difficult to find organic food. The baked goods are all fabulous! Sadly, the espresso was weak and the service was painfully slow. I’d only return if there were no other options close to my hotel. That being said, I wish they would open locations in the San Francisco area as the chain would do very well!

Decent pastries and ok coffee, but quite expensive for what you get. There is a lot of seating inside and a large communal table which is a nice idea. Service is only ok, and the menu is not very clear (had to ask for a printed menu to figure out what hot drinks were available).
Ok but you can do a lot better in the area.

What’s this? A chain that specializes in fine casual cuisine using organic ingredients, high quality coffees, good service and a pleasant atmosphere with people that really seem to care about your experience?
Apparently so! This from a guy that typically avoids chains at all costs, but it was raining and it was close and I was changing hotels and needed to buy some time.
Stopped for brunch and had the seasonal frittata that came with a couple of slices of bread and a small salad. For drinks a pleasantly wonderful latte in a large cup with no handles. Get the warmth of the cup by putting both your hands around it. I liked that.
The breads were augmented by three nice jams and spreads so there was plenty of food to go around. I stuck around and used their wireless so ordered the house coffee which was brought out with fresh cup and a porcelain container that held extra joe. Small container of room temperature creamer to go with it. Nice touch.
If you’re in the neighborhood this Belgium based chain is worth your visit. Job well done.