Le Fournil

If I could pick the ONE thing on the menu that was ridiculously bad, I picked it. Shrimp Ceasar salad. Wtf was I thinking? Lettuce and a tiny bit of shrimp meat and croutons. Wasted time and money. The sandwiches my mates got were delicious they said, and they looked delicious! The pastries: passion fruit tart — excellent. That multilayered custardy thing– excellent. The chocolate éclair: meh. I prefer a traditional custard filling — this had chocolate mousse type filling. Not bad though. Very nice staff. Excellent iced tea. My bad for choosing a salad in a bakery!

Cute bakery tucked away in Eastlake. Loved that they have a (free) parking lot with a good number of dedicated spaces for customers. They even have a back entrance to the bakery so you don’t have to walk all the way around to the front if it’s cold or raining.
Pastries looked great, I enjoyed the buttery flaky fresh croissant I ordered and also liked the hot chai tea. Service was pleasant as well.
I didn’t find a wifi signal to use (could have only been me?) and I found that the place at 9:30am looked a little dirty. Not in a way that would keep you from wanting to eat here but there were leaves and dirt and food crumbs scattered on the floor. Perhaps an oversight or just a lot of stuff tracked in from earlier that day. Overall it was a cute place and it was great for a quick, quiet work meeting. Rush of people came in around 10:30 and there was practically a line out the door. Very popular spot!

Love the quiche, and the tea selections are very good. I’m always excited to stop by, but in the mornings there aren’t always open tables and it can get fairly noisy.

Reducing one star from my past reviews.
FOOD: 3.0. Quality of sandwich contents is same as my earlier review, but the sandwiches themselves (or at least their contents) seem to have shrunk. The pastries didn’t have the same magic as our previous visits; the millefois was too sweet for my taste.
COFFEE: 4.0.
SERVICE: 4.5.
AMBIANCE: 4.0. The interior has been renovated. Slicker with new tables, and the condiments/​disposal area has been positioned in a more convenient place near the front door. The large table has been replaced with a few 4-​seat tables, though one community table remains.

BEST pastries ever. This is the only restaurant my boyfriend and I repeated a place to eat. Great for breakfast, very delicious. Nice staff, I lost a purse, came back next day and it was returned to me! Thanks to them and the person who found it! 5 Stars for you guys!

So good! Came on a Sunday after church expecting it to be busy and to my surprise there was plenty of seating available and no wait. Got the lunch special with a turkey and Swiss sandwich, a passion fruit tart, and a mocha. The mocha was THE BOMB as well as the sandwich and tart. The sand which baguette is just crispy enough but not so much that it’s hard to chew. Tasted freshly baked.
Will absolutely come back, everything was so delicious.

How do you rate bakeries? I decided that only on the quality of the baked goods and not on decors, services, or the «uniqueness» element that I usually asked from restaurants.
I had their cakes before and were very impressed. This time, we bought mix-​fruit tart (10″) and mini chocolate tarts (6 per order). Both were supremely delicious and snatched up quickly.
I probably should try their lunches, but the location is not right for me.

It breaks my heart to update this review with a lower rating… I’ve been coming regularly to Le Fournil for almost 6 years. They recently remodeled and the space now looks gorgeous! The staff is still friendly, the location still wonderful. They’re even open on Mondays now!
But a French café like this must live and die by it’s food. The croissants are still buttery, and the menu is the same, but the quality has declined considerably. For example: I typically order the croissant breakfast sandwich (Croque Fournil) special, which includes ham, swiss, mayo, and egg. This wonderful combination USED to be put through a slow toaster, giving it the perfect flakey bite. NOW they used a horrible awful no good convection microwave «toaster» oven. The sandwich is now oily, chewy, and weirdly hot in the middle…
Owner (s) of Le Fournil: How can you live with yourselves? How can you desecrate these croissants your bakers spend so much time making next door?!

Cute café in Eastlake with beautiful pastries, generous selection of baguette sandwiches and full coffee bar. Full pastry counter with range of croissants, quiches, mini tarts and cakes. Enjoyed the ham & swiss croissant, way tastier than the La Boulange options at Starbucks. Love the thoughtful combos — $ 9.99 for a baguette, breakfast pastry, 12 oz. espresso drink, $ 5.99 for a breakfast pastry and 12 oz. espresso drink. Came here on a Sat. morning, v. popular among bikers. Definitely my new hiking lunchbox go-​to!
Ample seating, lovely staff. Free 1-​hr garage parking ftw.

Decent stop for lunch but not great. Both had the $ 9.95 lunch specials. Sandwiches are not large but the baguettes were perfectly crisp on the outside and soft inside. Ham, Swiss and butter was decent but meat was a little too close to lunch meat. The shrimp curry sandwich was ok but not very many shrimp. Blueberry tart was ok bot had some kind of clear gel holding the blueberries on. Chocolate tart decent but not the deep rich chocolate taste. Weirdest thing was that the iced tea cup was filled about ²⁄₃ full.

I’ve just moved nearby so I’ve tried this place a few times and can attest that it has both good and less-​than-​good offerings. The pastries here? Top notch. The sandwiches? Pretty good. The coffee? Not too great.
They recently increased the price of the lunch special to $ 9.99, but I still think its a good deal for an entrée, pastry, and drink. The sandwiches are about 8″ long, so they’re not huge but they’re satisfying enough for lunch. I had the chicken salad sandwich, and the dressing on the sandwich reminded me a bit of homemade pimiento cheese. It was delicious, and the chicken on it was tender and substantial.
I’ve tried the almond croissant, chocolate tart, and passionfruit tart. The almond croissant was okay– a little too chewy and not flakey enough for my preferences but it was still tasty. The chocolate tart and passionfruit tart were perfect. The tarts’ crust is soft and buttery, and the tart filling is creamy but tangy and not too sweet.
The two times I’ve had the coffee, it has been incredibly bitter and burnt-​tasting. Not very good at all. Overall, this is a great place for pastries or lunch. Just be cautious when ordering a coffee drink!

Sandwiches, pastries, and coffee. Is there a better café like lunch than that?
I pass by Le Fournil quite a few times and finally decided to give it a shot. I heard about their lunch special and was very curious as to what they had to offer. For $ 9.99 you get a sandwich, a dessert, and a 12 oz coffee! This sounded like a good deal to me.
My partner and I both got lunch specials. Mine: Chicken salad sandwich, raspberry mille-​feuille, and chai tea latte. His: Pâté sandwich, lemon tart, and machiatto.
For my meal, I loved the chai tea latte. They make it not too sweet or spicy here and a 12 oz is quite a bit of chai tea. No latte art, but still really well made. The chicken salad sandwich came on a toasted baguette and had some bell peppers, lettuce, tomato and cheese. I really loved the crispness of the baguette and the taste of the sauteed bell peppers. There were bits of chicken in the sandwich, but I do think it could have had more. Overall, the sandwich tasted good. The raspberry mille-​feuille is a layered cake with puff pastry layers and then layers of raspberry buttercream. Typically I think it’s made with a pastry cream so I wasn’t sure how I felt about having heaping amounts of buttercream between the layers. It was really a beautiful slice so I knew I wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately, the part of me that isn’t too big of a fan of frosting couldn’t get past the sweetness of the raspberry buttercream. It was the texture of Italian buttercream; very light and airy. I did like the puff pastry layers since they were very flaky. The raspberry jam and fresh raspberries on top were a great addition as well.
For his meal, the pâté sandwich was not heated up. The pâté filling didn’t seem like very much, but you could taste it with every bite. It almost reminded me of tuna salad, but more meaty. There were pieces of pickles in it, but it was uneven. I do think the pickles add a nice sour taste to cut the meatiness of the sandwich. The lemon tart was delicious! It has the perfect lemon flavor to it and the crust is very soft but holds it’s shape. There is also some hints of raspberry filling at the bottom which is a nice contrast to the lemon. At some point it got a bit too sweet for me, but overall it was a good tart!
For the price, it’s a good deal since drinks and desserts are about $ 3 each and a sandwich is priced at $ 7. So with the lunch special you’re saving about $ 3 or so. However, the pictures made it seem like the sandwiches were quite big, but it is deceiving. The sandwiches are actually pretty small, although after eating everything, you should feel content. So for the portion size of the sandwich, I’m not sure if it was worth the price or not.
Service was just okay. The ladies seemed a bit moody/​tired from their day. They weren’t doing much smiling or talking. It just seemed like they wanted to finish up already. There was also no music playing so it was pretty quiet. There are tables inside to sit at and a bussing station as well. Water is self-​serve.
Overall, I think the pastries here were pretty good and unique. I might come back to get some tarts and another chai tea latte. I think I will pass on the sandwiches though.

Le Fournil has long been a favorite of mine on Eastlake. The mixed fruit, blueberry, lemon, and strawberry tarts are most common for me to get with my lunch and their lunch special is one of the best deals in town. The pastry case is a sweet sight to behold!
Croissants are my newest obsession… the taste of absolute buttery flaky perfection. They definitely make the best croissants in town. They have more than 10 flavors of croissant to choose from; the ham & cheese is another favorite of mine.
Le Fournil meets my everyday breakfast and lunch needs and is there when I special order a large tart to take to a party, or an order of mini chocolate and strawberry tarts and quiche for a brunch. They deliver to all of Seattle for free with an order of $ 100 or more, and will deliver to Eastside locations too! I hear from some of my friends who use them for business catering that their boxed lunches are gourmet amazing!
My absolute favorite thing about Le Fournil is that they are now open on Monday. I cannot count the times I forgot what day it was and made it all the way to the front door without realizing… only now that is no longer! I get my favorites 7 days a week!

This place so special for me. It might not be the cutest bakery in town, but for sure they have the amazing food, pastry and coffee.

There’s a special place in my heart for bakeries, and cute French bakeries like Le Fournil occupy a large fraction of it. Le Fournil is a wonderful bakery-​café with a great selection of fruit tarts, croissants, macarons, cakes, and more. The best deal (imho) is the $ 5.99 special for a drink and a croissant sandwich. I usually order a vanilla latte to go with it and the coffee is surprisingly really really good!
Absolutely recommend Le Fournil for a relaxing weekend brunch, or grab-​n-​go morning coffee if it’s on the way. I’ll definitely be back to try all of the pastries!

Just over the bridge from UW, Le Fournil is a nice French bakery/​café that is awesome for a relaxed weekend breakfast or brunch. I came here on a Saturday morning and got a passion fruit tart and a broccoli swiss quiche. Most people probably go for their specials ($ 5.99 for a coffee and croissant sandwich during breakfast, and $ 8.99 for a coffee, sandwich/​salad, and dessert for lunch) but I had a weird craving for a passion fruit tart and quiche, so that happened.
The space looks small from the outside, but is actually pretty roomy. The café filled up while we were there, and the line got pretty long, but it didn’t feel crammed by any means. Staff are friendly and professional, and orders come out quickly. My passion fruit tart and quiche were delicious and really satisfying, and their coffee is also really good. I’ll definitely be back for breakfast sometime, and it would likely be a nice place to sip coffee and study as well.

My friends and I went for their lunch special. It’s quite a deal for sandwich, drink, and dessert for only i believe $ 10. I had their croissant sandwich which was decent and filling, their ice tea is literally iced tea so don’t expect it to be sweet. I also had one of their tart and it was simply delicious. I can’t wait to try more.