Paul Bakery & Café

The value of the food is amazing. The yogurt and Les Beigents were the perfect start to my busy day. Can’t wait to come back!

I love Paul. Both in France and in the states. But this is one of the worst locations.
The service is horrible. They weren’t very friendly and they completely messed up our order. In the end, they gave us a free croissant to make up for it. The food isn’t as consistent as some other locations. The bread wasn’t as fresh as other locations. And the salad wasn’t as tasty. The dressing was super salty and just not as good as other locations.
Super disappointed.

The worse service in Georgetown, we went 7pm and the cashier didn’t acept that we eat inside because he need close but the close time was 8 pm ! I will never return.

PERFECT spot right across the National Archives for a midday lunch & coffee, with a spectacular view of the Navy Memorial + more historical government buildings! Just note that it gets crowded! Paul’s prosciutto sandwich was perfection, bread was fresh and yummy, & the whole meal was excellent topped off with a coffee cream éclair. Prices are a little bougie but what can you expect from high quality original French bakery! don’t usually eat at places like this but hey, when in DC!

SO grateful to have ran into this while in DC! The original bakery is near my home town in France. It’s not everyday that I get to have Rosette on Baguette and a DECENT croissant!
I wish I’d been able to have a little bit of everything there :)
The only downside is that the service could definitely be better than it is. That would help make the experience memorable. Great food & great service make for one unforgettable experience.
Anyway, I would recommend it, just for the great French food :)

A very nice coffee shop and bakery. French flair in downtown DC. Nice outdoor seating and a casual elegant interior. The coffee is great and the baked goods are fabulous. Beats Starbucks by a mile.

On a recent visit to the nation’s capital over a weekend my wife and I spent Saturday walking much of central DC near all the museums. After a visit to the National Archives Museum we were ready for a bite and came across the Paul Bakery & Café.
Right when we entered I realoized this isn’t the typical American café. The décor and feel instantly transported me back to our trip to France to get engaged. Our fabulous meal did the same. The pastries were very fresh, the sandwiches very tasty, and the soups perfectly made. The staff behind the counter was equally as delightful.
Paul Bakery & Café in Washington D.C. is the perfect stop for a quick and delicious bite when museum hopping in our nation’s capital.

This location was rather smooshed. Not many places to sit. Service was kind of slow. The quiche was only luke-​warm and the spinach salad on the side with shaved carrots and cucumber slivers had a meager drop of dressing in the middle.
The highlight was my macchiato with a chocolate croissant!
Rumor is the Foggy Bottom location is much roomier with a better overall experience.

The only reason I’m giving this place 4 stars is for slow service. The servers are very accommodating and fixed the fact that one of our breakfasts didn’t come out in time by giving us a free pastry! Works for me!
Enough about the service, now for the food! I had the Egg, Ham, and Cheese Croissant, and my husband had the tuna sandwich, 2 coffees, and some kind of croissant type pastry filled with pastry cream and chocolate chips… A. MA…ZING! The croissant was flaky, the eggs buttery and cooked well, I didn’t taste much cheese but that didn’t really take away from this sandwich. My husband’s sandwich was great, his baguette was perfectly crusty, and the tuna wasn’t drowning in mayo. The coffee was nice and strong, not the best, but very decent, and the pastry was perfect! The perfect balance of chocolate to pastry to cream.
Definitely not our last visit!

When people complain about the service, you know you’re taking a risk. I regret coming here for a cup of coffee. Two guys working the register and coffee bar were rude. After I ordered a cappuccino, «Damn, you’re making me work today.» Excuse me? Worst cappuccino I’ve had in a while by the way. Just don’t come. Don’t.

I put Paul in the same bucket as Le Pain Quotidien. Good, but not great unless you have a sweet tooth. Everything there seems slightly less fresh compared to Le Pain Quotidien, but the prices are better. The coffee is certainly better than Dunkin Donuts, but it is not up to a Starbucks standard. Their standout item is the chicken citron sandwich with avocado on a poppy seed baguette. Multiple layers of flavor and texture. Good take out option for breakfast or lunch in DC.

PSA: THE BRIE SANDWICH WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. For lunch or for dinner, it really is amazing. A huge slice of brief on a cinnamon raisin (ish) baguette with honey. SO. GOOD. The usually sell out of the premade ones in the glass case by lunch, but they will make one for you if you ask them to.

The reviews go to show you can fool most of the people most of the time if you pretend to be French. Very very slow line, stale over priced food and surly service. And not a napkin in sight. The Au Bön Pan down the street is much better.

Such a cute place with character. Great croissants and cappuccino and the soups come in those adorable cups with the handle. So refreshing to stop here after the walking around the mall. Far better than Panera or La Madeline and definitely better than a food truck!

We came here for dessert after seeing the large macaroons. My husband ordered the chocolate macaroon and I ordered the vanilla. They are dense and filled with flavor. They were partially cool too so the flavoring reminded me of rich ice cream. The large macaroon is $ 6 and was easily two servings (although you’ll want to eat it in one).
We returned today for the breakfast. We had the baguette filled with ham and cheese (cooler), and one with eggs, ham and cheese (served warm). Both were great. The baguette was chewy and filling. The ham and cheese were higher quality which made the simple ‘sandwich’ pop. Would highly recommend.

Paul’s is located 2 bus stops before my office. Today, I thank myself for getting off at 9^th St instead of 11^th. I walked into Paris this morning and went to heaven.
I ordered a small coffee and salmon and spinach quiche. The quiche had the most buttery flaky crust and it was divine. The eggs were a little too soft and runny for my taste. But the mix of salmon and spinach made up for it. And the mixed greens were a perfect accompaniment.
The coffee! OMG. Yes! Thank you, Paul for the great tasting coffee. The last time I had an amazing flavored cup of Joe was in Burundi. I knew when I returned to the States, coffee would never be the same. Well, Paul made sure I did not suffer. Bold, smooth flavor with a hint of sweetness. No bitterness, no need to add a syrup to cover up the lack of coffee flavor, no muddy taste. Just pure deliciousness in a coffee.
I’ll be back because there are so many items I want to try. If it has salmon on it, I’m going to order it.
See ya soon Paul!

The pastries here are divine, creamy crunchy sweet and oh so yummy. We’ve had almost a dozen different items and each one is very good.
I did not like the olive pretzel. It was dry, few olives and they were from a can, so disappointed.
Ill be back for sweet treats.

For all you Francophiles, Paul selected Washington DC as its first location outside of France. La Enfant would be so proud.
Stop here for a power breakfast with stone faced serious bureaucrats who clear out by 9 am. Their coffee is standard black dark roast, inoffensive but not memorable.
They are known for their bread, and one look at their artistically sculpted Olive and Cheese Fougasse or Sesame Baugettes tells you why.
This is a great stop if you’re museum hopping with friends or your partner. The interior is swanky, clubby, French classic, and by far that’s it’s driving attribute. I would not bring a child or teen here unless they are particularly fancy.
The smoked salmon salad is divine. Truly French décor and vibe. A special place.

Although I was able to find something to sweet to snack on, the Cranberry Twist which is Vegan friendly, the customer service was not pleasant.
Don’t make any assumptions by what people are wearing to determine if they are taking their food to go. Perhaps since I was in Boston University Gear from head to toe, the young lady made my order to go & didn’t even inquire what my preference was.
Then, my simple addition of a Chamomile Tea to my order was again, packed up to go… now just a wait a minute. Not only that, the young man that was making all of the drinks decided to walk away before making mine… hot water, tea bag, really?
I understand that it may be cold outside, or one is having a bad day, as it surely was NOT crowded… yet my order was basic to say the least.
One, «Please take the pastry out of the plastic bag, warm it up & place it on a dish for me, please & thank you.»
Two, «I will drink my Tea out of the To Go Cup, however please inquire with your customers of their preferences before hand, please & thank you.»
Third, «May I have a napkin, please & thank you?».
Finally, not to be a pain I swear, as I always have honey & lemon with my tea, when I asked for that, the young man said he would bring it to me. Now mind you, I’m sitting right in front of the counter & a few minutes later, I hear «Ma’am, here’s your stuff».
Once I got settled at my little high top table by the window, I enjoyed my treat… which was pretty good, & aided in un-​ruffling my feathers.
For a PQ location of an international chain, I would expect way better customer service this what I was given this morning, Merci.

Let me begin by saying that I LOVE the food. All of it!!! The service however is so lacking that I do not come unless I suspect there is no line (way early or in between meal times) and unless I suspect whatever I want is already made. This place has no system. Three registers and I always end up in the worst line. Or as soon as I get to my register they close it and move me to the next one putting me at the end of the line behind people who just got there. When they have to make what I want, the order gets lost in the kitchen about 30% of the time (and I watch others around me with the same problem). If they don’t have what you want sometimes they make it sometimes they say no, no rhyme or reason. So sometimes it is a delightful experience and sometimes it is a terrible experience.

We stopped here for a snack on our way to the Capitol Building. Good selection of french pastries but a fairly long wait and they confused my wife’s order which extended the wait. Decent place to grab a quick bite.

I’ve been here twice now, both trips during my visits to DC Superior and this little French café has absolutely lightened my mornings. The service is wonderful and very responsive. Drinks are made to order in a very quick fashion. I have not had the pleasure of eating here past breakfast but the foods that I have experienced are simple and very tasty. I highly recommend the hot chocolate. It’s thick, warm creaminess will have you thinking you are in Paris.

I knew from the moment I walked inside and heard the other patrons speaking French that this French Café was the real deal.
I loved Paul so much, I ate there six times during my stay in DC. I even brought home two chocolate hazelnut tarts, a slice of chocolate cake, and a chocolate filled pastry to share with my friends.
Paul is a must on any DC itinerary.

The almond chocolate croissant is to die for. We stumbled upon this place on our way to the Smithsonians. Wanting to grab something easy and quick near the food dessert that is the national mall, Pauls offered us exactly what we were looking for. My husband and I split the egg, ham and cheese baguette which was perfectly peppered and a pastry. See above: the almond chocolate croissant is to die for. The baguette was tasty as well but I’m glad we split it because it’s big for a breakfast sandwich.

If I could give this place a 0 I would. First off, my wallet was stolen out of my purse while sitting here eating lunch. I was sitting at the table directly by the lunch sandwiches, when I noticed I immediately asked one of the workers if she saw anything and all she said was no, but this happens a lot at this location!?? What?! How could theft occur at a restaurant regularly? When I asked to see the security footage, she told me the camera wasn’t facing me and couldn’t help me. Honestly the workers were really rude. Plus who would want to go to a place where theft occurs OFTEN!??
The food was nasty also

We came here yesterday for dessert after seeing the large macaroons. My husband ordered the chocolate macaroon and I ordered the vanilla. They are dense and filled with flavor. They were partially cool too so the flavoring reminded me of rich ice cream. The large macaroon is $ 6 and was easily two servings (although you’ll want to eat it in one).
We returned today for the breakfast. We had the baguette filled with ham and cheese (cooler), and one with eggs, ham and cheese (served warm). Both were great. The baguette was chewy and filling. The ham and cheese were higher quality which made the simple ‘sandwich’ pop. Would highly recommend!

I walked in and what I saw was heaven after walking for over two miles while pregnant. I guess that helps their review out! The amazing selection of pastries and breads was a beautiful sight to behold. The bakery was on point the way it was designed and decorated. So warm and inviting and cute. I wanted to sample everything, but had some discipline. I had the olive breadstick, white chocolate tarte, and shared some kind of berry tarte. I also loved the fact they had coffee choices. It’s a very fun, cute, and tasty spot to pop into if you’re in the area!

i got a red fruit tart. not flaky and not buttery. a disgrace to their british locations. i hope the croissants were better. the place is run by a bunch of young people with no sense of urgency and their heads cut off.
some guy brought his coffee back because it was cold. the girl puts her finger in it to test and agreed with a smile. i dont mind testing it with a finger but dont do it in public!!! let alone smile as if its funny
JEANS: OK by far
ORDER: at the counter

It is a 3.5 star place, pretty decent offering on bake goods and deli lunches. Portion is good, and service is good.
The great thing it is pretty fast and they have outdoor seatings towards the plaza.

Cute little bakery in downtown DC. Very «french bakery» feel mixed with busy DC workers.
Almond croissant was ON POINT here! Almond croissant is one of my favorite pastries and they got it down at this place.
Light flakey pastry with thick almond spread with perfectly toasted almonds on top.
Hubby got a delicious looking ham and avocado sandwich with coffee which seems like he also enjoyed!
Small sizes but great tastes.

Yum! I love Paul, although I had only been to their location in Beirut, Lebanon before, so once I saw this location, I absolutely had to go get their olive bread. And just as usual, it was delicious! My friends tried their cold chocolate drink and loved it, and one also got a piece of coconut cake that was pretty good too. Me, all I want is their olive bread, some wine, and a good book to read…

Great atmosphere!
You can see them baking and making fresh bread & baguettes
You walk in and it smells great
My friend got the pear tart
I got the chocolate croissant! Very good

Elegant, delicious, and busy. This is in the epitome of a great coffee shop. It’s very French (the workers even speak French, they seems Haitian, idk I might just be offending them) the chairs are big and comfty and there is a big selection of pastries.
I chose the big pistachio macaron which was amazing. The only thing was, i might be being a bit too picky, but it was too moist. I like my macrons crunchier. The tea was great, they give you a tea pot with at least 3.5 tea cups worth of water
I’ve been here twice and haven’t been disappointed

My friends and I ordered a Blueberry Slice Tart and Lemon Tart, both of which were delicious. I liked how blueberries were stack amongst each other and then topped with blueberry sauce on a thin pastry crust. If you have a thing for tarty sweets, the lemon tart is for you. I liked how smooth the lemon custard was.

Stopped in for a quick snack and coffee while walking around DC. Was a bit confused at where the line started when I got in, before realizing that there were 2 registers with a line at each. I started ordering when I looked behind me at a group of ladies who had been standing off to the side talking but had looks on their faces as if they had been in line. I couldn’t really tell but they clearly thought they were… so one of the ladies just started to tell the cashier her order. The cashier backed out of my transaction and took their order first. Whatever. I think the least the cashier could’ve done was apologize to me for the mixup and making me restart my order.
On to the food… their big macaron was very good. It was rich and chocolatey, just how I like it. The beignet was basically a jelly filled donut. Not bad at all but I would probably try something different next time. The café crème was also fine, nothing to rave about. Overall I can’t complain too much because it was a nice joint to take a break in during a hot DC day.

paul has to be one of the cutest little bakery/​cafes i have ever seen. this location is right near my bus stop, and i love wandering inside to admire the pastries. they are gorgeous!
today i tried a vanilla macaron. i was underwhelmed. it tasted like a cookie with a heavy buttercream filling. it was a decent cookie; a bad macaron.
despite this, i’m having trouble giving this adorable little bakery a bad rating. i know i’ll be back to try the sandwiches.

Came in after work (530pm) to get a box of the assorted macarons. I stood at the bakery counter for a couple awkward minutes with the employees behind the counter who didn’t see/​acknowledge me when I came in. Anyways, the box is $ 17ish and all of the macarons were pretty good (besides the pistachio– I didn’t really didn’t care for that one). My favorite would have to be the coconut with the caramel coming in a close second. Chocolate and raspberry tie for 3^rd. The chocolate macaron tastes exactly like chocolate cake and the raspberry has a nice filling that’s not too sweet but not too tart as well. Overall, besides the initial service, I liked these macarons. Will probably not order an assorted box anytime soon but I can see myself stopping in for a macaron every once in a while. 4 stars overall, but taking one away for customer service.

Paul’s definitely one of the nicer French bakeries in DC. I came to this particular location after the Newseum, as it’s only a short 2 block walk up Pennsylvania Ave. I’m a pretty big fan of pistachio macarons, so when I saw their MAMMOTH version, it had to be mine! Their almond croissant was also really good, as was their millefueille cakes. Considering how popular this place is, I’m surprised there wasn’t much of a line. We even got a table right away. Next time I’m in the area, I’ll definitely have to stop by and get another delectable mammoth pistachio macaron. Sooooo GOOD! =P