Au Bon Lieu

Very, VERY disappointing across the board. I decided to try Au Bön Lieu for lunch while visiting Harrisburg for the day. Crepes are one of my favorite foods and a dish that I am quite familiar with, having grown up in New England and visited the Canadian province of Quebec several times. I came in with high expectations due to café’s stellar 4.5 star rating on Unilocal and left highly dissatisfied, annoyed, and with a queasy feeling in my stomach.
I honestly can’t explain the disparity between my experience and the experience of most other Unilocalers, but I am willing to bet that a lot of it is due to lack of competition in the area. Central Pennsylvania is not a hub of French-​American culture by any means, so maybe this is the only crêpe shop for miles around? Maybe the café used to be better? Or maybe they were just having an off day? Who knows…
From start to finish, my dining experience here was extremely poor. The restaurant is about the size of a large walk-​in closet and very cramped and poorly laid out. As soon as you walk in, you hit the counter where two employees were preparing the crepes. Neither employee greeted or acknowledged me for a solid five minutes. When that finally did happen, the employee barked at me to «Sit down!» and added that patrons should seat themselves. Quite rude. I don’t know where these guys get off thinking they can talk to customers in such a manner. If they want customers to seat themselves, they should minimally place a sign out front saying as much like any normal establishment.
Once I had navigated the maze of other people, tables, and chairs and sat down, the other employee handed me a menu along with a pen and piece of paper and told me to write down the number of the crêpe I wished to order. Another example of very poor customer service. Apparently they’re too busy to waste time with such excesses like interacting with their customers.
To their credit, the menu was quite extensive and offered both sweet and savory crepes. Unfortunately, the food I received was simply not good. I went with #7 — chicken, mozzarella, pesto, and sun-​dried tomatoes, which took them about 15 minutes to prepare. The crêpe looked tasty and was well-​presented, but as soon as I took my first bite, I was sorely disappointed. Pesto was WAY too salty, cheese tasted low-​quality, and the chicken was flat out gross. All dark meat and very fatty. I even had the displeasure of discovering a large piece of fat in one of my bites, yuck!
After one of the employees collected my plate, I waited for a solid 15 minutes for the check to arrive before asking for it. The employee acknowledged my request, but did not bring it. 15 minutes after that, I stood up and told the employee that I needed to check out. The guy then proceeded to act like he was doing me a favor ringing up my check. Having noticed stickers for all major credit cards posted near the window, I handed him my Visa and was informed that I needed to pay in cash (of course…). Fortunately, I happened to have cash on me and handed him a $ 10 bill to pay for my meal which ran about $ 6. The employee takes it, does not offer change, closes the cash register, and proceeds to return to his kitchen duties. I could not believe it — I actually had to flag him down and request my change back! I asked for $ 2, leaving a generous $ 2 tip, but after what came next, I regret leaving any tip. The employee rolls his eyes and gives me $ 2 back… in QUARTERS!
I was so fed up with the bad attitude of the employees that I bolted for the door after receiving my change. I will not be returning and would not recommend Au Bön Lieu to anyone.

We’re from New York City and I lived in Paris and hands down the best crepes we’ve come across. The owner took care of us while we waited for family to arrive at the near by train station. We loved Au Bön Lien so much we went back for seconds with the family in tow. Thanks so much for the red carpet treatment and yummy food– I’ll see the dark chocolate peanut butter crêpe in my dreams.

One of the best crepes I’ve had. Cozy store and great service. We would absolutely go back when we are around.

The crepes come in two primary varieties: savory and sweet. Both are fantastic, but let me break it down for y’all real quick. I went out with my homegirl and was like, «yo, I wanna crêpe». She said dope. We stroll up in this jawn and nobody is there cept my man in the back that got the Mario64 look going, but he’s cool. He come over with the French accent on some «y’all hungry?» And we like, «yeh».
The dude was in the back whippin Magic right after we skimmed the menu and took our best shot in the dark for something that’s not leave us feeling sick or disheartened; my mans hooked it up.
I got that yung turkey and avocado with red peppers and mozzarella, my homie got the chicken pesto: Bruh. Let me tell you it was like the whole Les Mis cast came through on my tongue, cept Wolverine was actually in it (not to be confused with Huge Jackman) and ripping my tastebuds a new one. The crêpe itself was so light and airy, yet surprisingly flavorful and subtlety crisp. Ya boy was speaking French, and then thought «J’aime les bonbons, yo quiero»
They had me speaking Franglish, and I was cool with it.
I got the SmorzSpecial, and Dessert had me thinking I need to watch out for Smoke the Bear cause, my dude (or girl), that was the slaps and I know Smokey woulda been feelin some type of way.
So yeah, I liked it. 6 $ average for a solid crêpe AND the tables are blackboarded, so you can draw.
Go here

Good service. Ordered the one with salmon under the recommendation of the staff and it was fantastic. It’s reasonably priced and service is good. Would recommend this place to anyone who’s coming Harrisburg.

Delicious crepes! I had the chicken, brie, spinach, and tomato crêpe which was a special. They also have a ton of sweet choices.
The place is small and we came here with five kids 5 and under. They were so nice and accommodating. The kids got a free New Year crêpe to share and they were super helpful when someone spilled a full cup all over the floor.

Best coffee in Harrisburg. Tasty crepes. Very friendly service. Great atmosphere. We were visiting from Seattle and stopped in for coffee and we’re pleasantly surprised. What a gem of a place!

Paul who made it possible for this place to get 4−½ stars moved to strawberry square. The crepes are no longer good here. Time to visit Paul.

Wonderful, fresh fillings in these crepes. Sampled one with spinach, tomato, artichoke, olive and feta with a egg and it was an ample meal. That didn’t stop me from having the lemon and sugar crêpe which was so yummy and just sweet enough. Dark roast coffee and great service.

The wife and I stopped in here one Saturday morning for crepes. It started off really well and finished with us aching to leave.
I’ll split this review into three sections: 1) food, 2) service/​atmosphere, and 3) experience. Certain aspects of our visit should be complimented.
1 — Food
The coffee was good. There is a vegetarian section on the menu, which I highly appreciated. That said, the crepes were pretty good. They seemed to be lacking in filling, which was disappointing.
The savory one I received had cold (and slightly wet) veggies inside, which made me think they came straight from a can. The sweet one had dark chocolate and banana. Yum!
Overall, for the crepes alone, we’d return again for a light lunch or breakfast/​brunch.
2 — Service/​Atmosphere
When we arrived, we were greeted at the door, which was opened for us. Very nice. We were seated. It was our first time, so the man (possibly owner/​manager/​chef?) told us «how» to order, and took our drink order for two coffees.
The tables are covered in chalkboard paint, and there is a little plate of chalk at each table. Neat and different! It isn’t a large place at all, perfect for solo eaters or groups of up to 4 people. Seems great for lunch. After that, it gets a bit cumbersome and disruptive. They have outdoor seating, which is pretty nice! It would be lovely in the summer!
Our coffee was promptly delivered, and the man explained that we put our order down on a sheet of paper (each menu item is numbered for easy ordering). He would then come back for our order. While this type of ordering seemed neat at first, I’d rather just tell him what I want. The reason is that it takes extra-​long for our order to be placed because of multiple interactions we now have to have with the staff. It took even longer than we anticipated because of what had happened (see 3 — Experience).
The first crêpe took about 40 minutes to get to us. We found this to be a tad long. No one checked up on us, no one asked if we wanted more coffee, and, after finishing our first crêpe, our plates sat in front of us empty for a long time.
We asked for water when we asked for our plates to be taken away. This was promptly delivered, but we were given two very small disposable cups of water with probably around 4 ounces in it. We had to ration our water.
Based on what was happening (again, see 3 — Experience), the wife and I were ready to cancel our order of the sweet crepes. We think that we were forgotten and only remembered when we asked for water. After we received our sweet crepes, we ate hastily. Our check was delivered almost as soon as we put the forks down. I walked up to the register to pay, as we couldn’t sit there any longer.
3 — Experience
When we arrived, there was a family of four with two small kids and another couple. All very quiet. It was rather peaceful, and we were looking forward to a quiet breakfast.
After a few moments, a lady came in and was asking for tables to be pushed together, essentially indicating a large group. The man told her that she’d have to sit at the tables outside. No way was he going to make people move that were already seated. It was a tad cold and overcast, so she wasn’t having that. Unfortunately for our quiet breakfast, the group of people that came in with rather loud children was split up across the restaurant. So, the kids and parents walked (and talked) back and forth between tables across the restaurant.
We started to get frustrated because it seemed that their order took precedence over everything in the restaurant. All others in the restaurant seemed to be ignored and forgotten. The parents loudly complained that it was taking long; they even yelled to the staff that they wanted to cancel parts of their order so they could finish the crepes that were left partially uneaten on the kids’ plates.
The large group was distracting and very loud. The kids kept walking around, bumping into our table, none of the parents apologized or even acknowledged that their kids were being disrespectful. The wife and I tried to have a conversation, but we couldn’t without yelling above the noise.
As we were leaving and my wife passed the one parent, the parent made some detached, generic apology. The same one she made to the other family of four when they left. Come to think of it, the other family had children of the same age, only you wouldn’t have known they had children because they were so quiet. The other couple was still there when we left.
Well, we sucked up our disappointment, left quietly, and made mental notes to never go back. Who knows, maybe we will in a year or so when we forget this experience? If we visit again, I’ll be sure to update my review.

Love this place. Great crepes. Small and can be crowded. The coffee is good too!
There is one in Hershey now too.

J’adore ce lieu! Fantastic food and great service. I love that they take the food and drink order of any kiddies in your group first and get it out to them right away. My mom ordered a crêpe that that was primarily spinach and cheese. She thought it was ok but that it had too much spinach for her and she didn’t finish it. The guys working their offered to make her something else on the house, but she wasn’t hungry anymore, so they didn’t charge us for her crêpe. How nice! I absolutely loved my hazelnut spread and strawberries crêpe. I can’t wait to try more of their sweet and savory crêpe creations. They make darn good coffee too.

I walk by this place everyday to and from work — you can’t miss it because its lime green, and everything else around it are red bricks.
Super tiny and cute, reminds me exactly of little mom and pop places in France when I was living in Europe.
The staff is super friendly — I didn’t catch the Chef’s name — but he was super friendly and he picked a crêpe for me since I was stuck between cinnamon sugar and lemon sugar; I got cinnamon sugar to-​go and it was delicious! I would definitely bring a friend or two here to grab food and chat!

Such a hidden gem for delicious crepes.

This was our second visit and it was as good as the first. We got three sweet crepes — butter and raw sugar, Nutella with banana and Nutella with strawberry. All were perfectly presented and delicious. The atmosphere is that of a small town café with chalk paint on all the tables to pass your time while waiting for your food. They have a few sidewalk café tables as well.

The cutest place I’ve seen since arriving in Harrisburg. (Besides Jackson house of course) It’s a bit tight — by that I mean make sure you go early if you want a seat on a Sunday for brunch.
It’s relaxing, quaint, and completely adorable. It’s my ideal hole in the wall to haunt. They have tables with chalk paint so you can draw on as well!
In terms of food, you can either make your own crêpe or pick options of savory vs sweet crepes
The savory crêpe I got was custom, but we did get the Nutella and strawberry crêpe — which was delicious. I believe you can get them To go as well!
wish this place wasn’t down town — but at least parking is free on weekends!

Yum! A great place for a light meal. The chef (and owner) is a nice man, I’ve talked to him a few times and he’s well-​spoken and friendly. The menu is broken up into sections of savory and sweet crepes, all of which are freshly made. My favorites are the smoked salmon and the dark chocolate/​blueberry varieties.
The service is kind of spotty, since many of the people who eat there are regulars. I felt like I was intruding the first few times I was here.
Anyway, I’d say go at least once to experience this small, affordable French restaurant.

The literal translation of ‘Au Bön Lieu’ is ‘The Good Place’.
Today was my first visit here. It’s the Unilocal reviews that brought me here. I’m new to Harrisburg. And I think I just found my most favorite café.
As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with a smile by Lisa. She understood immediately that I was new to the place and recommended the Brie, Tomato & Olive Oil crêpe with a fried egg on top (in the Breakfast section of the menu). I’m glad I went along with her recommendation because it is exactly what I was craving.
I also ordered coffee. And what pleased me the most was that they don’t serve coffee in styrofoam cups as is the norm with 99% of the cafés these days! The coffee was great as was the crêpe. I also tried the Nutella & Banana crêpe thanks to Paul’s recommendation. I’m certainly going back there with friends. Au Bön Lieu is a hidden gem in Harrisburg.

What they bloody hell why aren’t there more of these!!!
Walking in to the location, you’d be confused to think they’re anything more than a coffee shop and house the best crepes I’ve ever had. I took my work team here after reading the Unilocal reviews and we liked it so much that we are going to go at least three or four more times before we fly back home. We want to try as many crepes as we can.
The service was so damn quick too. The lady seemed a bit aloof, but man she knew what she was doing.

Went here for lunch and got the one of
The savory crepes. It was pretty good but not overly packed with food on the inside. It would be a good light lunch spot.
All the tables have chalkboard paint on them so you can draw while you wait. The crêpe seemed a little sweet then it needed to be for a savory crêpe but still pretty good.