Boule

This was THE GREATEST chocolate, gelato, coffee and pastry shop that I have been to in Los Angeles! I miss it often! Great picture of the truffles here:

I’ve never been here physically, but my friend did bring me a 30 package macaroon box.
I am so sad this place closed because they were some of the most delicious macaroons I’ve ever had. I always buy some at other bakeries in hopes that they will be as good, but I haven’t found any so far.
Please come back!

A new Boule is supposed to be opening soon. The one near Rodeo Drive is also closed. I liked this store (expensive but good). There was a little too much space. It was quite big, but there was not a lot of selection. And the empty space made Boule’s limited selection seem even smaller.
I liked the macarons here though Paulette has better ones. The chocolates are very distinct and have nice flavors (even a few exotic ones). The individually wrapped Fleur de Sel caramels are the bee’s knees.

You may remember this place from the Halloween episode of «The Secret Life Of» with Jim O’Conner. Food Network addict? Is there really such a thing? Jim went there to make some handmade candy corn. Yes, it was excessive. But this is clearly what this place is all about and that’s only more reason to love them.
This was the last stop on my brother’s and my official day-​o-​sugar (that started w/​a dozen Fritelli doughnuts (now closed) and Pinkberry).
We were tempted by many things, but finally settled on a few macarons and a pumpkin tart topped with a bruleed homemade marshmallow (this is excessive-​ness I can get used to).
I don’t even remember the macarons we decided on except pistachio and one filled with apple butter. They were tender and moist, but not as chewy as I’d hoped. The pumpkin tart though. THAT I do remember. The pumpkin was pureed from fresh. The crust was perfectly crispy with some give from the pumpkin filling and the marshmallows were carmelized, airy, and lightly sweet. (See pics.)
They have an impressive array of colorful flavors of macarons, chocolates, and other pastries. It definitely has a boutique type feel, so head here instead of Rodeo if you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth rather than your wardrobe.

OMFG NO I’m SO mad this place has closed! I was just there last week! Why is it that this place decides to close after I discover the divine bliss in the form of the fleur de sel caramel? Is there no mercy in this world? The fleeting taste I had of the fleur de sel caramel is all that I have now… what remaining hope is there now? Their macarons were nice (earl grey had some black pepper in it, which was a fantastic flourish [ooo alliteration!]). But it’s the salt caramels, innocently wrapped in their shimmering iridescent film sitting on the counter, that has changed my palate forever. I’m still getting over this travesty.
I read that the owner of this place closed it so he could pursue bread baking. WTF. BREAD? You are going to deprive the entire city of LA of fabulous salt caramels so you can make F’ing bread!!! MAN ALIVE what is this world coming to?

So according to the bf’s chocolate connossieur ‘rents: «These chocolates are amongst the best I’ve ever had.»
SCORE! Five more stars for getting me bonus points!
I’m selfish like that :)

Very expensive, and very good.
Not enough seating, by far. and get there early, or they may be out of your favorite cake. Especially if it is Sunday.
I tried the Boule cake, and it was very interesting, to say the least. Half the fun is trying to figure out what is in each layer.

Boule is just so delightful and everything in the shop is just… pleasing to the eye. Its so clean looking, and refreshing.
I tried the apple cinnamon macaroon, which was true to its apple flavor but a little on the sweet side, as macaroons can be.
I also tried the fleur de sel caramels — yumm… buttery and scrumptious. I like how they are wrapped in a rainbow-​y iridescent piece of cellophane which brought back memories of… confetti and hello kitty surprise gift packs back in grade school.
As I was paying for 3 macaroons (cannot remember what the other 2 were) and 3 fleur de sel caramels, something twinkled in the corner of my eye. Alas, it was a little yellow something that looked like a lollipop. The salesperson mumbled something, and I heard «honey swirled in sugar crystals… lemon… white chocolate.» I snatched it up immediately ($ 3.50). Don’t know what that was exactly, and after eating it, I’m still a little confused but it sure was lovely and delightful. Splendid. Total = $ 12.50. As my mom said, «money well spent.» (with a hint of sarcasm in her voice).
I can’t say that the flavors of these treats were super outstanding. I mean, the fleur de sel caramels are just as good as sees candy’s butterscotch kisses (or whatever the soft butterscotch thing with marshmallows inside is called). You just can’t beat good old fashioned see’s butterscotch.
It pained me to destroy that lemony-​yellow pseudo lollipop. It was unique and super sweet.
Boule, presentation alone has taken you almost to 5 stars but not quite. I have most certainly been swept away by your beauty, elegance, loveliness, and pure delight.

When I’m in Paris, one of my favorite things is sitting in Laduree’s tea room, enjoying their amazingly delicious macaroons. It never even occured to me that I might be able to find macaroons as light, airy and flavorful outside of Paris. Well, after tasting the macaroons at Boule, I can say that they come awfully close.
Extra credit points are also given for the tres chic interior and lovely little blue boxes. Boule is all style, with substance to boot.

Some would say beautiful and pristine. I thought it was on the brink of sterile. Lots of glass with a few blue and brown undertones… I felt a little awkward… maybe even out of place.
The gentleman behind the counter was friendly but not warm. Does that make sense? I told him that it was my first visit and he gave me a caramel free of charge because «this is why people come here». The caramel is delicious — buttery with a bit of salt flavor. It cost 95 cents for a small tootsie roll size. Sure, it was good. Good enough for me to come back? Nah.
I guess the macarons are the other main draw here. I’m the one idiot who visited Boule and didn’t try one. I have, however, tried the ones at Hotcakes and La Provence and I’m just not a fan of the macaron.
I did buy a chocolate (vanilla madascar). Haven’t tried it yet… for $ 2.95, I may just wait for my birthday in December. :o)
I love cakes and bread-​y desserts. Unfortunately, I think I came to the wrong place…

My bf and I went here after having lunch at Phobulous.
OMG. so this place is like gorgeous. All these pretty macaroons in different colors and flavors.
He asked me what I wanted and I said I didnt know. So, he said, We’ll take 3 of each. WHAT?! I looked at him shocked.
$ 95 later, we leave the store. We still have 3 boxes left. but we did share with his friend.
Hmm… my faves so far are the vanilla and the pink one. Not sure what flavor it was. Not fond of the coffee one at all.
Next time I come back, I’ll try to restrain the sweet tooth monster.

I should start by saying that before going to Boule Atelier today, I was a macaroon hater. But! Since I knew they sold chocolate and gelatos, I figured I would surely find something else to order.
Well, I was lured by those macaroons behind the case, and ended up trying the one called «apple pie» because, well, I like apple pie…
It was fantastic! I must say, I was tempted to order another one, but then the desserts caught my eye.
I ended up getting the asian pear chocolate «cake» which was quite excellent!
Oh, and I also had one of the «jellies» that was «piña colada» flavored, and now I want to go back and try all the other flavors!
Overall, visiting Boule (at their new location a few doors down from the old one) was a nice experience! The guy helping me had a great attitude and was very helpful!
I will surely be back!

Lavendar macaron. Rose macaron. Pistachio macaron. Honey gelato. I’m in heaven. Money well-​wasted!
JONASAPPROVED!

Dear Boule,
Every time I visit your beautifully decorated shoppe, you deliver. The macarons are among the best of the best, and you always offer me new and exciting flavor options. The chocolates are purely divine. The coconut macaroon was a surprisingly crunchy little treat… and don’t even get me started on how amazing that honey ice cream was!!! I will continue to bring friends and new faces to your interiors, and my waistline will forever hate you for it.
Thanks for the deliciousity.

5 big red stars for a carb lover’s paradise!
Fig and Walnut bread!!! F yeah! Salted Caramel macaroons!!! Totally!
Pricey? Yes!
I am soooo all over it!

After reading up so many reviews and how it’s compared to Paulette’s macaroons. I’ve decided to pay Boule a visit today. They have just moved from 420 North La Cienega Blvd to 408, a couple doors down (Sprinkles will open up their new shop 2 shops north of 420 North La Cienega).
As expected, I was greeted with a welcome right when I walked in. Their chocolate selection was beautiful as if I’ve went in to shop for jewelry for my girlfriend.
The clerk kindly told me about their current top three best selling chocolates.
1) Lili: Passionfruit-​ivoire
2) Geisha: (Jammy raisin-​ish white chocolate) with shades of purple decorated to depict a geisha in her kimono (I assume).
3) Brittany: Fleur de sel caramel
So I picked up the top two (
) as well as two of each of their holiday macaroons, the cranberry macaroon with cranberry jam and spearmint macaroon with chocolate filling, then on top of those, L’oeil de tigre. That’s a hazelnut bread with chocolate ganache in the middle (I think.
)
Macaroons are decent but not as good as Paulette’s. I like the spearmint with chocolate one, yet the cranberry macaroon was a tad jammy. They’re not bad for $ 1.25 a piece.
The geisha was pretty but a tad too jammy and I didn’t dig it too much. I did like the white chocolate layer. However, I did enjoy lili very much. It was indeed very delicious, a great treat. For the ones that I don’t like as much it’s definitely not worth the $ 2.50 a pop.
Then finally there was the tiger’s eye. I thought it was so so. The chocolate part was the best part, the rest of the pastry was a bit dry and bland to me as it could be a tad sweeter but not sweeter than the chocolate.
Judging by how my items tasted and the over all experience, I’d give them 3.25 stars. Macaroons were definitely just not as good as Paulette’s, chocolate might just be overpriced even though I might go back for the lili if I crave for it and their patisseries were just so-​so (at least for the tiger’s eye).
After seeing so many 5 star ratings, I think I anticipated it to be much better than how it really is. I might go back for other chocolate if the mood is right. I do recommend their lili for sure.

The macaroons here are very, very close to the top patisseries in Paris.
We had passion fruit, meyer lemon and raspberry. All had huge fruit flavor. They are expensive but to get that level of flavor you have to add a lot of ripe fruit which is costly.
I had a taste of 3 of the chocolates and these were also very good. Not quite Maison de Chocolate but that is an unfair standard. They were very good and I would buy them again.
This place is really expensive so unless you are really a chocolate expert go elsewhere (if you like Godiva’s or See’s, for example).
I did not try the pastries but hope to come back and do so. A good place to stop when visiting LACMA.
Service was excellent — this guy waited on us for 10 minutes while my 3 kids picked their chocolates (yes we do spoil them occasionally).

Cute lil Patisserie with beautiful decadent desserts. My fave macarons, and tasty sorbets and ice creams with creative flavors.
a wide assortment of gourmet chocolates, mini cakes and fruit tarts, each created with a lot of attention to details and styling.
Definitely stop by here if you are in LA or on the way to Vito’s Pizza! :D

I came back to the new & improved Boule Atelier at their new location. I ordered the Meyer Lemon Tart which was only OK but absolutely paled in comparison to Tartine of SF’s lemon tart from heaven… Boule’s tart was too much crust and not enough lemon curd or meringue.
The Caramel macaroon with sea salt made up for it though… :)
The guy behind the counter said eating one would «change your life» and I almost believed him as the macaroon melted in my mouth with the airy texture of the shell and thick buttery caramel middle and tiny nuggets of salty goodness in the fleur de sel blended in texture and flavor together.
I also had a bite of my friend’s Boule Cake which was an intense dark chocolatey cake with chocolate mousse, a cherry jam, and hints of early grey tea. If you’re in the mood for a rich dark chocolate dessert, then this is it! I especially love the iridescent dusting on the decorative chocolate piece. The crispy layer on the bottom was a nice added texture.
I also had a bite of my friend’s passion fruit mousse cake which featured a mysterious paste in the middle we couldn’t identify. It wasn’t bad but I’ve had passion fruit mousse pastries at Asian places such as JJ’s or Sheng Kee or Kee Wah that were better.
Last but not least I had one of their famous caramel candies in which they brag Oprah Winfrey said it was the best caramel EVER. It was indeed as delicious as I had hoped and the flavor was not unlike the caramel macaroon.
If I were to return, I would stick to the macaroons and get more of the caramels. Pricey… but worth it as a treat.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
everything is indeed as tasty as it is pretty.
and everything indeed will cost you a pretty penny!
but if you have a sweet tooth like me… it’s ok to treat it out every once in a awhile… ;) and this is quite a nice treat!
be forewarned… the mysterious LA parking meter maids whom you never see but somehow get to your car the second a meter expires or for the 5 minutes you parked in the wrong place… they must have sweet tooths too…
(hmm…this is my 2^nd Unilocal review confessing a parking ticket for the sake of food… am i a full fledged professional glutton?!?)

Delectable chocolate shop on La Cienega in West Hollywood. Beautiful, elegant packaging. There is no more perfect shade of blue than I can imagine.
Not only do they have a wonderful variety of chocolates and truffles of the highest quality, they also have ice cream, fruit pates, and French macaroons (similar to those at Miette in San Francisco). For that reason, it is one-​stop shopping for when you want to feel like Marie Antoinette or the Sugar Plum fairy for a day.
I was there last May and bought a box of chocolates, some fruit pates, and sampled the goat’s cheese ice cream — incredible. The staff was very friendly (I had a «moment» with an especially enthusiastic salesperson in which we were convinced that we knew each other — yes, in my Chocolate Dreams!!) Next time I am in LA, you can bet that one of my first stops will be at Boule.
Flying back to SF that weekend, and opening up the box of Boule chocolates to share with my friend on the plane — well, you would never know that we weren’t in First Class. Yes, that good.