Pain Du Monde

Nice and clean location in a busy shopping center. The staff are very friendly and the food is good.
Been here several times and it’s always good. The reason for the 4 stars is because the soups do tend to be a bit salty.

Let me just tell ya, I went to Pain du Monde with a bad attitude. I was expecting it to be crummy, and the only reason I went there was to NOT go to Starbucks.
Pleasantly surprised! I had a regular coffee (nothing special) and a raisin scone which was actually awesome. I am a certified scone snob. All of the gals working knew the regular customers’ names and were quick, cheerful, and peppy. It was pretty hoppin’ at 9 am on a Saturday and it gets packed in that teensy little space. $ 3.75 for a coffee and an extra-​good scone, ok with me. They were out of most items by 9:30, but I heard they are going to start making sandwiches…
If you’re on the island, this is probably your best best for a pastry and a coffee, and I’m going to have to check out one of those sandwiches.

I first went to the Fashion Island location before checking this one out. Just like its Irvine sister, this bakery sells cookies and pastries crafted by the divine. It was only after nibbling on a chocolate dipped macaroon while walking near the beach was I cured of academic induced depression.

At 10:30AM on a Saturday, they were sold out of half of their items, which was disappointing because a lot of them sounded really good!
This place is not really «breads of the world» but more like «European/​American pastries». We tried the almond roll ($ 3.25), which was a huge, sinfully buttery baked goodness of flaky dough, almond paste, and crisp toasted almonds on top. I would eat this thing every day except I would have a heart attack.