La Boulange

So I am slow to post my reviews. Who knew this place would close a few weeks after our visit. It was a nice place to grab a quick breakfast and much cheaper than the café in the hotel we were staying at. I knew it was owned by Starbucks, but their drinks and pastries were so much better. I had the café mocha which was very yummy and chocolate croissant, very good. It was conveniently located across from the Marriott, which is where we stayed. It was also next to the park which made it a nice location. At least I got to try it before it closed.

If you want to try one thing here, it’s going to be the French toast. It was beyond delicious. I’ve never tasted French Toast so heavenly before.
It’s soft, gooey, and rich in flavor/​texture.
The macarons were average.

Dear Starbucks:
La Boulange was always such a wonderful place to go – delicious pastries, hot chocolate in a bowl, kind and attentive workers, lovely free samples, great prices in an otherwise offensively expensive city, and food I loved to eat in or take out on city strolls or picnics.
Then YOU bought it. Within a few years you managed to desperately f*** it up. I don’t know how you corrupted their pastries so that they tasted like burned rubber, but could you blame anyone for not wanting to buy them? Then, like a spoiled child with a toy it can’t figure out how to play with, you decided to break it and throw it away. You couldn’t strategize and change gears so as to make it work? You just decided to heave your massive corporate bulk at the place and waited until it smashed? I held out a bit of hope when speaking to the employees at Boulange, who told me you were in dialogue with the bakery’s owners and there was a chance that Boulange would survive (though it would no longer be offered at your stores). But somehow that opportunity also fell through, and now Boulanges are closed all over the city.
Starbucks, you’re a nasty corporate bully. You’re the kind of place that makes America look bad, that makes other countries shake their heads at our economic system and policies and wonder why we put up with this kind of thing and think it’s normal.
RIP, Boulange. I’ll miss you.

Whatta a line. Whatta a line. Whatta a mighty long line. After being in such a long line, one would hope for a smile or something from the clerk behind the counter. Eh, rough day for the gal with too much make-​up I suppose.
Good thing is, there’s lots in the to-​go coolers. There’s tons of indoor and outdoor seating so this place is great for working and air conditioned during the Summer. Woofta, what a hot day! Make that ICED! Puh-​Lease!
Walking out I couldn’t help but wonder, «Why does this place remind me of Starbucks so much» Oh yeah, cause they’re in cahoots together. Ah well, drink was good and pastries look like they’re worth ditching the diet. Got some strawberry Macaroon in some cute box for my boyfriend. His thoughts? «Best over priced cute cookie I’ve ever had»
That’s it folks.

This La Boulange is a newer larger store located in the Metreon complex facing the Yerba Buena Gardens. This store has indoor seating as well as patio seating.
Came in for lunch and had a Croque Monsieur — ham, Swiss, béchamel on a toasted pan de mie. It was a delicious sandwich that came with seasoned potatoes. Bread had a nice toasted crisp that encased the ham, cheese and béchamel. (
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Of course, they have an extensive selection of pastries, breads, quiche, pre-​made sandwiches and desserts as well as salads and specialty sandwiches.
As many of you know, La Boulange started in San Francisco and has expanded to many outlets in the City and in Marin, Peninsula and East Bay. In 2012, Starbucks bought out La Boulange and early this year, Starbucks announced it will close down the restaurants starting on Aug 28^th. This location is slated to close on Sept 18^th. How sad! I, as well as many others will miss La Boulange.

Really enjoyed my breakfast at La Boulange, so much I came again the next day for lunch! The breakfast line was LONG, the vmworld conference contributed greatly to that (I was an attendee too). The staff was super friendly and did their best to get everyone’s orders out and the line moving. For breakfast I ordered the turkey egg & cheese croissant with a caramel latte, amazing! So filling, caffeine boosting, and very reasonably priced. I don’t remember what I ordered originally for lunch. Whatever it was they were out of it, but they were very accommodating offering me fruit as a side as well as sweets to make up for their lack. I ordered the bbq chicken open face sandwich and it was very good as well. All in all I enjoyed my experience here and definitely enjoyed the location next to the park! I would totally recommend and will eat here again if I’m ever back in frisco.

Macaroons, macaroons — I love your macaroons. Sad to see you leave us in a couple of weeks.

Breakfast and coffee, good. The coffee comes in a giant bowl, which is different. There may be a reason but I’m not really sure why.
Service is quick but some of the servers were weird. There’s a long line in queue as they’re shuffling tables etc. And instead of saying «excuse me» they would stomp on the floor until you noticed. Haha. Not really sure what that was all about. Just thought that was funny!

I love La Boulange’s mini sandwiches. Since I wasn’t super hungry, I decided to grab lunch on Thursday, July 30^th at 2:30pm to bring back to the office.
My go to is the Turkey cheddar pesto sandwich ($ 3.75). The bread has a nice chew, a good amount of pesto and a nice combination of flavors from the turkey, cheddar and romaine. The sandwich is in their food case, so just get in line and ask the person manning the cases for the sandwich. They always offer to heat it up, but I like it room temperature.
Location wise, they have both indoor and outdoor seating with a view of Yerba Buena Gardens. I’ve never actually eaten at this location, but it’s one of the nicer La Boulanges I’ve been to.
I love cornichons, so I adore their little condiment bar. I just wish they had containers to take some of the pickles with you as I ended up wrapping some in napkins to take to go.
I never realized this, but I can used my Starbucks gift cards at La Boulange. Since I get so many as gifts at work, this is great! Free lunch! I’m sad knowing all the La Boulanges will be closing soon. I guess that means I have to come by more often and get my fill of mini sandwiches.

This place is absolutely wonderful. It has a very laid back homey feel to the place. I came but here today waiting for my friends to arrive for a movie. It was near the end of the day, so a lot of the food items in the case were gone, but the ladies behind the counter were super sweet. I ended up getting a French Hot Dog and a small hot chocolate. The hot dog was delicious. It was nice and warm and the flakiness of the bread was just great. The hot chocolate was delicious as well it as served in a nice big cup. I sat down and ate and drank my food in peace. I understand they’re closing all the La Boulange’s down in the city, but boy do I hope they don’t because I will definitely visit this spot again soon!

Sehr schad. Das ist ein Beitrag der wohl nur noch bedingt helfen kann. La Boulange ist teil der Starbucks Kette und wird zeitnah geschlossen werden.
Aber wer bis dahin noch die Chance hat, sollte sich definitiv mal ein paar Minuten hier gönnen. Die Croissants sind fast wie in Frankreich, die kleinen Törtchen sehen absolut spitze aus und das Omelette kann auch was.
Die Sitzplätze im Freien direkt neben dem Convention Centre haben großtstadtflair und laden zum Verweilen ein. Ich sage es mal so hart wie ich darüber nachdenke, jetzt macht Starbucks tatsächlich das einzig vernünftige Konzept zu ;-)
Naja, ich sehe euch hoffentlich bald wieder, vielleicht überlegt man sich das ja noch einmal. Auch wenn ich gestehen muss, der Laden war riesig und es war effektiv nichts los. TBC

Interesting store, I’ve heard a lot about La Boulange and finally got to try their food. The store wasn’t that great, the wooden floor boards were warped and kept moving upward, pretty ghetto to be honest as far as presentation of the store. Workers were fast but a bit flustered.
I got one of their pastries while I was waiting in line elsewhere to kill time and it tasted very fresh like they were baked the morning of. I enjoyed it!

This location of La Boulange is pretty much my go-​to spot for meeting people and also grabbing a quick bite before a movie at Metreon. The patio is nice since it provides a nice open view of Yerba Buena Gardens.
The food here is okay. I’ve had a fair share of their open faced sandwiches and also their Mac & Cheese. The portions are decent and enough to satisfy your hunger.
Wild Mushroom Mac & Cheese —
Shrimp Tartine —
Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Open Faced Sandwich –
Overall, this location of La Boulange is decent for any meal during the day for breakfast, lunch, and even an early dinner. It’s really too bad to hear that Starbucks is closing down all La Boulange locations in the bay area. I’m definitely going to miss this location because it adds that little bit of a Paris touch to this corner of The Metreon. I hope whatever replaces it captures that same feel.

FOOD:
I love the pastries here! Come here for the almond croissant, the sugar brioche and the croque madame! I love the lattes, especially the green tea latte.
SERVICE:
Everyone is nice here and its like a self serve kind of place.
TIPS:
Come early for the fresh pastries
WOULD I RECOMMEND IT?
Yes

You’re really going to charge me $ 10 for a sandwich an 8 year old can put together? The la boulange club sandwich was very disappointing
— 3 slices of white bread
— processed chicken (those perfectly round slices of meat)
— avocado
— lettuce
— tomatoes (I think)
— garlic aioli spread that I wasn’t able to taste. Was it even there?
— a skimpy side salad with probably 10 pieces of mixed greens (no toppings)
Really now? $ 10 for that? I feel robbed!
The sandwich really felt like something my 8 year old cousin can easily throw together with no help.
Since this place had such good reviews, I gave it a second try and ordered a salad on another occasion — freaking $ 12 a salad for something the size of an appetizer and didn’t taste anything amazing. I can go to mixt greens and get something for that price for probably 3x the amount of salad and it’ll taste way better.
I’m starting to think this place is charging what they charge because their name sounds French so they think they can add a premium to their price because of that. The price of their food definitely does not reflect the quality.
Next time I want a salad I’m definitely going to mixt greens, and if I want a sandwich, subway is way better than this.
Take your money somewhere else.

Vanilla Bean Latte. Nom! This is a busy location in Yerba Buena and gets a ton of foot traffic from Moscone conventions. Luckily, I was staying across the street and walked down for my morning cup of Joe. Huge fan of their lattes, but the Vanilla Bean is their specialty. Not heavy or rich, just right — even with nonfat milk!
I recommend their Almond Croissant and Red Velvet Macarons!

Bad service, long wait, bad food, lots of birds, unhappy camper.
Came here for brunch on a Saturday. Waited 20 minutes in line and an additional 45 minutes for food. I ordered an omelette, which was a huge mistake. The peasant bread was dry and flaky. They ran out of mushrooms that day, so it was only ham and spinach which still took 45 minutes to whip up.
If you have a bird phobia like my friend, this is also not the place to be. Lots of bird poop left uncleaned on the outside tables, and birds flying into the restaurant.

Pastries? cheese Danish and croissant oh heck yes please!!! And yes it’s a Pastry that you can get from Starbucks. It’s from la bouilange pastry. That’s my craziness that I never can’t get enough of it.
This place is a pastries galore where you can get fruit tarts, cheese Danish, croissants & even macaroons or granola with fresh fruits & sandwiches.
First came of course I’ve to check for the cheese Danish and here they were.
Ordered to go some cheese Danish and of course the chocolate croissant.
I have always like la bouilange pastries (cheese Danish from Starbucks in my local town because we don’t have the la bouilange pastry shop here) and nothing can go wrong so yes the cheese Danish was sooooo yummy, cheesey and the croissant flakes was perfect, the filling was full, not like cheap chocolate croissant that you can get from some local groceries.
Service was friendly, the prices were good so worth it. Full belly comfortable pocket.
My one fav place in SF and a must go place for me for some pastry.

Popped in for a pastry and hot chocolate on a cold San Francisco morning. Line was to the door and not moving too quickly. Took me a good 15 mins to get to the front, 5 people in.
I got a orange morning bun, chocolate hazelnut croissant, and hot chocolate. Everything was really yummy. Orange morning bun was just sweet enough, but not so much to give you a sugar crash, with the perfect hints of orange. The chocolate hazelnut croissant was different than I expected, similar to a standard pain au chocolat, but with a hazelnut spread on top, and a similar spread, but in goo form inside. Sounds weird, and it kind of was, but holy moly it was amazing! Flaky and light and sweet (really sweet — better for a treat than breakfast) and like nothing I’ve ever had.
Hot chocolate was creamy and rich and not sickeningly sweet like other places.
Price point was great — 3 items for under $ 10. Great for a grab and go breakfast.

I found this place kind of on accident. I was in Yerba Buena Park when I came across this lovely café, which has a nice view to the park. It has all glass walls on one side. My friends had some of the food, which looked really good. I tried the thin bread with grilled veggies on top. They have a lot of healthy options. I didn’t know this was a chain initially, but apparently they bake for Starbucks!

Amor à primeira mordida. E à segunda mordida também.
A rede de San Francisco que dominou o coração da maior rede de cafés do mundo, Starbucks, tem o seu coração ali no centro perto do distrito financeiro da cidade, no parque de Yerba Buena e do lado do Metreon.
Somente indo e experimentando para saber a qualidade dos pães e outras coisas que eles vendem por ali. Os produtos tem sabor, tem gosto de verdade, tem saúde — alguns.
Eu fiquei encantando ainda mais com a decoração desta loja com luzinhas e com a visão para a praça que é simplesmente encantadora. Não sabia se era para ir sozinho tomar um belo café da manhã ou levar alguém junto pois o lugar chega a ser romântico até, confesso.
Super aconselho e quero voltar com certeza.
Dica do dia: Aceitam cartão do Starbucks porém não rola Starbucks Rewards, ou pelo menos pra mim não entrou.

Your girl only knows about the La Boulange in your friendly neighborhood Starbucks. I actually haven’t been to the actual shop until now.
I’m in love with the cutesy down-​to-​earth layout of the restaurant. It almost looked like a slice of France whenever you walk into the door. I happened to have a little more room for dessert after I devouring myself into a burger a few restaurants down from La Boulange. Anyways, the staff was very pleasant and patient when I asked a lot of questions about their bakery items; however, my goal was to buy macarons for the little girl.
I ordered the seven macarons box deal for $ 12.50. I chose three pistachios, one vanilla, one red velvet, one coffee, and one chocolate. However, if you want to order them individually they’re about $ 1.85. Most of the macarons were pretty good, but some are little sweeter than others. However, the outer shell and filling was a little too dense for me to handle. I would have to say my standout flavor was the red velvet one. The filling was light and the outer shell flavor wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet.
Overall, I like this cute little restaurant. I’ll be back to give it another chance with more of their bakery items and sandwiches one day!

La Boulange.ça sonne plutôt bien non pour une chaîné de salon de thé/​café made in USA ! Et il n’y a pas que le nom qui est chouette. Chaîné créée à San Francisco, elle s’inspire du savoir-​faire français (où le fondateur a fait ses armes), rien que ça. Pari réussi puisque mes 2 pains au chocolat étaient à tomber… le petit détail qui tue: chez moi en Belgique, j’ai l’habitude de les réchauffer au micro-​onde quelques secondes pour les rendre moelleuses… et bien ici ils te le propose au comptoir, canon !
Niveau cadre, c’est propret et simple… j’aime l’énorme comptoir/​vitrine qui te fais déjà saliver alors que tu fais la file… on mange d’abord avec les yeux comme on dit ! Bien vu ;) Parfait pour un petit-​déjeuner (il était 7h30 ce matin), mais aussi en mode brunch, avec bacon & eggs etc.
Vraiment bon et efficace… try it !

La Boulange es una marca de coffee shops local de San Francisco muy querida por los San Franciscanos, y con razón! Esta cafeteria ofrece menus para desayunar, comer y meriendar, en sitio o para llevar. Es también una panadería. Todo tiene muy buena pinta. Las pastelerias son dignos de un chef francés (el dueño ha estudiado en Francia). He probado el «rasperry financier» y un cookie de chocolate con una cáscara de jengibre (creo). Exquisitos. La carta se inspira de la comida que se ofrece en Francia en los cafes y brasseries, y de lo mejor de las especialidades Californianas. Se ve una propuesta culinaria rafinada y muy bien presentada. Ha tenido tanto éxito que Starbucks compró la marca hace unos meses. A ver como evoluciona.
En este local, el color naranja predomina. Hay muchas mesas. También, hay una terraza sobre la esplanada, al lado del Yerba Buena Park.
Es un sitio ideal para hacer una parada durante tus compras downtown San Francisco para comer sano, bueno y rapidito al sabor local.
P. S.: no hay conexión Internet

Je recommande cet endroit que ce soit pour un petit déjeuner avant d’aller visiter le MOMA ou un lunch léger après.
Ils ont une terrasse agréable, le service est sympa et surtout il y a tout ce qu’il faut pour se faire plaisir ET un wifi gratuit.
Donc après c’est pas exceptionnel non plus mais ça à l’avantage d’être pratique et agréable.