La Boulange de Union

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.

Time to put this one out of its misery. It has gone downhill steadily over the years. It’s dirty, the service is atrocious and disorganized, the kitchen staff think nothing of wearing filthy aprons, and the food selection has decreased since Starbucks bought it.
They’re closing in 10 days and it’s obvious they just don’t care anymore. But still, today’s experience was pretty shitty.
A friend told me they didn’t open at all yesterday because not enough people showed up for work. They’ve already cut back their hours, closing at 4 on weekdays instead of at 7. I showed up at 3:50 to get an iced mocha to go… got in line behind a young woman who said she only had 30 minutes for lunch (she works in a nearby boutique) and despite there being five people milling around behind the counter, only one person was actually serving customers. Three foreign-​speaking tourists who were having trouble ordering.
At 3:57 the girl in front of me finally got to order, and she asked for a sandwich. The young Asian woman who I know from a previous visit is the manager, announced to her cheerfully that they weren’t serving food anymore. This poor girl had spent half her lunch hour standing in line to get food — mind you she arrived several minutes before I did, which means she got there 15 minutes before closing — but they let her wait in line for 15 minutes before telling her they wouldn’t fix her a sandwich.
How does this make sense?
She put back her coke and left.
I got mad and said to the manager «you should be serving EVERYBODY who is in line by 4:00 pm» — and she said it wasn’t up to her, it was up to the «kitchen.» By «kitchen» do you mean the fat woman in the filthy apron who is making sandwiches? Seriously?
If you have to teach a café manager that they shouldn’t be turning away customers who arrive 15 minutes before closing and have waited in line for a really long time… let’s just say, when La Boulange closes I hope that «manager» doesn’t get another job in retail because she’s not suited to it.
Oh, and then I ducked into the bathroom but couldn’t use it because there was no toilet paper. So I told the «manager» that they had no toilet paper. Did she say «let me get you some?» no, she said «thanks for letting me know, ma’am.»
I hope Pascal Rigo takes over this location and opens another continental style bakery/​café — but one with much higher standards of cleanliness and service. And better staff.

Horribly sad that Starbucks is closing la Boulange!!! Addicted to their mini sandwiches! Edwin has always been super helpful with my large client orders!

So glad to finally have tried this place. After picking up my marathon BIB, I stopped by for a quick bite.
Food was ok. I expected better. Decent for the price.

Mmmm. I had the open-​faced tuna melt and it was DELICIOUS albeit it a little heavy. Also, the strawberry lemonade was fresh and had real strawberries in it! The option of a cous-​cous (spelling?) side salad, although I hate bell peppers and do not like the fact that it has those in it.
The location is cute, right off the Marina and they have lots of yummy looking options. As everything else in the Marina, it is overpriced a bit, but not too bad. I spent $ 15 on my little meal.
The bearded guy with the cool hair curl was really pleasant, but the rest of the staff was a little rude. Maybe it was just a bad day.
Overall, I will be back!

This place was great, and I would come here again! Let break it down.
Pros:
— Delicious food. Got an opened faced sandwich with chicken and apple-​onion butter… the spread was AMAZING. I wish there could have been a way to purchase that spread alone because it’s definitely something I would have checked my baggage for.
— Lot of areas for seating.
— Lovely desserts
— Wonderful area
— Delicious spreads and unlimited Nutella…
Cons:
— Delicious food, but the smoked salmon open-​faced was a bit salty. It did not help that the accompanying salad was very vinegar-​y and sour. Wish there was more cream cheese to balance out the flavors.
— Seating is somewhat cramped

Outdoor Tables placed too close for comfort. Cant have a normal conversation like that!
Grabbed some channels and muffin Lemon while walking down and shopping at union street shops.

Went here this morning for breakfast. The egg and cheese sandwich was ok. I added salmon and it was overly salty. My boyfriend asked if avocado came with it and the girl said yes not making it clear that he was choosing avocado over any kind of meat. I got the soy matcha tea latte and it was good but not great.
BUT, the chocolate hazelnut croissant was AMAZING! Get it warmed up. It oozed out of the croissant and was absolutely delicious. You will not regret it! Wouldn’t mind returning to try some other things they offer.

Didn’t take long to find this spot, it sticks out like Oscar Wilde would at Woodstock — it’s what they all just tryin’a be. A five minute walk along Union Street past the quintessentially San Franciscan, over-​priced, over-​hyped storefronts, sub-​par cafés, bought-​out diners gone franchise, and «ateliers» of cuisine (I just acid refluxed, chunky style), and I just fazed it all until I saw La Boulange. I knew immediately if I were to end up paying too much to eat around here anyway, at least this would satisfy and stick to my ribs for a few hours longer than the competition’s fare likely might. So it’s still a choice of lesser evils, but I gotta tell you what: it’s damn good.
One star is gone only for minor, improbable ‘imperfractions’:
* they never bring me silverware. Why bring my food to my table if j gotta get up and get my fork? Its getting cold and someone might lick my food.
* No wifi? Is that part of the french ambiance? :-P

I stopped here for breakfast on my last morning in San Francisco and it was delightful! I had an almond croissant warmed and a large hazelnut latte. The croissant was delicious and the perfect quick breakfast. The large coffee was like a large soup bowl of coffee… sounds like a dream come true but to be honest it was too much and I wished I’d gotten the small. This latte was made with their hazelnut spread so it was super sweet and super nutty. (Coming from someone who really likes hazelnut– I thought this was a little too much. Like eating a spoonful of Nutella) But I would definitely go back and order another specialty coffee. The service was kind and efficient and it was a great spot to sit for a few minutes and people watch.

Love this location of many La Boulange stores in San Francisco. Yummy food and polite staff, who always clean up the tables and refill the water/​sugar area, which is important. Outside seatings are perfect for watching people with their dogs while sipping on your favorite drink with uhhmazing almond croissant!!!

Amazing! A great place for brunch. There was a wide selection of food and drink options, plentiful seating indoors and outdoors, and the staff were friendly. This place was exactly what I was looking for — fast yet tasty brunch with good coffee. They serve their large coffees in bowls, which is cool!

This place is exactly what can go wrong when a large corporate chain purchases what used to be a successful SF based small business. My 2 stars are based on last handful of experiences with La Boulanges after the Starbucks acquisition, but I’d like to start this review by writing about my experiences pre Starbucks — I used to love coming to this place, not only this one but the one on Polk street as well. I’ve been going to La Boulange since they opened their first store on Steiner back in the early 2000’s. I love this place and it always met or exceeded my expectations. When I was unemployed I’d come here for a coffee almost daily and got to the know the staff and I loved loved loved it. The food was spot on, this was my meeting place for friends and business and there was never a time I walked away disappointed — never. I wish I’d written a review back then I would have given 5 stars.
So now, post Starbucks — the friendliness has gone, the food is blah… no, very blah and the service sucks. They run out of every single condiment all the time. The silverware is never washed timely. The tables aren’t wiped down and the food is very blah. I want to make that point clear,
Don’t get me wrong I also love Starbucks. I believe in their business model so much so that they were one of the first stocks I ever purchased. But you can’t be all things to all people. You have good coffee shops, stick with what you do best, as going beyond coffee and a pastry hasn’t being going so well.

I can’t say that this place satisfies my 4-​star range since it is so touristy, and so chain and so … all kinds of things that I generally don’t find appealing.
However, I have to say they have a small enough café that it is cozy, some limited outdoor seating, and awkward tables so you can get a rest after a long day of tourism with your family /​friends /​whoever is in town.
They serve these gigantic lattes in soup bowls. Yeah you heard right, they are quite literally in … a soup bowl. Or the kind of bowl you’d eat ramen out of. I guess that’s great value for your money? Or … great gobs of caffeine for your dollar :)
Recommended if you want to grab a quick snack, or try out the soup bowl coffee … but outside of that there are definitely better places to get food.

How the hell did I miss seeing their macarons? I love, love, love macarons but didn’t see any when I had lunch there!
I stopped here while doing a walk through San Francisco. I don’t remember the name of the sandwich but it was good. I think turkey and avocado? Ambiance of the place is nothing to remember… Crowded and loud. But so what, I just wanted to eat my sammich and go. The wait was reasonable (5 – 10 minutes) and the price was good ($ 9) for the sammich. I’d definitely try other Boulanges in the future. And I’d keep my eyes peeled for the macarons next time. Bummer I missed those as I eat ‘em all the time here in Europe

Great café on union street. Stayed close by for a week and instantly became a regular.
Service and product were consistent a great. It’s a gem in this street and should not be missed.

Great location! Lots of seating inside and some considerable seating outside so that you can usually find a spot to sit, alone and in groups I’ve always been able to find a place.
I’ve never not been able to order something due to it being «out of stock» like in other locations, and the quality of the food is great (all quiches, salmon open faced sandwich, and café au lait are my go-​tos).
Not a big fan of the boulange potatoes, I would opt for their field greens, they are dressed lightly and really fresh.
I will agree about the service time, we’ve had to wait ~15 — 20 minutes for food before when it wasn’t busy at all, so I can see the wait times getting even longer during peak hours… which may be a little too long for just a quick coffee shop, as this isn’t like a real sit-​down type restaurant where that wait time can fly.
(Still better than starbucks, #justsayin)

I had such a disappointing experience here this weekend. I know La Boulange is a cookie cutter chain but I’ve always had a positive experience there.
That said– I think have gone down hill since Starbucks bought them.
We ordered our food and still hadnt got it in 30 minutes. The manager was very nice and gave us macaroons to munch on while we waited it still took another 15 minutes. This is not food that is worth a 45 minute wait.
They weren’t overly busy at all but there seemed to be a lot of chaos and miscommunication among the staff. I saw multiple people complaining.

I was very excited to visit as I’m a Starbucks partner and we serve La Boulange in our stores. The experience was better than I could’ve imagined. The employee was friendly, helpful and didn’t rush us as we
Made our decisions. The pastries are to die for and lunch was equally amazing! I highly recommend it!

I thought this place was very cute. I loved how clean it was in the inside. I’ve been to many La Boulanges around the city and they are all pretty much the same. The people here were really nice.
I ended up having a nonfat hot chocolate without whipped cream which tasted just the right sweetness. I enjoyed the warmth walking down cold, rainy Union street. I definitely would like to come back, especially since I would be shadowing the physician across the street.