Oh how I wish I could give this bakery more stars. Ever since I moved into the neighborhood I have tried the various bakeries in the area at least a dozen times each.
L'Atelier des Pain was poised to become the neighborhood star, the breads looked more interesting (e.g. cacao bread), the pastries had a more refined flair to them (e.g. violette éclaire), but each experience failed to live up to my expectations. The bread is good, but nothing spectacular, the pastries the same.
I even brought a croissant aux amandes back because the inside frangipane was raw, which is something I never usually do, but it was the second time that had happened! The owner was very sweet and replaced it with a much better galette des rois, but still, how can something like that happen -- twice?
Needless to say I rarely frequent this bakery, preferring to get my bread and viennoiseries from Crazy Cake closer to the Canal. read more