Nothing is bad, but at the same time, neither the breads nor the pastries are exceptional, so an "A-OK" describes Thevenin pretty accurately in my view.
Baguette tradition was very good, with a nice flavorful crust and a nice airy interior (definitely ask for one bien cuite). On the other hand I was not a fan of the baguette aux cereales - the disappointing crust lacked that same crunch and the inside was too dense, too pasty, and in the end I didn't even want to finish it. As for pâtisseries, I tried:
"Granny" (4.20€): apple streusel base, a ball of green apple-flavored crème, apple macaron on top. Brilliant design and presentation, but the flavors weren't terrific. I think the best part was the chewy, slightly tart macaron. The crème (don't know the proper word for it, not traditional pastry crème but a gelatin-based one) was somewhat flavorless. The streusel base was tasty but a bit too hard to the extent I couldn't cut through it with a spoon. Overall more a novelty than anything else.
"Nuance" (4.00€): mixed berry mousse with a crumbly chocolate biscuit center. Again, beautiful presentation. The mousse was on point, not too thin nor too gelatinous, not too sweet, plenty of tart berry flavors, and the chocolate biscuit added some nice textural contrast. Not the most inventive or exciting, but tasty, refreshing, and light.
Paris-Brest (3.50€): instead of sandwiching the praliné between a ring-shaped pâte à choux, Thevenin pipes it into a classic cream puff. The pâte praliné was tasty with a decent amount of hazelnut flavor, but a bit too thick/rich and quite a bit too sweet, the chou was excellent.
Religieuse Mandarine (3.60€): pretty unmemorable, the presentation wasn't nearly as beautiful as the three pastries above, and the choux pastry was slightly soggy. The orange cream was fine, also a bit sweet, and could have used more orange flavor to balance out the sweetness.
Unlike some of the French reviewers stated, I had no problems with rude service. Decent neighborhood bakery, but choose carefully. read more