Ladurée Chez Brown Thomas

Yes, the macarons are a delicious sweet treat. Yes, they have a decent variety. Yes, the place is cute and cosy. Yes, it is worth trying them at least once. But service was not the best (they were hoovering the place while it was still open and were obstructing the entrance to customers…), and they are way too expensive for what they are.

Je né sais si nous avons raté le joli corner bien fourni en photo mais nous sommes atterris à celui situé en plein milieu du troisième étage.
Difficilement reconnaissable entre tous ces stands nous sommes finalement parvenue à la petite «boutique» Ladurée, attention rien à voir avec une petite boutique comme celle du Luxembourg ou encore celle de Londres près du Ritz.
Non ici un simple comptoir avec (pour les macarons) uniquement les parfums classiques se limitant à Rose, Citron, Pistache, Chocolat, Caramel, Frambroise, Vanille et Café.
Également déçu par la personne en charge de ce petit corner, pas du tout concernée, dommage.

I really love the macarons here but why is the staff so stuffy? They’re definitely not very nice… a little impatient… and I’ve heard them muttering under their breath impatiently when customers are gawking at the selection and haven’t decided. It might be a particular woman that I’m describing and I’m sorry if the rest of the staff are much friendlier.
For me it’s raspberry all the way! Come early though as they have a limited selection and do sell out towards the end of the day :)

The macaroons get a 4– star rating, the service gets a low 3– star rating.
The macaroons are good and what you expect from laduree. They taste the same at any laduree. The taste is neither adventurous or unique but if you have a desire for macaroons these will suit.
The coffee selections are good. They make a nice cappuccino and hot chocolate.
The service at this particular location, inside Brown Thomas, is poor. The staff are on the phone and seem annoyed when you hope to order. Even a smile would be nice.

I love macarons and I love Laduree macarons. Have loved them since the first time I tried it :-)

True story — I am addicted to Laduree macarons after trips to Paris. So when we visited Ireland two months ago I built in a day trip to Dublin for the sole purpose of scoring some delicious macs. (sad, isn’t it?)
The macarons themselves are delicious — delicate, crisp and beautiful to look at. And the flavors are to die for. They better be for the prices!
Unlike others, I had good service at this Laduree. It was crowded but they took care of my order quickly and pleasantly.

The macarons get 5 stars but the customer service at this particular branch at the time of my visit could really be improved so I’m giving this place an average of 3 stars.
First thing first, the macarons were lovely. But of course they were lovely, they’re Laduree macarons!
Now on to the service. I arrived there first with a girlfriend and we were deciding what to get. Although the lady behind the counter wasn’t attending to other customers, she didn’t ask us first what we would like. We saw a sign that said a purchase of a large drink comes with a free macaron. So we got the lady’s attention and my friend proceeded to order first and she wanted a large drink (with a free macaron). The lady told her that the drink machine is broken and they couldn’t make any drinks at that time. I thought that was weird because I just saw another employee making a drink for another customer. Maybe the machine suddenly broke within the last 30 secs? My husband arrived later and we tried our luck this time by ordering a large drink. This time the lady told us a different thing. She said that they ran out. So which story is correct? Was the machine broken or did they ran out of coffee? Note: there were still coffee beans sitting on the espresso machine. I understand that the lady behind the counter wasn’t a native English speaker so maybe she couldn’t really articulate the fact that drinks were not available for purchase anymore for the day (maybe they ran out of milk or whatever they needed to make drinks. I’ll be nice and give them the benefit of the doubt). But this being Laduree and for this Laduree branch to be located inside Brown Thomas which is a luxury departmental store, we expected that the employees they hire would be more competent and able to communicate clearly with their customers.
Interestingly, right after us came another customer who ended up complaining to the manager of Brown Thomas about the service of Laduree for that particular evening. According to him, the lady behind the counter didn’t first ask how she could help him but instead after he got her attention first, she said «What do you want?»
I did end up getting a macaron and a lunch tote from Laduree since there is no Laduree back in Chicago (sigh) but their employees should be better trained to reflect what Laduree is all about.

This outpost of Ladurée was a sheer disappointment. I approached to purchase a dozen macarons and when I wasn’t speedy enough to tell her which flavors I wanted, the young lady behind the counter openly rolled her eyes at another customer. I certainly haven’t had that experience at their other locations around the world.
To add insult to injury, the flavors were neither vibrant nor memorable.