Le Pain Quotidien – Wildwood

I have been to Le Pain in Bethesda about 9 times over the past year and each time I’ve dined, I’ve hoped for a better experience but alas the weekend of Jan 17^th was the last straw!
Everything has gone wrong here, from ridiculous wait times, to bratty noisy unruly children, dirty dishes, dirty tables, slow wait staff, improperly cooked food and worst of all nasty little gnats flying all around in the wintertime mind you trying to land on your food and then landing all on the walls of the restaurant, almost made me want to puke!
I think they need to close this location, clean and sanitize it thoroughly and hire an entire new wait staff and properly train them, in order to reestablish the level of quality service the other LePain locations exhibit. As I have no intention of coming back.

Good place for lunch. Its a little too tight in there but they made it work. Food presentation is excellent. It’s a little on the pricier side for lunch but they won’t disappoint you with the taste. When I say pricier side, I mean food portions were smaller than expected for the price. Their pastries look good, I have yet to try them! Would go back again when I’m wanting to feel fancy. =]

The food and service here are consistent, if nothing else. I like coming to the various locations of this chain because it’s a nice atmosphere to do work in and no one is ever very adamantly glaring at me to leave after a couple hours. Now that I think about it, I wonder if that’s why my service has always been so spotty… Anyway, in my experience here and at other locations, all the servers have always been hard to wave down. They’re there when you don’t need ‘em, nowhere when you do. The ones here specifically are not very cheerful (except one guy I see all the time who is all smiles, but he’s the exception).
Food-​wise, the important part, everything is ok. I’ve never taken a bite and swooned, but for what it is everything is– ok. Salads, sandwiches, open-​faced «tartines», they’re all fine and again, I’m there more for the atmosphere and drinks than the food. A good thing is that breakfast is served all day, which is a huge plus in my book, and the pastries that they serve and are known for are definitely worth it.
All in all, I’d recommend this spot for coffee/​tea and pastries, mainly. If you do want a bite to eat, be warned that it is PRICEY and you will maybe think it was worth it. If you’re gonna be there awhile though, for that free wi-​fi, it’s a good deal.

Great GF scone when available and their Lattes blow Starbucks away, not even close.

Excelente lugar para compartir momentos de alegría en familia. Ideal para desayunar. Se percibe su aire belga/​Frances.
Lo recomendamos…
Alrededor de un café, solo se hacen amigos!
Comparable a Macondo Coffee Roasters en Miami

Very high priced for breakfast. I had a ham and cheese omelet with coffee. It was $ 17 plus tip. No free refills on the coffee. You get a small pot. The atmosphere is nice and the service is nice but $ 20 for 2 eggs and one slice of ham and one slice of cheese plus coffee is crazy. Especially when it is down the block from Starbucks where you can get a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich for $ 4

The service at this location is awful. I’ve had multiple bad experiences here. Today it took 30 minutes to get my food. This is after waiting 10 minutes to receive a menu. People that sat and ordered after me began getting there food before me. The waitress noticed my frustration, went to the kitchen, then came to ask me what I ordered. She quickly returned with my food that seemed to have been sitting awhile. The omelette that I always order was half the size it normally is. Very disappointed and still quite hungry.

They make the best cappuccino ;)

I couldn’t get served. No matter how hard I tried, they would not take my money! After about 10 minutes of asking and waiting, I cut my losses and went across the street to Not Your Average Joes. Now that was a good meal. Thanks I guess.

We had the specials today– a cup of flavorless chickpea soup and a rubbery butternut squash frittata. I also ordered a seasonal salad with my soup that amounted to a small (skimpy) plate of spring greens and a ribbon of carrot without dressing. When I told the waiter that my salad wasn’t dressed, he said I had to order dressing separately. My friend’s frittata was served with same lettuce without dressing and a small side of plain yogurt. I don’t understand that combo. Where was she supposed to use the yogurt? Such a disappointing experience at such a price point. $ 26 before tip.
The Georgetown and DuPont Circle locations are superb by comparison.

I’m absolutely in love with their organic steel cut oatmeal with the bananas, walnuts and maple syrup. The Avocado Toast is delish also. Great morning spot to fuel up for the day.

I went for lunch on a busy day, last week. There was only one waiter. We sat down right away, but the service was terrible. We had to track down the waiter to order, and even to pay our bills. He was pleasant enough, but it took us almost two hours for a «quick lunch.» He told us that someone called in sick. I get that, but also, he was not able to check on more than one table at a time, and from start to finish, it was frustratingly slow, with no apologies. Many people complained about the service, and some were even joking that if you are in a hurry, the service is consistently slow.
The food was decent. I had yummy carrot soup and a kale salad. I think that it is over-​priced, though, and I not likely to return. The bread is good. Ask for jam and peanut butter spread.

Great breakfast in the area. We had the tartine with prosciutto, ricotta, arugula, pear, fig, and honey. It was Avery delicious combo but I’d say needed more pear and fig. The bread it was on was very delicious! We also got the waffle with berries. It was pretty good, but seemed like a pre-​made waffle and was too sweet with the sugar chunks inside. Good café lait as well!
We got a raspberry tart to go for dessert later and it was decent… maybe not as full of flavor as I would expect. A little almond or more vanilla extract in the cream portion would go a long way.

This location is pretty decent. Neatly tucked breakfast spot in Wildwood shopping center. Took a pretty long time to get addressed by a server while waiting with my family. The manager did in fact make up for the wait by being kind and attentive. However, asking for the check and waiting ten minutes for it to be picked up is a little ridiculous. The staff seems lost and panicked by a half full place. I wonder what would happen if the place was actually full…
This place is okay if you’re in the mood for a little Frenchy… go up to Fresh Baguette in Bethesda downtown for the real deal French bakery and breakfast!

Great place. Been here 4x now and it’s really good. Both I and my like the chicken chorizo omelette. Even my 1 year old likes it!!!

Great lunch or coffee spot. Had the quiche and the meat/​cheese plate. Both were perfect. Service was a bit slow as I waited for my lunch date to arrive, but was tolerable. I’ve come a few nights after dinner in the area and desert was hit or miss.

It was my first time here for lunch. The staff was very polite and kind. I had trouble deciding what to get and they made a good recommendation. I went with it and it was delicious! I had an omelette. I would definitely recommend a friend to go here and I will definitely come back again!

At first when you walk in you don’t really understand if you need to grab the sit, or you will be seated. But it’s ok. Food is really tasty and healthy, however it could cleaner place than it is, table was sticky and I had to put napkin under my hand, so it won’t get same stickiness. Overall is good but not exciting.

Great healthy food. Causal French café feel. Lots of organic and vegan options. I had the vegan white bean soup which was wonderful! Mushroom and spinach quiche which rocked! They have tons of yummy baked goods and I plan to take a few home. Will definitely be back.

The food here is not quite as good as at the F Street location. My chicken chorizo omelette was a bit runny and bland. The mixed greens were fresh though, and I always enjoy the crusty bread with butter and jam. Oh! The mint lemonade was excellent– sure it costs as much as a small home but it was minty and tart, just the way I like it. Very refreshing!
My server Tenisha was quite sunny and pleasant, even after the lunch rush began. I also noticed the staff worked well together, i.e. alerting each other if someone had sat in their section. Nice teamwork guys!

This was an absolute delight. Warm and inviting, this restaurant feels like a neighborhood bakery and café. It specializes in organic food and beverages, and there are tons do gluten free options. The communal nature of the tables is an added fun touch that matches the butcher-​like wooden tables.
The bakery display case is gorgeous, with tons of fresh French pastries.
I ordered the gruyère and ham omelette. It was perfectly cooked and delicious. Served alongside two slices of bread and a little salad. My husband ordered the seasonal egg frittata and it was made with butternut squash and goat cheese. He really enjoyed it as well.
The highlight for me was the quinoa spelt scone served with fresh cherry jam and cream. So so good!
The kids menu was great as well. My kids both ordered the waffle with fresh strawberries. My daughter wasn’t into it but my son are his and hers. The meal came with orange juice or organic milk. Yay for organic dairy.
If we lived in this area we would almost certainly come here often. Don’t miss out on this little gem!