Waiting outside restroom at back, right next to kitchen, 5 minutes. Around 1.50PM2÷16÷2016 Kitchen staff man comes out. Early 30s, Latin or Arab looking, maybe small stubble, shortish. NOTHING against either, my partner is from Peru. Why is sink DRY. I m in there 3 minutes. Why is there no hot water in the tap — after two minutes it came — so why didn’t he use it? The sign says kitchen folks to wash their hands with hot water and soap — sensible State code. i.e. he DIDNOT wash his hands ATALL. Sorry, but this is a MAJORMAJOR ick and worse. E Coli, or Salmonella anyone. I d just had the tuna and hummus, all uncooked. Major turn off. Seriously how disrespecful. Make a bad dish, but if you do nothing else wash your hands. Jeeze.
David H.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
First, the food is organic for the most part, healthy, and light. 2nd, the staff are extremely friendly and the managers are great. I recently moved nearby and i’ve become a regular here. Here’s my recommendation, chicken curry tartine with a side of lentils. Then sprinkle the lentils on the tartine.
Gregory R.
Place rating: 4 Santa Monica, CA
We west here at least once a week. Great service and reliably good food. The new winter salad with quinoa is a new favorite and so is sitting outside. I do wish they baked their own breads like years past. Their baguette was a fav but now I go with toasted multi grain. Thanks Fouzia for being such a great manager
J R.
Place rating: 5 Half Moon Bay, CA
Love this beautiful high quality organic chain. The best gazpacho I’ve ever had! I’ll always come back for that. Everything else here is greatness as well. Notably this location can get busy but it’s a good hang at any rate.
Suzie Q.
Place rating: 4 Santa Monica, CA
Suzie Q’s Fun Facts: The first Le Pain Quotidien opened in Brussels, Belgium in 1990. I happen to have visited perhaps the second or third location opened, on a cobblestone-lined road in Bruges. =≅≅≅≅≅≅≅≅~ Everyone knows that Le Pain’s offerings are a tad expensive for what they are. But of all locations I’ve frequented — the small one in Beverly Hills, the shoebox-sized one in Santa Monica — this is by far the most spacious, pleasant and inviting. That ambiance alone made me add a fourth star to my rating. On a recent Sunday morning, my friend and I first met at the nearby Urth Caffe for an underwhelming breakfast. Actually, more accurately, I had breakfast, and my weight-conscious friend had a juice blend that he found totally undelicious and unsatisfying. So after a couple of hours at Urth, our taste for conversation undiminished, we moseyed down Melrose to find another location. Cue Le Pain… with its large and spacious outdoor patio, it was a welcome alternative to the cramped and ambiance-lite Urth. While I only had a pot of tea at Urth(nope, server never offered a hot water refill), my friend enjoyed a yogurt/fruit parfait and a poached egg. To his surprise, the egg was delivered in-shell, nestled in an egg cup(one would presume this is the French way?) Not, for example, poached in a pan of water outside of the shell. It was tricky for him to pry the top of the shell off. While my friend wasn’t bowled over by his food, the overall experience was so enjoyable that we had a nice time, regardless. Next time, maybe we’ll skip Urth entirely and have our breakfast here instead.
Vika V.
Place rating: 5 Carlsbad, CA
Loved this place. My friends and I stopped by around 11 am on Sunday to grab a quick brunch. We explained to our server that we were in a hurry, and she turned out to be extremely accommodating getting our order out within minutes. The food was delicious. I enjoyed my eggs with French ham. I especially liked the cups that coffee was served in and little jars with marmalade and chocolate spread. Everything looked aesthetically pleasing.
Rickey B.
Place rating: 3 San Francisco, CA
Le Pain Quotidien can be le pain in the rear as the seats are meant for size 0 women and men in this trendy spot in the heart of the heart but all in all it is not a bad place. If you can get over the attitude of the patrons, the attitude of the menu and the uneven service it really is not a bad place for some soup or whatever the name they call a sandwich on the menu. So, think of a French country house as one enters this spot. Plenty of table outside with those tiny chairs and a decent place to eat inside with better seating arrangement. The menu is diverse with good options if you can figure out what they are talking about. It is quite confusing and prices such as $ 4.10 for certain items or $ 13.80 I don’t get that pricing concept. I also don’t get the coffee cups that are like soup bowls. I feel like a cat or dog as I take a sip. Now, I have been quite critical of the weird stuff but the food is actually quite good and it is as good or better than the even more trendy Urth Café. It is also quite a scene as explained which if you are in this part of LA it is a good thing. One other thing. They have this Baker’s Basket of bread for like $ 9.15 or Organic Bread basket for like $ 4.05. Really not that different in reality other then $ 5.10. Are you confused yet? Join the club.
Ron T.
Place rating: 5 Sunnyvale, CA
This place is a bit pricey, but it’s worth it. Their cold brew coffee is the best cold brew I’ve had. Also their marmalade and peanut butter were to die for. I believe they make their own, but I could be wrong.
Greg P.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
Amazing chain of the Belgian café’s, represents a very close to the authentic image of the very popular type of European breakfast places. Located on the Melrose country house with veranda for the genuine morning atmosphere has a great selection of different sorts of bread, marmalade and waffles. One of my favorite salty dishes in here is the omelette with gruyère, cheese and French type of ham is tasty and very consistent, but at the same time light. If you’re more into classy sweet Belgian breakfast, Créme Brûlée is also very delicious, but my personal choice will always fall towards the waffle with cream topping, you just can’t describe it with any words! It melts in your mouth and leaves an unrepeatable flavor even after the meal. For the drinks, I would recommend you to get a freshly squeezed orange juice or latte, a perfect addition to pretty much every dish. The place also welcomes dogs, so your four legged friend also may enjoy the sun outside and drink some fresh water. Parking is a little tricky, but still manageable — cross streets provide meter parking and 2 hours parking without permit(which is usually more than enough). Highly recommend, it became one of my favorite breakfast places in L.A.
Nijole T.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
Visually, location and service wise, this is absolutely my favorite Le Pain location! I love that it is in an old home, tons of patio seating, love the little herb garden in the back, so cute. Service really was exceptional, I wish I remembered our servers name, but she was delightful. Food as always perfect. I am obsessed with their tuna, the tartine was perfect. My husband enjoyed his croissant as well as his coffee. Their baguette and breads are the highlight here, love all the salads as well. There is no nicer way to start the day then with a light and satisfying breakfast on the patio here, worth every penny!
Elisabeth M.
Place rating: 5 Mainz, Germany
I’ve Been to this le pain quotidien for two times. The first time it was March and it was so amazing so I had to come back in September, nothing has changed, everything tastes great and the staff is very friendly. I ate the french toast and omg I was in heaven, trust me!
Loree K.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
Get the tartines. They are the true gems of this menu. Also, they have fabulous drinks. My new favorite thing is the prociusutto ricotta tartine. PHENOMENAL. I also got the carrot soup. Just everything was awesome. Great for lunch. Very packed and this place is animal friendly. So beware people with allergies and welcome all people with cute dogs.
Adrian R.
Place rating: 5 Chino Hills, CA
This place is great! Wanted to try something new and I definitely found the right place to be on the right day. Our server, Kimberly, knew exactly what to suggest as far as food and drinks go. She hit the nail on the head on many of her suggestions and for that I am greatly impressed. Let me back up a bit to when we fist entered the venue. There was virtually no wait, you sit wherever you like, and the atmosphere is relaxing. Funny that it would be so relaxing next to such a busy street as Melrose right? If you come here make sure to request Kimberly to be your server. Grade«A» customer service for sure.
Ethan L.
Place rating: 5 Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA
Very tasty and love the french toast. service is good The soup is also very good with the hot sauce. If there is too many ppl in Urth Café, 1 minute walk to this restaraunt.
Julie N.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
This is my favorite Le Pain location because you’re basically eating on a big porch that’s facing Melrose. Actually, this is my one of my favorite brunch spots in LA. Love their avocado toast, soft-boiled eggs, chicken chorizo(add kale) and salmon omelettes, hazelnut cappucino, and complimentary spreads(namely the hazelnut one). Wait is usually not a problem but parking oftentimes is. You can park in the WeHo library nearby since they validate 3 hours. Only complaint is that service tends to be glacial; servers are nice but can be slow.
Matt C.
Place rating: 3 North Hollywood, CA
hipster, wanna be actor, rich white house wife, hipster, screen writer(aspiring), actor(aspiring), wanna be kardashian, and more hipsters pretty much sum up the crowd here but fret not, the management and staff and super hospitable and friendly. waiter service was awesome and the food, albeit a bit over priced IMO, was top notch and quality stuff. given the other restaurant options in the area it was definitely the place to go for lunch. Urth up the way looked sooooo pretentious that i would probably have an aneurysm the moment i walked through the hordes of apple mac book pros and goyard st louis totes the avocado toast and the curry chicken salad were amazing, i just wish the curry chicken packed a bit more of a curry punch. the toast was good and light and was lathered with a ton of avocado so couldnt complain there.
Craig S.
Place rating: 3 Santa Monica, Los Angeles, CA
Good food, shotty service, nice ambience. Food: don’t come here hungry, most plates are fairly small — which is not a bad thing for Americas obese, but I like a big meal and this place takes about two meals to satisfy. Avocado toast: f*%# yeah! I can never make it this good at home. The cumin brings it to a new level. Cobb salad: ehhhhhhhhh, not a favorite here. French toast: good, but I’ve had better. Waffle: fantastic! I just wish it was bigger, but for the price you can buy two. Maybe even three. Service: I usually have this one guy. He is really nice and knowledgable, but seems that they are always understaffed which makes for bad service. The cooks tend to forget meals, or items that come on a plate. Like, no bacon on the Cobb salad… Hmmmm Ambience: farm — like, very spacious nice area on Melrose in the design district of west Hollywood
Luigi S.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
Always the best! Fast and healthy! I go there everyday !!! After tennis training always looking forward to get my avocado tomato omelette with white eggs!
Lusine V.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
I loved the location of this place! A lil down urth café. It is so cute. Parking is sometimes a challenge since finding metered parking can be difficult. Anyway so the food was delicious and healthy and organic and i loved that. I had the lentil avocado salad and i added grilled chicken. What i got instead was no grilled chicken it was boiled chicken, that threw me off. But it was delicious no complaints there. Our waitress was a bit all over the place however. We had to remind her about our wine, it toon about 15 minutes, were they making the wine or what? And 15 – 20 min after placing our order she came back to ask again what we had ordered. I dunno, not professional. It is definitely not a cheap place to eat, its on the slightly more expensive side. I will definitely be back i liked this place.
Teresa L.
Place rating: 4 West Hollywood, CA
Le Pain Quotidien — fashion bloggers frequent here not only for the photogenic food but for the healthy and delicious options. Less of a scene than Urth Caffe and most of the time, less of a wait time. Be sure to ask for the hazlenut spread and try the hot chocolate — Belgian staples. THEFOOD: Avocado Toast Citrus cumin salt, organic chia seeds and extra virgin olive oil It was good but I wasn’t a fan of the citrus cumin salt. It didn’t mesh well with the other flavors. Definitely could have done without it. Smoked Salmon Breakfast Soft boiled egg, ricotta, capers, herbs Highly recommended. A healthy, appropriately portioned meal! The smoked salmon was really fresh and a quality grade(I’m reallllly picky with smoked salmon). Split Pea Soup Perfect consistency and the right amount of flavor THEDRINKS: Belgian Hot Chocolate Melted chocolate is served in a cute little pot for you to pour and mix into the frothy milk. Smooth, creamy and full of flavor. SERVICE: Waitress was friendly and very attentive throughout the meal. AMBIANCE: Sit on the patio. Melrose Ave is a fun spot to people watch. PS — there are heat lamps if its a chilly day.
Ruben O.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
ENVIRONMENT Lots of indoor and outdoor seating and a walk-up café with coffee and pastries. Long community seating in the middle with things such as grey sea salt, peppercorn and agave nectar. TARTINE Avocado Toast — F’ing amazing. Vegetarian option, but added chicken chorizo and fresh lemon. YES!
Joy K.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
I LOVE how this place is opened early. I tried go to Gracias Madre at 9AM and didn’t even think to look at when it opens! It doesn’t open until 11AM.haha. No worries, Le Pain is right down the street! As is Urth, but I like going to Le Pain just to change things up a bit. Also I feel like there are more lighter options that I enjoy. It’s just another quaint little place to visit if you’re in the area. Not rocket science or anything but it’s like a consistently sweet place. Brioche Bun — DELISH. Also they will run out once the late morning creeps up so please get it asap and ask for the jams and jellies. Pretty much a dessert at this point :)))) Smoked Salmon Breakfast — actually a good amount of food. Nice salty salmon piled high with brown bread, soft boiled egg, and what seems like some sort of ricotta with capers on the side. Parking is a beeze :(Do not park in the residential areas – you will get a ticket. And Die. LOLJK but you know those parking citation cars are on TOP of their game.
Stephan M.
Place rating: 5 Berne, Suisse
Le Pain Quotidien comme on le connaît de Paris, Genève ou New York. The best bread in town combined with delicious confitures = les meilleures tartines!