Au Bon Pain

Staff is nice but you won’t find anything out of the ordinary at this small location. If you’re in the area to grab a bite for lunch but would like to avoid the crowd of all other restaurants, this is a good choice.
If you’re at l’Enfant for the day, stop here for breakfast and keep your receipt: sometimes there’s a deal to use the same day in case you want to come back for lunch or a coffee.

I used to love ABP, but their selections and staff have gotten more dismal each year. Just picked up a so-​called Thai Peanut chicken salad for almost $ 8, and there was not a drop of dressing nor a scrap of anything peanut-​based. Nada. Nothing Thai nor Peanut about this salad AT ALL. What a joke. It was merely a big pile of lettuce, some carrot shavings, a few pieces of cucumber and tomato, and about 5 small pieces of chicken. Lame, lame, lame. ABP has become such a disappointment. I’d been avoiding ABP of late, and hoped they’d improved lately, but no. Still lame.

I can’t believe I’ve never written a review for Au Bön Pain until today. The food here is fabulous! Hot and cold sandwiches, soup, chili, beverages, pastries, you name it, they have it. If you’re interested in a hot sandwich, go directly to the back and place your order and they will call your name when it’s ready. They also cater, so if you require food to be catered for your office event, they can accommodate your order.
The absolute best cheese danish I’ve ever eaten is sold here. They are dynamite! I also love their breakfast sandwiches… very tasty. This is a pretty convenient place to grab a bite to eat, but beware, it can get pretty crowded during the lunch hours. The staff has always treated me with respect and is very friendly. Wonderful place to grab something and go!

Small, kiosk-​like place. Walk in, grab want you need, pay walk out.

Got a large cup of the vegetable beef barley soup and jalapeño cornbread. The soup was a bit salty but tasty. The cornbread was very good but portionwise– overkill. I couldn’t imagine eating anything else if I finished it. Is probably go back. Seems like they have a decent soup selection.

I go to get my Greek yogurt and granola. holds me down for about 4 to 5 hours. Nothing special about the location excpet the convience and healthier choices compared tot eh rest of l’enfant.

There was a time when I worked across the city that ABP was my regular haunt. Several trips down to L’Enfant Plaza to a client’s location have allowed me to revisit some of my favorite nibbles at this location.
This morning I had a delightful hearty bowl of Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with Almonds, Dried Cranberries and Brown Sugar along with a few crackers, cheese and grapes. An excellent start to a day.
This is a very small location — tucked into the corner of the T intersection of the L’Enfant food court. The entrance /​exit is a tad awkward so the place can be easily overlooked. Its more like an ABP you’d find at the airport than one of the full scale ones. But for grabbing something quick on the run it fits the bill.
(Location is not closed as another reviewer has posted)

freezing postal service…
desperate for soup.
Tried the clam chowder soup and it was fabulous. They have a variety of soups including gluten free and vegetarian ones. I’m not a huge fan of their sandwiches, but their soups are awesome. I can’t wait to go back to try more during the cold winter weather!

Hold Up. Just got a quick sec. Dashing in and out for lunch. Butternut apple soup and turkey and brie sandwich. SO GOOD, OMG! Back to work!

Bless Au Bön Pain for being in L’Enfant Plaza. Susan was able to get her morning cup of Coffee (thus reassuming human female form) before heading up to some b-​o-​r-​i-​n-​g conferences.
Au Bön Pain moved from its old location at L’Enfant Plaza to its present one in the newer food court. Good thing too – that older section was really rundown and ABPs former location certainly was nothing to write home about. This new location is bright and cheerful and definitely well laid out.

I like Au Bön Pain. Im gonna miss it once i head back to that rock they refer to as Hawaii. Food/​flavor-​wise — its just as good as most other locations and I would give it 5 stars. But as with my other chain food spots review, I try to be critical about the specific location im reviewing.
I would give this place a 3.5.
This specific location has a awkward layout. Its relatively small and hard to navigate Also the selection is not as wide as ive seen in other spots. The cashiers though are very helpful and pleasant and make suggestions based on what I am ordering.
The limited (monthly?) flavor banana cupcakes were awesome and they were 2 for $ 5. Get them before they’re gone!

1 star for being one of the only places to eat near L’Enfant. 1 start for almost always providing a suitable lunch. –3 stars for almost always having undercooked bean soups! I’ve finally learned my lesson.

I’ve walked in and out of Au Bön Pains a million times; whether my hunger left, I got scared straight about indulging in a baked good because of the calorie count being printed right on the labeling or general crowds… but finally, I have two distinctly good experiences to report back upon:
1. On Columbus Day, everything was closed in La Promenade — besides Au Bön Pain! Hooray! I brought my lunch, but was looking for a pick-​me-​up and had that craving satisfied with a bottle of organic green tea.
2. Today! A co-​worker was nice enough to fetch me a magical chocolate chip brownie. Heaven. And hey, if I didn’t pay, that means there were no calories, involved… right?!

One of the worst ABPs I’ve ever seen. Layout is awkward and the whole place has a layer of grime you’d associate with a greasy spoon. The manager, though, is super nice and tries his best to make everyone happy. He just has a lot of lazy incompetent people working for him. I’ve seen about a million burnt bagels sent back.
The problem is that in L’Enfant Plaza there’s really nothing that much better than ABP. Work here? Pack your lunch.

Delicious cookies, pastries and awesome hazelnut coffee! I also like that they always have people working at ALL the registers when it’s busy so even if the line looks really bad you won’t be waiting that long.