So I mentioned a few posts back when we had those Pierre Herme macarons that I would make a post “soon” about Laduree to compare. I think everyone missed that, because a ton of people commented and emailed me asking/recommending I go to Laduree, lol! I swear I did!! It was 1st on our list when we first planned the trip ages back. So I will say it again – I DID GO TO LADUREE!!!!. And, finally, here is the post 😛

For those that can’t be bothered to read any further…. The Verdict: Laduree did not live up to our expectations.

The mention of Laduree seems to make Asians go into a frenzy. I realised whey when we went to the Laduree in Japan – it was super luxe, delicately furnitured, and visually stunning. Pretty pastels everywhere, all girly and adorable. An Asian girl’s dream 😉

When we stepped into the Paris one, I was surprised that it looked a little threadbare/old/run down. The staff were relatively polite, but appeared understaffed. That, or our waiter wasn’t cut out to be a waiter. He was UNBELIEVABLY clumsy!!!! He actually dropped food bringing it to tables, banged his tray all over the place, crashed silverware on dinings, etc etc etc. It was actually kinda comical, during the times were weren’t scared he’d drop our food on us 😉

Strange/comical service aside, the food was just average. The only stand out item was the French Toast which was completely sublime! Soft and fluffy yet just dense enough, with a lovely creamy moist texture. Loved how they also gave 100% pure maple syrup (instead of the fake flavoured stuff I expect most restaurants to give), it was a nice touch 🙂

Overall, I reckon Laduree in Paris is more hype than quality (or service). There are many other quality boutique cafes around that I preferred.

The famous Laduree on Champs Elysées

The menu

Assorted patisseries inside. I was told “no photos!” after I took this pic,
the ONLY place in France that told me that *thumbs down*

Our bread rolls were complimentary which were nice, but one of them was ripped in half.. looking like someone ate half of it?! They looked dry and unexciting, so we didn’t try any. The coffee was average but nothing spectacular.

Chris’ Scrambled eggs and bacon was OK, but easily cooked at home and certainly not worth the price. There was nothing special about it. The eggs were really creamy which was nice, but didn’t have a rich flavour and was actually rather bland.

Scrambled eggs and bacon. Not bad.

I thought France would be stunning with pastries (and they are), but the Laduree pastries were just sub-par. The same quality you would get in the unbranded section of a grocery store, pre-made days before. The croissant wasn’t buttery at all and the chocolate croissant had so little chocolate I didn’t taste any.

Pastries. Unexciting and didn’t taste very good..

They looked nice on the inside, though!

Fortunately, the French toast was flat out STUNNING. Possibly the best french toast I’ve had in a restaurant. It was very very different to other versions of french toast.. it was round, and incredibly spongey and soft and moist. Almost like a…. crumpet? And it had the perfect amount of egg in it and cooked to perfection. I adored it. Chris, who does NOT like french toast, really liked it too… so we were glad at least 1 of the dishes were excellent.

The french toast, looking and tasting like no french toast I’ve ever had. I LOVED it.

Incredibly fluffy, moist and gooey. Ohhhhh it was sooo yummy :)~

Chocolate macaron. Compared to the Pierre Herme macarons?
Basically about the same 😛

A pic of me being strange and clutching my pastries, heh