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Categories: Bakeries, Coffee & Tea [Edit]
Neighborhood: SOMAMon-Fri. 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sat. 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
"I loved this place. Came here for Happy Hour and had a nice glass of wine for $3 and split the pita pizza with Gorgonzola, grapes, and…" read more »
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This made me feel like I was in Europe all over again! And made my friend ask, "Is this how cafes are in Europe?" Well played La Boulange.
Went for lunch on Saturday, and there was a few tables open outside. The location is good to be busy enough, but never crazy over-crowded for people like us who wanted to stay there. Order from the counter and they deliver the food to you, and you partake in tastebud delight.
I had the pesto, pepper and goat cheese grilled sandwich with salad (with some sort of balsamic) and my friend had turkey, cheese and tomato grilled sandwich. Both of them were SO good! But then again, how can you go wrong with any of those ingredients??
Only problem: plastic silverware. These sandwiches are made to be eaten with them, but the crusts were way too tough for any plastic knife to ever hope to cut through. I get midl agitated when all I wanna do is grub and I can't, so i wasn't the happiest camper. Once I got over it and enjoyed the sunshine instead, I was okay.
I would definitely come back here, but cross my fingers the prices are lower! $8.50 each sandwich is a little steep.
Good place for lunch and people watching! It makes me feel that I'm in Europe. It gets crazy busy during lunch time, and pretty much everything is out by 2, so...don't know how to comment on it. Once I walked in, really wanted a piece of bread pudding, the girl gave me the last piece and charged me half the price because it's a smaller piece. That made my day! It wasn't really that much smaller, but that made me end up getting more things than I usually would.
Bread pudding is the best, absolutely love the top layer, the cookie dough part. For the filling, I like it much better when it's about 1:1 custard to croissant. Sometimes there's not enough custard and too much croissant...oh well, I never finish the entire piece anyways.
The chocolate genache tart is to die for. Love the chocolate tart crust, velvety genache filling, and a couple cacao nibs on top.
The beet salad with goat cheese and candied pecans is one of my favorite salads of all time. Generous amount of beets and pecans, lots of greens. The beets are marinated in some kind of vinegar, slightly tart but sweet, yum!
Love the condiment bar! Nutella and homemade jams...another reason why I keep coming back.
The canele used to be good, crunchy out and custardy in. But it's be soggy for the past 2 months...NOT HAPPY!!
The macarons....gross. I refuse to put a neon green or neon purple thing that would shine at night, into my mouth. Overly sugary, doesn't have the proper textures: crunchy outer layer, slightly chewy middle, and creamy filling. It shouldn't be soft, or melt in your mouth. It's all about texture, and the ones here have none, but sugar and food colorings.
The fig and pistachio tart, morning buns, croissants, are all pretty disappointing.
You know that giddy feeling you get when you're in love?
My neighbor recently came back from Paris and gave us some Macarons to try. It was love at first bite.
So I stopped by yesterday to pick up a box of all flavors to cheer up a sad friend. I couldn't resist so I picked up a box for myself as well -- in case I needed it to cheer up another friend later in day (proved to be useful lol). Price is steep but hey I'm in love with Macarons so what can I say. The after effect of eating one, pure awesomeness.
Since it was approaching lunch time and I felt my stomach calling me out (bad for skipping breakfast), I also picked up a mini chicken roll. Brought it back to the office and ate it during my meeting. It was yummmmmmmm.
Convenient location near Bart and 9x, I'm so gonna pick up more goodies when I'm on the way to work now. ^.^
We came here for lunch last week. My sister was in town from Paris...she said the sandwiches were very similar to what she eats there. Everything was tasty including the lattes.
We had the combos..french onion soup with the smoked salmon and hummus sandwich.
The service was good.. we sat down and they brought us our lunch.
Looking forward to going back soon.
Solid and fast service + delicious coffee + yummy salads (by the way - the smoke trout salad...delish!) + chocolate creme de pots and amazing bread!
I mean can Boulange get any better?!
I refuse to believe it is purely the convenience of location that has made this my morning stop. Every day, ever solid, rotating lunch specials, free refills on the house roast, seasonal pastry selection, expansive coffee accoutrement bar, customer loyalty program. Boulange has my business for good.
Perfect almond-anything. My friends will tell you how bored they are of me talking about how much I… Read more »
Sometimes dictatorship is a good thing if it would force every biz to have street seating like this lovely French cafe. Come on San Franciscans, wake up, slow down, and enjoy your view! Take a seat and watch life roll by while perhaps enjoying some of the best baking in the city. The croissants are good as are the quiche and the almond encrusted croissant. While it still doesn't compare to Paris, I still love the effort put forth by this place., and I try to eat here again and again. Thank you!
[Green Zebra Coupon: Complimentary breakfast entree]
Pretty much the only cool thing about this place was that it decided to put something that was actually free in the Green Zebra. None of this buy one, get one or X% off stuff. I had a free breakfast pizza today.
And I wouldn't have paid a penny more. The "crust" was actually a cracker and the eggs were pretty blah. It did have a lot of lox on it, which was nice of them, but when all I have to eat lox with is an egg-covered cracker I don't eat the lox -- yea, I threw it away.
I'm not saying the food was bad. But for $7 I can get a lot more food elsewhere -- and for ~$10 I can get a waiter to bring it to me on a plate and refill my water glass while I enjoy my breakfast.
My 4 star rating may not be fair since I've only tried 2 dishes here, but these 2 dishes are GOOD! So far I am under the impression that La Boulange cares about the quality of their "lunch food".
1. trout salad: delicious smoked trout
2. hummus sandwich: healthy treat on wheat bread with sprouts.
These are complemented by savory herb seasoned chips. I don't know if they buy these or if they make them. These can be bought separately in their own nicely packaged bags.
I just had the worst lunch here. First of all, the place is a bit confusing and the staff are so lifeless you second-guess your decision of even walking in.
I ordered the chicken sandwich that comes with bacon, dijon mustard, and what I thought was swiss. OK, when I got back to the office and opened up the box, there was this dry, nasty-ass looking open faced sandwich. The cheese looked like it went straight from solid to overdone and dried out. On top of that, the cheese was so salty, the chicken was dry and tasteless, and the bacon was rubbery. All of that on top of a stale piece of bread. The chips weren't good either. They were mildly stale as well. I will not be back!
i love la boulange. my coworkers and i eat here just about everyday and thats okay with me!
the staff is fantastic, they are all absolute sweethearts, totally helpful and like i said, fantastic!
my new favorite is the premade chicken pesto sandwich. mm its yum yum yummy!!
thank you la boulange without you id starve!
I go to this place just about everyday during the work week and the service is always great, and the… Read more »
I love it and I hate it.
I love it because it has French pastries that taste like the ones in Paris, with wonderful buttery croissants and delicious and seemingly healthful savory foods like wholesome sandwiches and salads. I love this location because it's never been out of raspberry custard swirls (my favorite), and the staff has always been friendly and welcoming.
I hate it because it is making me fat. And because it is located in just such a spot on Market that I am thoroughly aware of its presence, and happen to watch the clock possessively whenever I am subconsciously aware that I am nearby- is it 7pm yet...? Are they still open...? I'm so hungry...
In any case, 5 stars regardless of the previous paragraph. I may be a pig but I am still sensitive to that fact that my gluttony or lack of self control has nothing to do with the quality of an establishment on the whole.
The Raspberry Financiers from La Boulange are going to be the death of me. This will happen in one of three ways:
1. The butter content will cause me to have a heart attack since I have a hard time not eating at least one of these a day.
2. I will get hit by the F streetcar as I am dashing across Market St to get here before they close at the ungodly early hour of 6:00.
3. I will lose the knife fight that I am tempted to start when I see someone ordering the last one of these little spongy pieces of heaven.
Thank goodness they also make a dozen or so other amazing baked goods and they have several locations throughout the city - it keeps me from being so desperate.
Plus, they are pretty darn expensive so I can always substitute my thriftiness for my willpower and keep myself from becoming a happy little butter ball.
I stop by every morning on my way to work for a cup of coffee. The people here are friendly, and there's rarely a line of any sort. While the food is a little on the pricier side, the coffee prices are in line (maybe even a little cheaper) than Starbucks down the street. I question my manhood when the barista pours a heart with the latte foam (aka, every time I get a cappuccino) but it is good coffee so I snap on that lid and get on with my day.
The girl at the register recognized that I've been coming regularly and gave me a frequent customer card, even punching in four out of the ten holes for good measure. I also thought they remembered my name but alas, when I paid by cash once they could no longer read it off my credit card. Such is life.
*edit 7/19: They remember my name now. lessthan3
La Boulange de Market, a part of the Bay Bread chain.
Their organic Baguette is good, nice crunch and texture for $1.50.
Meh. Had the cinnamon orange swirl pastry with an OJ, it was $6. At a French place I'd have expected the pastry to be more buttery and flaky... guess I should have hiked out to Cafe Brioche instead.
That said, I'll give them another try thanks to all the positive reviews here - maybe I just got the wrong thing.
a cool smoked salmon sandwich sounded perfect on this particular hot day, which is what i was just about to order... when someone flat out cut in front of me!
i could've been an ass about it, but luckily the cashier extraordinaire saved me. besides letting me know that i would "win an award for being the nicest customer" and being "cool as a cucumber," he also gave me a discount! how's that for customer service?
oh, and the sandwich was delish too!
I don't know, I just spent $28.85 for breaky and cookies?!?!? My coworker was stunned and said for $5.50 I could have made the whole batch of cookies myself, and when I looked at the board of 6 dollar oatmeal, I was like, I just bought 6 dollars for 2 big boxes of Quaker Oatmeal at Walgreens the other day!
But, the chocolate hazelnut croissant is phenomenal, the cupcake style brownie as well as raspberry are just great! The raspberry tart is really really rich, the mini palmier, the croquets (orange almond) cookies, and the orange blossom shortbread all made me very very happy!! The cap was also a good start of morning!!
I guess it is true that breaky is the most important and it definitely is my favourite meal of the day!!
(See pic)
I see lots of stores closing-- one said "After 34 years of patronage, we are now retired."…
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The french toast is not so great (see my photo); the french toast at The Butler & Chef a few blocks away is vastly better.
The espresso is great; I love the machiato.
i had a great cappuccino, right down to the creamy foam. my friend was happy with her baguette, though thinks they might have recently raised the price.....
my only bone to pick with this place is that the sidewalk seating setup is horrible. you have to squeeze between chairs to get to/from some tables.
As a first timer, a four-star rating is reasonable enough. My co-worker/friend and I checked out La Boulange during our mid-day walk. I really wanted to expand my horizons of the FiDi district eats, so I decided to gave this place a try.
After getting pooped on a bird (luckily just on my clothes), I tried to keep my spirits up. I ordered the Hummus sandwich with chips. Talk about yummy! It was super healthy and hearty, though I wish I got salad instead of chips, but who cares. For the price I paid I was really satisfied because the portions of food are medium/big for a lunchtime meal.
Definitely want to come here again and try out their salmon. Mmmm fish for lunch!
Found this place through yelp and tracked it down after a visit to MOMA.
I would give the location 5 stars, close to everything and the sidewalk patio is an absolute plus. The free postcards are a cute souvenir as well!
I ordered a tuna melt which is easily on my top five of tuna melts. This one was special because it was open-faced and included some unique ingredients such as apples. Delicious. The food is served in a takeaway carton that is recycled. Everything here can be recycled and they provide the proper bins. Very cool!
Now this is where my minus star comes into play...I came here mainly because of macarons and the Parisian flair. Parisian flair delivered with the outside tables and cuteness, but the macaron did not. The inside of my raspberry and java (or coffee) flavored macarons were melted and jelly-like. Not so fun!
But I would return mainly for the location and sandwiches!
I came here to purchase macarons after visiting the one on Pine Street. Figured having macarons as an afternoon snack during work would be AWESOME.
I ordered 2 passionfruit mango ones and 2 coffee ones.
I asked the kind busy lady to put it in a box for me so I wouldn't smash it.
So she did.
Handed me the blue box with my 4 macarons in it and WHAT??? ONE WAS SMASHED???? http://static.px.yelp....
Me: Um...this one is smashed. Can I have it replaced.
Worker: Yeah the box goes in so it got smashed.
Me: Uh...
Worker: Well that's our last passionfruit mango. I can swap it out for a raspberry one?
Me: Uh no I want another passionfruit one.
Worker: We don't have anymore.
OKAY
So let me get this straight. I buy a macaron. The worker smashes it. I still have to pay for it. And I don't get it either replaced with the same one or have my money refunded to me? To add to that, the "kind girl" soon became a "rude beezy."
I don't think I'm coming back here to purchase macarons if your workers are incompetent to put 4 macarons in a box withOUT smashing them.
Did I really just pay a buck fiddy for a smashed macaron???!!! http://static.px.yelp....
I hate you La Boulange de Market. You would get 1 star if your passionfruit mango macarons weren't delish. UGH.
I absolutely love how we can walk into almost any place in SF and expect multiple vegetarian options! This place did a very good job of it!
Their fruit and honey parfait was a great lunch meal! Their stuffed croissants weren't quite as good, but still not bad.
It's also a nice spot on Market to sit outside and people watch!
It's still a La Boulange, so expect to get good pain au chocolat, butter croissants, and the usual demi-baguettes at the standard quality.
The location makes it interesting. The outdoor seating at Market Street must be nice during the business week for breakfast and lunch. It's a bit bleak on the weekends, but that's true for the Financial District in general.
Service was friendly and while I didn't order anything that needed preparation, the croissants were delicious, as expected :)
Ordering Wrong.
It's happened to the best of us, although with the amount I eat out, I am always surprised it doesn't happen to me more often. Today though, oh did it happen. I wasn't sure what I wanted for lunch which was part of the problem, but when a coworker grabbed me and said, "let's go!" I didn't really have my wits about me or a strong opinion on where to dine.
She suggested this place and was craving the quiche, but meh, that didn't sound all that great to me. When we walked in, I saw sandwiches with an okay array of toppings, but each one had one or two things that sounded kinda gross to me. Then there were the salads, meh, didn't really sound all that entertaining either. Oh but wait, there's soup! Maybe soup would be the winner. Let's see, Tomato or French Onion? Hmmm...
I went with French Onion to go and lemme tell ya, this is one dish that is best served sitting in an old steakhouse with dim lighting and old couples, as opposed to some quickie lunch fix. It was terrible. I literally took a few bites and tossed the rest. I then announced my dining disdain for the soup to a nearby coworker and I didn't even have to say French Oni... before she agreed it is gross here.
I am still going to give it an okay rating, because I now they do breakfast stuff well and the service was nice enough and it was a quick moving in and out experience (sounds like my last date), but yeah, nothing to bolt, run or skip to again anytime soon.
DO NOT ORDER their breakfast pizza. I guess I should have asked myself why I would order such a thing. But if you ever have the urge, just say no.
It comes on an overly buttery boringly textured piece of crust. With a lackluster sprinkling of diced tomatoes and cheese. Topped with chopped, warmed smoked salmon and chopped up microwaved egg.
All of those ingredients I would probably love separately. But together, with that presentation, on that crust - simply disappointing.
I love La Boulange, don't get me wrong, but I find this location a smidgeon lacking. It has the… Read more »
This place is literally amazing. I have had their tuna open faced sammich with greens and omg. Yes!!! The first time I put the bread to my mouth it melted in my mouth, like yummm....
I have yet to try their desserts and other things but I always come like once every two weeks to get that deal where you get a half sammich, yea sammich, an greens for 7 bucks plus tax.
Can't beat a 8 dollar lunch off Market!
My most happily guilty pleasure. Thank the heavens its right down the street from my job and every coffee shop imaginable since I get so sleepy after downing the tuna! :)
I really love the food at La Boulange, I'm only subtracting a star b/c it's not enough food for my hearty appetite. I just went to lunch with 2 friends and we all got soup and 1/2 sandwich combos. I had the the goat cheese sandwich with portabella mushrooms and roasted red peppers with tomato soup. The sandwich was delicious, soup was not my favorite. J had the tuna melt with tomato soup and was happy. E got the smoked salmon with French Onion soup and she said it was amazing. The breakfast pastries are also super good and I really want to try the French toast.
The outdoor seating area is cute when it's warm, but not so much when it's freezing or raining. And, I had to get another half sandwich on my way back to work b/c I was still starving, but I really think most normal people would be ok.
Absolutely love the fruit, yogurt, granola parfait with honey on top! I've had this twice now and both times has been outstanding. They have home-made granola with just the right amount of crunch, very fresh-tasting cinnamon. Add to this yogurt that is rich and creamy with just a hint of sour yogurt taste, perfect. On top is a variety of fresh fruit including blueberries, strawberries, melons. And in case you crave a little more sweetness, a small cup of honey to add to your parfait.
Wow - for a place to take the highest quality ingredients and combine them together so perfectly - can't be beat. My new favorite place to eat breakfast in the city.
I love how this place follows me around. I've been lucky to have one near my work the past two jobs. I usually come in here after work for my beloved macaroons but this location seemed to not make them up to pare with the others. My macaroons were hard and not at all chewy and soft like I'm used to. They also don't start serving their mini sandwiches at this location until 11am for some reason. Perhaps it was just a hit or miss this time but I prefer the other locations, especially the Union street one.
i love this place! i discovered that their hot chocolate is probably one of the best i've ever had and i love their pastries, sandwiches, soups, and salads too! i walk by la boulange all the time and i often end up stopping in to get something. definitely would recommend this cute little cafe to anyone!
When I'm bored, I like to think of what I'd say if I randomly bumped into a hot girl on the street.
But I draw a blank when it comes to the cute tattooed redhead from La Boulange.
Because somehow I don't think, "I had my eye on your yogurt," works very well.
A little pricey, but I like it.
AWESOME open face sandwiches! I had the smoked salmon and it was a total delight! Seating is limited and the place gets busy so plan accordingly. I have yet to try the pastries, but I can tell you they look delicious
Mmmm. I stayed down the street and ate breakfast and lunch here. Had open faced roast chicken, roasted tomato soup, breakfast pizza, sticky buns (love these!) I went by before I left and grabbed a few items I didn't get the chance to try to take home! Friendly service, fresh ingredients, reasonably priced, & green. Organic breads & coffee. I can't think of a thing to complain about to give it less than 5 stars.
To be honest, I am a little biased by the one on Lincoln ave in San Jose, but this is a close second. When I have some free time and not working a crazy week I'll treat myself to bring Gus (my puppy) and i down to embarcadero and hit this place up on the way. Its a nice little place and the people are always super nice about letting my dog in while I order.
I would recommend their california turkey sandwich for their cold sandwiches and for the vegetarians, the vegetarian is pretty good. I would opt for pesto sauce or honey mustard instead of the dill sauce. Just ask when you order and they're usually nice about changing it for you :) As for hot sandwiches I LOVE the turkey cranberry as well as the bay shrimp melt. yummy
11 minutes for a sandwich? Seriously? One star off.
Making me feel like I was about to have a claustrophobic meltdown because you're so darn slow and the tiny space is filling up with people anxiously clutching their receipts and wondering if they'll ever see lunch? Another star off.
Three solid stars for a surprisingly delicious open-faced tuna melt. Crispy-edged bread, tangy aioli, good-quality tuna, just enough cheese and thinly-sliced roma tomatoes, served with a salad of dark greens. A tad pricey at around $9, but no buyer's regrets.
While ignoring my growling stomach for those 11 looong minutes, I observed the sweet little selection of pastries (I shall return for the cauliflower tart) and other temptations (pots de creme in chocolate and vanilla and picnic-ready combos of brie/fruit and salumi/cheese/fruit, among others).
There's a jar of Nutella at the coffee station, so you croissant lovers will be very happy!
I haven't had quite the service issues as some of the other reviewers have had, but I still wasn't overly impressed with La Boulange. I'm glad that they're located where they are because it makes grabbing some breakfast or lunch easy and quick, but I just wish they were a bit more consistent with their food preparation.
My first visit was for breakfast- I decided to get a small coffee and the ham and cheese croissant. When they offered to heat it up in their toaster, I was thrilled- I had planned on using the office microwave and we all know what happens to a croissant when it hits the microwave. After a few minutes wait, it was ready and I happily headed to work knowing that I had a hot, crunchy croissant to start my day. Unfortunately, I was disappointed- in the mere moments they had the croissant, they managed to almost char the outside. I had to pick off some of the outer surface before I could eat it. On top of that, their coffee was one of the worst I'd had recently.
My second visit was for lunch- I decided to try the combo meal and get a cup of their potato leek soup with half a roasted chicken open-faced sandwich. Their potato leek soup was kinda blah- it needed more leek flavor or something to kick it up. My sandwich was okay, but the bread was rather hard and difficult to cut. Overall, it was an okay meal. My friend enjoyed her smoked salmon sandwich, which did look more appetizing that what I had, so that just might be what I get next time.
The saving graces for La Boulange are its dessert pastries- I purchased a selection of their macaroons, as well as the lemon sesame cookie. While the macaroons were a little too sweet and moist for me, they did have phenomenal flavors. As for the lemon sesame cookie, it was more like shortbread, but it was so tasty- loved it!
I'd be back to try their brunch items- the baker's breakfast pizza looks super-yummy- as well as get more of their macaroons and cookies.
I make a really bad first impression. I'm terribly awkward, employ lots of long pauses, blink a lot, and I tend to say inappropriate things regularly. How I've ever made it past a first date is beyond me.
Yesterday, I had made it to the promised land of craigslist room share hunting...the second interview. I had met and impressed one roommate the night before, so it was time to meet the others. I needed to be on my game. So I was happy that the roommates chose La Boulange...I know their food. It's damn good, and I appreciated the familiarity. I had the $7 combo of a messy (in a good way) hummus sandwich with no tomato and a cup of cauliflower soup. The soup was phenomenal - creamy with the perfect amount of spice.
And so I'm fielding awkward "get to know you" questions while trying to not drop avocado down my shirt and let the wind from Market Street whip my hair into my water. Things are going well, I'm feeling pretty comfortable, and I think, "Score! New apartment! La Boulange is my lucky charm!"
And then I get the email today... "Just so you know - we only offered this to one other girl and she is actually the one we picked in the end...so you are special!"
Boo.
And the first date/interview curse strikes again. At least when I'm homeless in a month and living on Market Street I know I can pop in here for some hot soup and satisfying sandwiches.
Um....
Um...
Um....
I still cannot believe that we have a Le Boulange downtown.
This week cannot get any sweeter.
The pastries smell, look, and taste amazing.
For once there are samples out - that you actually want to try. Melt in your mouth passion-fruit macaroons and moist creamy strawberry danishes.
The place is well lit, inviting, with Parisian seating outside. Everything looks to die for. The greek yogurt with honey topped granola and vivid colored fruit, the hot fresh open faced sandwiches, the robust looking beet salad, the garden salads, the almond topped croissants, the chocolate pot-de cremes, the fresh orange juice, and the croque monsieurs. And far more, that your stomach can only dream up.
And the best part is that right now, no one even knows about Boulange, but the tourists. There is no line, the staff have huge grins and are on top of everyone's order, and you can even call in your order beforehand.
Day time office lunches, and afternoon trysts are moving on up.
Exam week open late til 11pm!
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