F Street Bistro Review

Good coffee and omelet. Wasn't the best service though

They said there was wifi but there was none. I also ordered a macchiato, which is supposed to be a tiny espresso shot with a VERY small amount of steamed milk. Instead I was served something that looked like a cappuccino and was told this is a macchiato. It was huge in comparison to what a macchiato should be.

Paul Patisserie is located in downtown Washington DC in a prime location close to the National Mall. They proudly proclaim their establishment year to be 1889 and their 'L'amour du pain', the love of bread! They also go head to describe the traditional family methods and fresh ingredients that go into their products. What we ordered did taste fresh and wholesome.
There's ample sitting space indoors and outdoors.
They stock a range of sandwiches, croissants, donuts, tarts, macrons and other baked goodies! Very popular during breakfast hours. We ordered omelette with bell peppers and tomatoes along with croissant and pumpkin spice cappuccino. Though a tad slow on deluvery, food was wholesome, tasty and filling. Do try out their coffees as its part of the Paul experience.

The service was good and the quality was great every time I came to this place. Delicious treats and cappuccino.

While it lasts, the current breakfast duo special of $3.39 is basically a free cup of coffee with your plain or chocolate croissant. Located near the Metro Center station, it's a good place to stop off for breakfast or lunch. Menu Includes soups, sandwiches, salads and quiches, and there are always different specials if you're on a budget.

Delicious food and very little to no wait for lunch on a weekday. Try the salmon salad!

The guy put his mouth on the coffe machine, the workers are incompetent, and this place is unprofessional. I read great reviews on this place but it was a HORRIBLE expierence. I get there and ask the guy how the chocolate macaron frap is and he says pretty good but it s also $7, So I tell him all I want is a vanilla macaron. He brings me a blondie. I tell him this isn t what I ordered and had to point to the item I wanted. He rings me up for 10 something and I tell him I just want the cookie. Then tells me it s 12 something and I repeated I just want this macaron. He takes it back down to 10 and I wasn t even going to argue at this point. He asks what flavor and I say chocolate. I wait about 5 minutes and some guy from the back asks what flavor and I saw chocolate and he disappears for 5 minutes, comes back and says that they re out of chocolate so vanilla is fine. The drink was too sweet and not worth $7. As I m getting ready to leave another random guy emerges from the back, pops an Adderall while making direct eye contact with me, keep in mind other customers saw this too it was behiend the counter and proceeds to PUT HIS MOUTH ON THE COFFEE MACHINE WHERE THE COFFEE POURS OUT. He did this so he can swallow this pill and burns himself horribly or chokes and spits the coffee all over the counter along with the pill. At this point I m so shocked I had to get up and leave. I recommend NOT going here and going ANYWHERE else in Washington.

Went in and ordered a Prociutto and Mozzarella sandwich to go. Got to the register, told the cashier, paid, and received a different sandwich - their mozzarella and tomato sandwich (the "sandwich of the day", on special). I told the cashier, who first objected that he had already wrung me up for the other, wrong sandwich (which had a cheaper price). When I pressed the matter, he went to check for the sandwich I had ordered, which had since sold out; he said I'd have to wait for "someone" to make another one. Not having time to wait, I said I would just take the one I'd paid for. Sure enough, when I check my card, he'd charged me the full, normal price for that sandwich, not the "sandwich of the day" price.

If you go here, I guess don't trust the employees to hear what you say, or get tour order right. I work next door and used to go all the time; thankfully there are plenty of options around here.

Pretty standard service, but personable enough. Clean, nice atmosphere. Good cappuccinos. Excellent pastries. They offer soy.

Today I went to buy a soup and a baguetti bread and the bread was uncooked a
I love bread so much
But i'm disappointed

Sandwich bread will tire your jaw, the coffee is downright acrid, but the soup is fantastic and the other sandwich ingredients are fresh and tasty. Staff appear efficient and friendly.

Fantastic baked goods. Love them all. Coffee is good, not great. Each location is hit or miss on good or great customer service. Delicious sandwiches too. My go-to place to enjoy a carb

The coffee is good, but the pastries are addictive! I have to run past in the morning so that I don't gain 100 lbs!

I love going here every time I can! Their pastries are delicious and at least to me they taste freshly made as in "that same day". The staff has always been very polite and helpful. One time we came in 5 mins before closing unbeknownst to us (our bad) and still serviced us with a smile. Their "au jus" is yummy that's my favorite along with the apple pastry with the huge chunks on top.

I love the ham and cheese sandwich. The baguette with butter? Ugghhhh. Dead.

AVOID THIS PLACE! I got food poisoning after eating an eclair. I was sick as anything for hours. Then they refused to even return my money, adding insult to injury. This used to be a place where I would get a treat, but never again! The City inspected them and found several problems with food not being kept at a safe temperature. Please save your health and eat elsewhere.

The chocolate croissant was just the thing to hit the spot and the employees were very kind.

I ve gone to Paul s several times before but this is the first time I ve received such terrible service. I ordered a mochacapuchino and wasn t happy because i couldn t taste any coffee! I went to the barista to ask why my coffee tasted like hot chocolate and for another shot (or something to help it taste like coffee) and was told you are wrong you ordered this thing . Wow that was scary. For a place seeking to be voted best coffee shop, the service was awful.

Pleasant patio in a convenient location, I wish they'd offer a couple of vegan food options though.

A "4" during the week when boss is around, a "2.5" on the weekends when not.

Good pastries. Coffee s good. Nice atmosphere to just hang out

I look forward to going to PAUL whenever I'm in town. Growing up in Europe I spent a lot of time in France and this is the closest I can get to an authentic French cheese and ham sandwich. I highly recommend, haven't had anything there that I didn't love.

Only meh.

Staff not particularly friendly which is never a good start.

Ordered the prosciutto sandwich and tomato basil soup. The piece of bread that came with the soup appears and feels about as old as the establishment.

The sandwich had prosciutto in it, but literally about one slice, carefully placed along the open edge to make it look more like the loaded sample in the display case. Not a fan of deception.

Finally the soup was served with a teaspoon instead of a soup spoon.

Basics & details guys.

A really good French bakery with several locations in the Washington DC area. This is a wonderful place to have a pastry and a hot coffee or cold coffee and sit on the street and watch the world pass by for a few moments. My favorite location is the one next to the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue.

This location needs some help. Several tables hadn't been bussed and our breakfast sandwiches were lukewarm at best.

Well, I wouldn't call it "fast food." Your meal is typically brought to your table and everything seems expertly prepared. I received an enormous bowl of tomato soup. Smoked salmon sandwich was just ok. On the 3-course deal you can get a great dessert for $1. Go for it.

Great coffee and pastries. Best deal is the Parisian breakfast - $2.99 for coffee and a croissant.

AVOID ... Bad service and staff that couldn't care less.

TLDR: Food never came, and when I asked about it 30 minutes later it arrived in 2 minutes. Talked to the manager...he didn't really care.

I ordered an egg and cheese croissant and the cashier gave me my coffee and told me they would bring the order to me. Half an hour later I'm still sitting there and my food hadn't arrived. Meanwhile I see more than 30 people come in and leave with their orders. So finally I realized that something was wrong and I went asking about my order. They asked me what I ordered and they said they will bring it to me. So this time I stood next to the cashier and 1 minute later they had my food. I was really surprised. So I went and talked to the manager and asked him what happened, and he said he doesn't know, and it should take a minute or two for the food to come out. I understand that mistakes happen but what made me even more upset is that the manager didn't care. Didn't even offer me a coffee to go, or a bagel or anything to apologize for completely forgetting about my order. Not that I want a freebie, and I was full at that point, but at least show that you care about your customer returning.

BTW ... I rarely if ever write a bad review because I try to be fair and understanding, but I was surprised at how bad this experience was.

Great for early morning meetings and an early coffee and croissant. I find staff to be serious, engaging, and responsive and some of the customers to be way over demanding. But it's French. Right. Order the apple and brie on baguette and enjoy.

The backery items are good, but the caffe is plain dirty, it looks below sanitary standards .
The furniture- soft armchairs especially, "dangerous" to sit on
This is not how @french cafe" should look!

Great place for a quick coffee or a breakfast/lunch meeting. Coffee, breads, pastries, sandwiches, and more.

Very nice good service and super clean product I update thanks

We went to this bakery, yesterday Saturday, June 4th, and we wanted to get some fresh chocolate beignet to take home, we ordered around 12.30pm, and we asked the guy if they can make some fresh because it was 3 chocolates and 1 raspberry beignets in the store and they weren't fresh, and he says yes, We paid 6 beignets and after 10 min he came back to us to say they don't have enough ingredient to make 6 and they can only make 4, so we had no choice he gave us back the money for 2 beignets (keep doing mistakes about the money and the cashier...) and when we came back home we realized that the beignets were hard and that was 3 chocolates and 1 raspberry beignets ... that's how we realized he lied to us, didn't make fresh one and gave us the 4 old beignets they had and one raspberry when we wanted 4 chocolates ! This guy was horrible and lying to us like that to make money and giving us old pastries instead of telling us they can't do that ... so disappointed !

You can't go wrong with PAUL cafe...you can with the service, which wasn't the best here. Still, the food and coffee are totally worth the interaction with a grumpy worker

A little bit on the pricey side, and can get crowded, but good option for a quick bite

Cozy, aesthetic, romantic and refreshing.
There are WAY too many places in this town that are crowded, noisy - the grab-your-crappy-coffee-and-get-outta-here kind of places. This is why places like Paul are so refreshing. It's cozy, quiet, very cute on the inside. The Paris-like selection of pastries is excellent. It's a place where I can run in to get a fresh breath of air and a cup of coffee with an eclair. Sit down in a comfy velvety chair, relax, enjoy my coffee and not think about work for a second. Or, on the contrary, have a business meeting with someone, over some patries and cappuccinos, and still not feel rushed or anxious. The atmosphere of this place is very pleasant and soothing.

An experience that will not be remembered. Plain, food just ok. Blah.

Beautiful and delicious French dessert and brunch. Go here for a nice quick meal or quality time with friends or date. Lovely interior and cleanliness. Conveniently located by the metro and other stores.

Sandwich or bread is worse than I thought
Unfriendly steps

Great coffee and the food was delicious. Nice atmosphere.

The service was very poor and took nearly an hour to get our food which was ordered in an empty restaurant! Also food quality was poor.

The staff doesn t have a clue. Second time ordering food...second time being disappointed.

This place just feels fresh, and their sandwiches were delicious. Quite expensive though.

This was my first visit to Paul and they did not disappoint. I had the green tea, tuna sandwich, French onion soup, and strawberry tartlet. Magnificent

Coffee average - try Pennsylvania Ave location instead

I love this place. Whenever I come to visit DC, this is usually my first stop, after getting off the metro. Coffee is delightful, and so is the food.

The pastries were truly excellent. We have never EVER have another one at the same time.

So much better quality and choice than the local Starbucks.

Sandwiches were overpriced for what you get, they straight up forgot my order and didn't bring it to me for 20 minutes until I had to remind them. On the flip side their pastries are fantastic.

Okay coffee but not more! Bread is excellent. Friendly staff.

Good place to get European pastries and has a feel like a Parisian Cafe especially in summer when they have outdoor seating. The coffees are good and the service is better than other locations. The fact that it is right next to the Metro exit makes it very convenient as parking there is impossible! Having said that, this place gets very crowded at peak hours so you would want to make sure to plan accordingly.

Delicious breads and baked treats. Also tried the hot chocolate. Delicious and warmed me right up on a chilly day.

Terrible service. Eggs benediction was inedible. It came on hard stale toast. Salad side dish to a breakfast is weird. Coffee was Luke warm. Omelette came without any toppings as listed. Ended up throwing the breakfast away and going over to Starbucks.

Sandwiches are small and rather bland. Even at 1 pm the bread was tough and stale

Always great food, been to a few of their locations... but cashier seemed rude at this location

Insanely good tarts. We had both the chocolate and lemon meringue.

I really love their environment. It is cozy and nice to have a time alone.
Ain't no other place like it besides your home.
I highly recommend this place to you guys.

I have gone here repeatedly since they opened. While their food is excellent, as just about every Paul out there, the service is really bad. They are very slow, particularly when compared to the Paul at Archives Metro. Many of the counter staff are unfriendly and unhelpful. I've repeatedly stood at the counter without so much as an acknowledgement, when a simple "we'll be right with you" would let me know they know I'm standing there. Michael, who may be the manager, is the exception--he's great. But it seems like they're trying to run a machine with parts that just don't fit.

This is a quaint Paul s that offers a variety of food as per usual Paul s chains - had to leave a review as both workers Elsie and Alexandra were so wonderful in accommodating both my and my boyfriends requests! Such great energy to be around during this time when everyone is so distant. Wish we could tip them!!! Thanks ladies!

Chairs are filthy. Decor needs a lot of work. Employees are rude and crass. Good and coffee is very good. Prices are decent. Too bad the staff ruins the visit.

Soup was not hot and greasy, half the sandwich had no salmon at all.. the coffee was ok

Fresh ingredients, nice bread and loved the outdoor seating for a nice day!

Their coffee was better than Panera. In a way I cannot say, but PAUL has good quality of running an established coffee business in the DMV. I personally recommend any community with a vacant spot to have a PAUL coffee shop location to fill in the gaps. What I love about going to PAUL is that their coffee is like Starbucks, but more like the way I make coffee at home. So, it's always helpful for me to acknowledge the difference of drinking coffee or having a bite from one coffee location to another.

Ok. Food was not fresh like I expected. Friendly staff though!

No place in America closer than Paul to the delicious French Patisserie experience. All that's missing is Le Louvre.

Lovely baked goods, very friendly service, enjoyably quiet atmosphere.