L'Experience Paris - Bellevue

It pains me to write this but I just cannot justify their price point when the items aren't good. There are two OK things I can say about L'Experience: their service and their chocolate croissant (after you warm it up) is nice. But other than that, there are a solid handful of other bakeries that are just so much better. I bought 3 pastries/desserts (a single eclair, a small blueberry tart, and some other pastry I don't remember) and the total came out to $44! For 3 tiny pastries! I was dumbfounded. The eclair was so dense, the blueberry tart had no flavor, and the other pastry was a combination of the two - dense and lacked flavor. It was terribly disappointing and I really couldn't get over the fact that it was $44. That's $14.60 for each lol. Some people might justify that these are "Bellevue prices" but no -- this is just extreme markup for subpar pastries.I'd strongly recommend Farine, Royal Bakery across the street, or The French Bakery in crossroads. Heck, maybe even Safeway.Update: I received a fun comment from the owner - and despite knocking on my terminology of "French" pastries, the fact remains: insanely overpriced for below subpar tasteless items. (The recommendation to go to Safeway wasn't a real recommendation, it was a low bar comparison).

L'Experience Paris is extremely bougie, but because of that, is extremely overpriced. You know it's bougie because they don't list the prices in the display (or even what the items and ingredients), so you don't know how much you're paying until you get to the register. Because of that, we paid $45 for 2 desserts and 1 almond croissant. That's $15 each. A bit outrageous, no? The almond croissant was flaky and had a layer of almond paste that was well-balanced. The apple tart was not as good. It fell apart and the tart shell seemed disconnected from the rest of it. The choux was fine, but no noticeable flavors in the cream other than the pecans themselves. One of their big sellers are Pierre Herme macarons, which is a famous brand from France, and they are one of the only authorized retailers in Washington. I've had them in Paris, and yes, they're delicious, but I'm not sure it's worth the additional cost purchasing them from L'Experience. They also had other lovely gift packs like charcuterie boards, coffees, and pannetones for sale, also at very expensive prices. If you can afford it, I suppose it is a beautiful gift, but can be recreated for much cheaper. The staff were kind enough to explain what the different pastries in the case were, since there were no signs. There is only one single stall gender-neutral bathroom. There is 1 hour free garage parking in the SOMA building, which you can either print out a slip on the machine or use the QR code. The bakery also serves brunch and dinner, but we only partook in the bakery aspect, so I can't speak to the food.

Update to my previous review- this time round our experience was outstanding! Was there for Brunch and it was crowded. Staff were extremely attentive and helpful. They all walked around with smiles and happy to help attitude. What caught our attention was Kamiya, she was outstanding!! She was pulled in so many different directions and not once she had a frown on her face. Talk about going above and beyond, 3 bees were inside and were buzzing around the window side, where guest were sitting . As you can imagine the fear of bees. She not only concurred her fear of bees but caught all 3 and let them free outside so the customers sitting there could enjoy their brunch! Who does that ??? We set there and admired her and were so impressed. Every single customer looked SO impressed and grateful that she took it upon herself to ensure their safety and comfort! Good variety on the brunch menu, croissants with smoked salmon and avocado was delish. We had a dessert as well, can't remember the name but it was yellow and round, it just melts in your mouth.Coffee was yum especially the iced caramel latte.

This place was real recommended from my husband's coworker who is French. He said this is an authentic French bakery and we decided to give it a try. The cross songs are one of the best things they have. It's buttery, it's flaky, and always super fresh. The quiche is also fantastic and I like the side salad it is served. The greens have a very soft. The last time I was there and waitress was wonderful. I forgot her name but she could speak Portuguese and she's not funny either Brazil or Portugal. The gift set they have available there are so amazing. It is hard to choose which one to pick. It's usually comes with either chocolate or Macarons. The boxes are very classy and colorful. It feels like I am in France. Another thing that I really like about this bakery is the fact they always use whole milk to make their beverages. Every time I come to Bellevue I will try to stop by to get some delicious croissants and my hot latte. It is the only authentic French bakeries in town. I super recommend this place!!

The food here looked delicious, but I could not tell you how it tastes. Service here in s ridiculously stupid! I have never been so pissed off with the service anywhere! We walked in and was sat down at a dirty table. Then, the employee had to be told by another worker to wipe the table. We sat there for 15 minutes before we had to ask for a menu. Then we sat there for another 15 minutes without being served. I told my family we are leaving, so we left. I do not recommend this location and Issaqua is only ten minutes from this location. Highly recommend staying away from here, no parking anyway, and head to another location. Not worth paying for parking and your food. I am going to ban my family and friends from this location.

It's better for the East side. The stores are super bright, but the quality is a little expensive, but the quality is online. Two Frenchmen practice French fur once in a while. Ha ha.Brunch Benedict-the bottom of the British muffin, with half-cooked three literary water eggs and Dutch sauce, tastes smooth and moderate as a whole.Quiches-French salted pie is very popular every time. Super fragrant egg milk at the bottom of the tower is delicious.Signature hot chocolate-it's not bad to eat French chocolate salty with a light bottomAnd a pecan like a puff and a variety of nutty milk flavors, and chocolate crispy grains at the bottom, and the key is that the milk layer has a solid taste.

This is definitely for special occasion only. I only had been here 2x and both for pastry never dine in. We were in the area so I decided to stop by to see what was available. They didn't have much but this one looks interesting so I got it. Didn't realize it was going to cost me $9+ for it though....The pastry was described as a kouig aman with triple cheese on top and figs inside. It's definitely sweet and savory and it has the flaky layers. Not sure about the pull apart portion but it was good.I had gotten their macarons before for Christmas and they were pretty good as well, also pricy (6 for $40+). Service was decent, at least they were knowledgeable in the items. Overall, a very fancy place and not something I would go frequently

This is my favorite spot to have a brunch. The restaurant is cozy and fancy and staff is always welcome and friendly. Their pastry is always fresh and I love getting quiche + salad. (Croissant on side) I recommend to get a reservation on weekend because restaurant gets busy.

Food was great! French toast recommended. Ambiance is beautiful and photo worthy. Nice lighting. Service was top notch. Latte wasn't that great.

What do I look for when dining out? There are a few things that affect my dining experience and ratings. Obviously, the first is the quality and quantity of the food (are hot foods hot, cold foods cold, taste, preparation, wait time, etc.). Next in line is the quality of the serving staff including personal interactions. Another factor is the ambience of the facility including décor, comfort and sound levels. One more factor is the parking (free lot, street, paid parking lot, etc.). For Father's Day 2024 June 16), I looked for a new place to celebrate with my family (8 adults all over age 50). I do not remember where I got the name of L'Experience Paris but it probably came from a newspaper review or comment. It sounded wonderful since all of us had been to Paris and loved the food there. We checked the online menu and it was perfect. I called them in Bellevue WA to make a reservation for 8 people at Noon. We all arrived from different locations at the same time, on time. Some found parking on the street (free) and my wife and I parked in the building garage. The parking garage had a machine near the elevator to pay for parking. It rejected all of my credit cards and my $5 bill. I left my car in the garage without paying and went up to the restaurant. I do not know if parking in the garage was free on Sundays or not, but it was for me. Issue number one. It was a chilly day but one side (of the two outside walls) of the restaurant was wide open to their outside patio so it was a bit cool inside where we sat. One side of the table was a long bench-like seat with cushions to sit on and for your back. It was not ideal. However, it was ready for us. Our server, Alexandra was friendly and attentive. She answered several questions about the food and her home in France. Good start. We ordered our food with big smiles on our faces. Then it went really bad. A couple of us were looking forward to their Croque Madams/Monsieurs. NOT AVAILABLE! A couple ordered quiches. NOT AVAILABLE! A couple ordered Eggs Benedict. TOOK 45 MINUTES TO DELIVER! This was long after everybody else had been served and finished dining! I ordered the jambon/fromage (ham/cheese) omelet. It was one large or two very small eggs, not the three or four I am used to. It was delicious but not very filling. I tried the potato balls that came with another diner's meal. It was awful. Universally panned by all who tried them. Some meals were served on the cool side even though they were supposed to be hot. Thanks to Alexandra, a couple of meals were taken off the bill as compensation. Overall, I would rate our "experience" about 2.5 stars out five. I do not remember if I ever gave a score that low. Server was five stars, out of five stars. Ambience, open wall with outside temperature around 60 degrees (F) and seating comfort, about 1 star. Some of the food was five stars, most about 3 stars; zero stars for the missing meals! Parking availability: 2 stars Will I try it again? Maybe but not soon.