Pâtisserie Gilles Marchal — Local services in Paris

I went to this patisserie in 2015 for my first time.

My family and I fell in love with their madeleines at first taste, so we kept coming back every time we visited Paris.

Unfortunately, in 2023, we were served by a woman who was extremely rude. While I was making an effort to speak French, she acted as if she couldn’t understand me at all, which made the whole experience TERRIBLE. (A kind French woman standing behind me even confirmed that my French was pretty good and that what I was asking for was totally understandable.)

Today, I decided to give this place one last chance—despite having promised myself in 2023 that I would never return. Sadly, this time it was even worse.

The same woman served me again. She once again corrected my French in a condescending and unpleasant way. I asked for a “normal madeleine”, and she rudely told me that the correct term was “naturelle.” Then, after ordering the madeleine and a coffee, she said my purchase was too cheap and refused to let me pay by card. After waiting in line for 5 minutes, I had to leave without getting anything.

I don’t know who this woman is, but she completely ruined the image I had of this pâtisserie. I will...

Paris is a symphony of bakeries and patisseries. I could not have picked a better backdrop to satiate my sweet tooth then to sample all the cakes and madeleines. Want to get an overloaded senses? Right there in this corner of Rue Ravignan and Rue Garreau is Gilles Marchal. Beautiful and delicious.

Right outside on top of Rue Ravignan is Place Émile-Goudeau. This is a picturesque square typical of Montmartre and a perfect place to people watch. Picasso himself use to live nearby and painted some of his most notable works here. Walking around Montmartre, enjoying squares such as this, I get a sense of how this place can be such a source of inspiration. Exploring and reflecting, I too hope that being here and soaking it all in could spark my own...

Coffee, good Croissant, excellent, nice and crispy/flakey on the outside, very tender on the inside, a good balance of salty and sweet. Fig Tart, ABSOLUTELY OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!

A totally surprise of a gem, I honestly didn’t expect the fig tart to hit it out of the park. Fig is in season right now and the tart’s flavor is perfect, not too sweet, not too overfilled, perfectly balancing the flavor of the figs, god it was good.

Definitely take the recommendation of the shop lady and get what’s in season. I was gonna get the raspberry tart but she said fig is better cuz it’s in season....