Le Bon Mélange Café Pâtisserie — Restaurant in District of Gungahlin

Came here for a little cake and hot chocolate for my sister’s 21st, and was promptly disappointed. Parking is extremely difficult, which is not at the fault of the store but something to be aware of when visiting. I’ve never visited a place where every person working seemed to hate their job in such a way! I understand that when its raining and getting to the end of the week, sometimes the atmosphere takes a hit, however we were treated as a burden for simply ordering our food and drinks which was a bit shocking! We ordered the lemon lime cheesecake, the chocolate mud cake and the mille feuille, alongside three hot chocolates. The cakes were tasty, if not a little dry from sitting out in the fridge. It was a shame that we didn’t receive our hot chocolates until we had already finished eating, and the horrid noise of the buzzers going off was definitely another vibe killer. When we received the hot chocolates, they were scalding, bitter and watery. For the amount of time they took to make, they were severely lacking. We then went next door to the cake shop, on the direction of the very sour server at the front counter of the patisserie, where we waited, crammed in a tiny counter space, for someone to serve us. Despite ringing the bell when we came in, it took minutes for someone to leisurely make their way to the front of the store and not even say hello, she just pointedly stared at us. When we made it clear we were picking a cake up, that we had ordered days im advance, they brought it to the front only for it to have a major spelling mistake on it. Given the treatment we’d received so far, we didn’t even bother complaining there, as we didn’t feel we’d be taken seriously in the slightest, however I feel if you write on cakes everyday, and charge $5 extra on top of a $40 price tag (for a cake that was much smaller than expected), you would know to write 21st, not 21th, on the top of the cake. Honestly it was almost comical after the experience we had, so luckily we are able to laugh it off and wish my poor sister a happy 21th birthday, but a warning to anybody else looking to visit here to think twice, and perhaps look elsewhere for your birthday...

As I approached Le Bon Mélange, I could see all the cars parked on the street. I figured this place must be popular. Evidence of LBM's popularity goes beyond the vehicles and queue of people. The LBM Instagram account has more than fifty thousand followers, and nearly five thousand accounts follow the LBM Facebook page. After finding a park and a short walk, I entered LBM and noted the light and spacious feeling. The display cases for the pastries contain all these delicious looking treats. The apple pecan custard tarts stood out from everything else. When I paid for them, the sales assistant mentioned they were her favourite and asked me if I had tried them before. I explained no, this would be my first time. I brought the tart home and made a coffee. What could be better than coffee and a tart for morning tea? The first thing I noticed was the faint smell of cinnamon. On cutting through the tart to get an idea of the cross-section, the pastry was firm yet thin. I like pie crust which isn't too friable. The dome of diced apple split without falling apart and the custard was silky smooth with enough body to not flow. The sugar and cinnamon pecan nut crumb were delicate. Biting through the edge of the tart revealed the crust wasn't overly sweet and the custard was perfect. It was silky smooth and just sweet enough. The apples were a little tart, and the pieces were still firm. This apple pecan custard tart is excellent, and I'd go back...

Le Bon Melange is essentially a bakery/patisserie (possibly the other way round?) that also serves a breakfast and lunch menu. Their display cabinet is beautiful … a riot of colourful macarons, tarts and cakes - all of which taste as good as they look👌. They have their main baking premises a few doors up and they sell a range of the larger cakes/gateaux; they offer specialty cakes at special dates, such as St Valentine’s and Christmas. Just recently they produced exquisite heart shaped sponge cakes; butter-creamed and very prettily decorated. The staff are very helpful: at Christmas time I wanted sausage rolls for a morning tea but I wanted to bake/cook them myself - not a problem! I collected them, as ordered, along with festive cupcakes and a Noel Bouche … too easy. My grandchildren adore the ‘Baker’s Dozen’ - a tray of 13 mini tarts … lemon meringue, raspberry and/or blueberry on crème anglaise - again; they taste as good as they look! Small enough to eat two so choosing isn’t such a dilemma … It’s often queued out the door; especially at weekends. I haven’t used the seating area as it is limited (a few tables inside and probably as many outside); besides which, I only live a short drive away. It’s definitely a vibrant part of the local area and one I...