Laurent Bakery Little Collins Street — Restaurant in Melbourne

The ambience and atmosphere in the cafe is beautiful. The food was delicious. Felt really classy other than the service provided which was just appalling. We ordered 2 simple pastries which were almond croissant and hazelnut brioche which they readily had on display. They gave us a number and told us to wait so we went to our seat and waited 30 minutes and there was no sign or anyone attending to our order. At the point of order, we did inform the cashier that we'll be sitting inside, right in front of the cashier area. It was only after 30 mins that we decided to finally go and inquire about our order. The person behind the bar said "Sorry for the wait, the docket must have gotten lost somewhere". That was really comforting. She handed us our food over the counter and we went back to our seat. We promptly ate and then left. After about 15 minutes, we realised we left something behind at the desk so we quickly went back to get it. Once, we reached the cafe, we asked the asian waiter with braces if he had cleared the table and if he saw something that we left behind. It was obvious he didn't care to assist us as he said he doesn't know. I asked if he cleared the table. He replied with "A lot of people are clearing the tables". I then responded "Could you kind ask if anyone else who cleared the table may have took it to the back?" With an unsatisfied face, he left saying he'll check. His facial impression one that i'll never forget as it represents the waiting staff and how the management trained them. I understand it was a busy day, but i did pay for my service and a simple question to check if anyone had saw something that we left behind irritated him, then he should not be working in customer facing environment. To the management of Laurent Boulangerie Patisserie, please reassess the way your staff have been trained as the service they provide will reflect on the quality of your...

I have been coming to this lovely Parisian style boulangerie for years and I would have liked to give 2.5 stars if it were possible but unfortunately I can’t. While the food and service were great I can’t say the same for the condition of the venue. The first thing I noticed was how dirty the windows were, it must have been some time since they were cleaned. Then I noticed there were two sparrows that were flying around the shop which was really off putting and accounted for the bird shit on the window. I noticed the light fitting they were sitting on was streaked with bird shit and the lights although there were very highly up in the ceiling were also dirty with black debris that had collected in them and obviously had not been cleaned in a long time. After this observation my eyes could see dust and uncleanliness on several other fixtures and fittings. Streaks down mirrors and dust and crap on the shelving behind our tables. Such a shame to let this beautiful cafe fall into such poor condition. My advice to the owners is to get someone in to get rid of the sparrows, they are as bad as allowing rodents to free roam in a food establishment and pay someone to come in and give the place a good and proper clean. Some of the walls could use a fresh lick of paint. I look forward to coming back to see this shop restored to what it could be, if not it will sadly be the last time there are plenty of other options in the...

Terrible and unhygienic service. On 11/10/22 the chubby balding middle-aged man with tattoos on his arm was serving the counter, and on multiple occasions I saw him reach into the front and back of his pants (presumably to adjust his underwear/scratch his parts) and continue to work without so much as washing his hands. I sent a complaint to Laurent and never heard back, and am so surprised that this isn’t taken seriously as it is clearly a food safety issue. I returned on 12/11/22 (thankfully the problematic person above was not working), but was instead appalled at how rude and aggressive the arab-looking bearded boy manning the coffee machine was to both customers and the girls working with him. What an unpleasant experience and staff should be reminded that we pay a premium at a place like this for not just the food but service and ambience. The service is simply not on, and frankly disgusting. Nice food but I shudder to think of the sort of staff handling the food. The lack of response to feedback clearly indicates no interest on Laurent’s part to address its issues, and this shows in its declining service. This little Collins st branch is a whole world away in terms of quality of service compared to the other branches I have been to. I am considering raising this with the Dept of Health and...