Le Pain Quotidien — Restaurant in Mechelen

It was a late Sunday morning, somewhere at 10.30 am, and we just decided to have breakfast or brunch somewhere near the city centre. We planned to go to another place first, but since it was full and we didn't make a reservation, we ended up in Le Pain Quotidien. I knew the place. It wasn't the cheapest, but you could have a decent meal over here.

At the moment we arrived, it was quite busy and there was not table free inside. Instead of waiting at the door, we thought we could drink something outside and then move in. We ordered the drinks, and near 20 minutes later someone came by to tell us she had a table for us. Another 20 later, we got the drinks. So that took 40 minutes to make 7 coffee's? I mean, I get it, it was busy and crowded. But 40 minutes?

After the 40 minutes we got the chance to order the food. By the time we finished the drinks, another 50 minutes later we got our food. And it wasn't that good actually. Which is strange, since I've been to LPQ in Bruges, Brussels and Namur before, and never experienced something like this.

Sad to say, but...

Not client oriented and very careless when serving food. First u stand in front of the counter waiting to order something but 2 waiters behind the counter decided to do their own stuff instead of taking orders. I wanted to order a Quiche and asked for the explanations. The girl put her hands on the quiches roughly then said we have vegetable ones and mushroom ones. Vegetable ones. Yes but what vegetables? No answer. Then she just put her hands all over the quiche without giving a damn about the food u r supposed to eat. When I pointed it out she simple denied it and laughed at it. It's repulsive. Nope, I am not gonna eat here. Oh I forgot to mention, the price of a whole quiche is 8.5 euro. But if you want to eat there, you can order a dish of HALF of the 8.5 euro quiche with a bit salade. It costs more than 15 euro. How much profit do they make from their...

The food has the signature quality of LPQ. Superb latte, tasty breakfasts. The place has the quiet and cozy atmosphere i so like. Nice touch to have a local newspaper. Very centrally located with plenty of parking space for those who come by car. But some staff here doesn't care: between ordering an almond milk latte and getting it, is 14 minutes (timed). When my friend asked the salmon on a menu item to be let off the plate (mentioning that we didn't expect a discount) it took a manager intervention. If you make stuff fresh, why can't you? It took a discussion to finally get that done. Food was served faster than the drink before, so that's beyond ok. If this PQ would care about clients, it's a 4 star place. And when they woud understand that serving plastic straws without being asked is a horror for the environment, 5 stars would be in...