Les Moulins La Fayette — Restaurant in Ottawa

Visit 1: About a month ago the gentleman serving me puts on one plastic glove and while I’m deciding what to order rubs the other (un-gloved) hand with gloved hand and then picks up my order with gloved hand. I very calmly tell him that he may want look at the proper way to use gloves to ensure that they are clean as he is serving the public. He looks at me with a blank stare saying nothing and I leave. I feel upset by the experience. This establishment has made the call from day one to stay open over the pandemic closures and should be an example of good practice in this area.

Visit 2: happened this morning. I was craving some local bread and decided to give the place another go. I enter and the gentleman is servicing a customer. He then turns to me and using the same gloves he was using to serve this customer at the cash directly picks up the loaf of bread I order. Now I don’t know if those gloves are clean. I have no idea how long he has been wearing them. I don’t know if they have touched cash, or what other surfaces they may have come into contact with. And the thing is, it’s not something I should have to think about. Concerned again about this situation I inform very politely that I will not be buying the bread as he had been using the same gloves from a previous exchange and directly handled the bread. Really disappointed by the cavalier attitude to service here, potentially endangering...

Got the wrong item after correcting the cashier the first time.

Pro: Nice setup, pretty good pastries.

Cons: Staff need product training, inefficient/inaccurate service, hot inside.

Asked for the raisin creme pastry and got the maple pastry twice. Didn't bother returning it again.

The pastry was mixed with other ones that looked similar (should have been on the other side of the basket with the other maple pastries.)

Cashier did his best. Not his fault that the pastries were disorganized. He should have asked for help (there were people around) and the other staff should have been paying attention instead of whatever they were doing.

Unused signage needs to be removed when a product is no longer available.

All signage should be put with the product in a similar way (the cashier had no idea what I was asking for because the sign for that pastry was outside the basket while the other signs for the other pastries were inside the basket.)

The expediter should have checked in with us again instead of going to the people next in line. We had not decided when she first talked to us.

My friend got an eclair. There were two flavours. He didn't realize and the cashier didn't ask, so he got the wrong one.

Otherwise the service was great but getting the right product...

A great bakery with a fantastic selection of baked goods and sandwiches. Some of the menu items we had were great while other items we had did not stand out. At this price point, I'd expect more finesse on some menu items.

Order: Orange and White Chocolate Swiss ($3.95 each) x1 Extremely moist inside Lovely subtle taste of orange

Almond Croissant ($4.50 each) x2 Well baked with a very doughy texture Almond paste inside Crunchy shaved almond nuts on top

Shortbread ($8.50 each) x1 Large plain shortbread cookies Buttery but dry Expensive for the quality

Tiramisu ($5.75 each) x1 The outside edges of the tiramisu were extremely dry and stiff since the sides are exposed Strong coffee flavor Moist cake and filling inside

Mille-feuille ($5.75 each) x1 Pasty dough Lacking crunch The crème anglaise was the best part

Individual Raspberry Macaron ($5.95 each) x1 An oversized macaron which made it more challenging to eat The filling was non-standard with cream and real raspberries Punchy raspberry flavor The top was crisp as you'd expect from a macaron but the base was quite soggy and falling apart

Atmosphere and Site: A cute bakery with a clean interior and plenty of seating

Service: There were multiple staff members offering to help as we...