Le Pain Au Naturel — Restaurant in Paris

ONLY IN PARIS ! After a glorious 2 week vacation seeing the sights of Italy it was time for a taste of Paris....literally ! My wife and I flew into Paris from Bologna on Monday, Oct 2nd. A limo driver met us at the airport and took us to our apartment in Rue Daguerre. FABULOUS SPOT ! Our travel agent found us this 2 bed / 1.5 bath 3rd floor apartment with a balcony actually on Rue Daguerre. We were here for one fabulous week of dining, shopping, sightseeing and guided tours. RESTAURANTS EVERYWHERE ! And not only a diverse range of restaurants but chocolatiers, jewelers, fashion shops, fresh seafood, delicatessen, pastry shops, grocers, a pharmacy, supermarket and bakeries. I am certain we bought something from every shop in our street and dined at most of the eateries. We discovered this excellent bakery on our 2nd day in Paris....just a 5 minute walk around the corner from our apartment. The dazzling pastries and gourmet sandwiches caught the eye every visit. We bought some delicious bread for breakfast toast and a fabulous Baguette. In fact we called in here a couple more times for their sensational baguettes. It was hard to leave without wanting to buy everything in the shop. Most evenings we would sit on the balcony of our 3rd floor apartment for our “HAPPY HOUR” enjoying a fabulous fresh baguette, spicy chorizo and super creamy brie watching the dining crowd below. And then we would head out to dinner at one of the restaurants....

Oct 7 morning, I arrived to purchased 2 sandwiches, drinks and dessert combos for 10€ per combo. I chose a flan and eclair for the dessert. I also ordered a pain au chocolat for an extra couple euro, and was charged for. My items were packed by the employees, and I immediately placed it in my backpack until I got to my destination. When I had time to eat, I opened my bag and all the bread bags were wet and sticky. The employees put the flan at the bottom and this made the sandwiches and eclair smoosh the flan and get wet. The top of the flan packaging was ruined and opened. Additionally, looking to eat the pain au choclat, it was missing entirely. Now reading these google reviews, I see a recent experience by another customer reporting a missing pastry also in early October. I’m disappointed that the establishment has repeatedly done this. Their tuna sandwiches actually taste good but my experience was a disappointing one given poor packaging and a missing pastry. I do...

During our trip, we sampled many bakeries throughout Paris (& as we all know, there are boulangeries a-plenty!). This one stood out above the rest. The owner is so friendly, helpful & welcoming. She took time to speak with us every time we stopped in (we speak a little bit of French), & even gave us a parting gift of cookies when it was time for us to leave. We loved everything we ate there - from prosciutto & cheese baguettes to go & sourdough bread to quiche & croissants. Our faves were the raisin roulle (was like a raisin croissant) & the apricot pistachio tart. We thought the quality of the food was excellent & fairly priced. Enjoyed it so much, we found it worth the effort to walk 20 min from our hotel, or take the subway. *Side note- If you get coffee there, it looks like self-serve, but it's not. Be sure to ask the staff to operate the coffee...