Maison Philippe Conticini Galeries Lafayette Le Gourmet — Restaurant in Paris

I have been coming here for a long time and love the pastries here, however nothing can express the disappointment of the experience today regarding the behavior of the manager (a younger blonde girl with long hair and bangs).

In the morning I reserved a cake (different sales person, a kind dark haired girl) and paid for it (or honestly thought so) , saying i have shopping to do and wanting to pick it up later.

At 1 pm i came to the stand, politely asking the supposed manager if i can have to cake - to which the first thing she tells me, in an aggressive, loud and collquial french “ yeah you left without paying hein, you didnt even come to the counter to pay, so you need to pay for the cake. You didnt even pay” .

I was in shock first, because i did not expect to be aggressed at a pastry shop so i told her “there is no issue, it must have been a mix up, i will pay, but please you need to be softer when speaking to clients.”

The lady looked at me saying “oh ok, sorry if YOU perceived it as aggression”, and this response is not acceptable. So i told her no, please stop being aggressive to which she says, rolling her eyes:

“ mais vous voulez quoi d’autre, j'ai dit désolée, ok “

Firstly, as explained, i came to the counter and put my card on the reader (you have cameras if you want to dispute what i am saying!!) - I don’t know why even lying about that i didn’t pass by counter. Check your cameras, once again.

Secondly, is that a way to welcome and treat a customer? There are many ways to politely approach people, especially customers, if there is an issue. And certainly when you pretend to do high end pastries.

Thirdly, i reserved a cake and it was behind the counter. Did you think i will jump over, take the cake and run with it?!

What a ruined experience for Mr. Conticini who does a great job, this member of the staff withe her aggression and lack of basic politeness just flushed all his work...

We absolutely adore their Saint-Honoré cake, so much so that we’ve bought it twice – it’s a masterpiece of delicate choux pastry, caramelized bubbles, and creamy filling. However, during our last visit, something unfortunate happened. While the staff member was carefully placing the cake into the box, one of the caramelized bubbles slipped and fell. To our surprise, instead of replacing the damaged cake outright, he insisted on trying to ‘repair’ it, meticulously putting the bubble back in place.

After some back and forth, we politely requested a new cake, as we felt that a dessert of such high quality deserved to be presented flawlessly. That’s when things took an awkward turn. His colleague, clearly irritated by the situation, stepped in to pack the replacement cake but did so with a visible look of frustration. Their angry expression and abrupt movements left us feeling uneasy, dampening what should have been a delightful experience.

While the Saint-Honoré itself remained as delicious as ever – its crisp caramel, airy cream, and perfectly balanced sweetness still making it a standout dessert – the interaction left us with mixed feelings. We hope the team can work on turning these small moments into opportunities to shine because their desserts are truly worth...

We decided to spend our last weekend in Paris and explore the famous Lafayette gourmet where we had the luxury of trying the pastries at Philippe Conticini. I just want to say how lovely the team were to this tired weary mother traveling with a one year old baby in a foreign country where I don’t speak the language and can never find a baby room anywhere! Not only was the presentation amazing, Julien the lead manager was so helpful in his knowledge of the products as well as taking the time to present what was on offer to us. I truly believe that customer service is the key to sharing the positives of any product and we have to remember to compliment one when required as more often people only focus on the negative. We also went to the 3rd district boutique where my husband had special ordered a Giant Croissant for me! The croissant had a perfect mixture of layers inside as well as the taste and texture being incredible considering it’s size. It has been a wonderful first visit to Philippe Conticini’s team these last two days and I can’t wait to share my experiences with others. Please come visit Australia and have a master...