French’s Bakery — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

A couple of years ago, I bought cookies for a Christmas gathering and they were completely stale. I did not call to complain and just decided not to buy cookies from them anymore, which by the way were very expensive.

I needed to bring some goodies to a baby shower this past Sunday, so I decided to give them one more chance and ordered some mini eclairs and mini cream puffs. My husband picked the order up around 2:30 on Saturday, the day before the shower, and much to my surprise, when I opened the boxes at the shower, there was not one cream puff to be found, and of course the bakery was conveniently closed on Sundays.

I called on Monday morning to explain their error, and first I was placed on hold for almost 5 minutes and then someone else picked up the phone and told me she cannot find my name and she needed to check that it was actually her location where the order was placed. I told her we live in the neighborhood so why would we be going to another one of their locations, but she still insisted on telling me that she will research it and get back with me, in which I now have absolutely no confidence.

I asked my husband for the receipt, and he said that nobody gave him one, even though when I placed the order, I was told my receipt would be marked paid. I have ordered dozens at a time of cream puffs from this place in the past with no problems, but it looks like they have gone way down in customer service, and not only do they now exemplify incompetence, but they also look to point their finger at the customer to blame, instead of immediately researching the issue and rectifying their error.

Definitely will be through with this place after this embarrassment at the baby shower yesterday and their response this morning to their mistake!

Update, she called me back and said what she can do for me is credit my card that amount. I told her well legally, you have to give me a credit because you charged me for something I never got. Seriously??? Like she is going out of her way to do me some favor. Then she proceeded to point the blame my way again and state that the customer should be checking their order to make sure it is correct. I then asked her why don"t you show us the boxes first so we can see that they are correct before you tape them up. She still insisted on shifting blame my way which made her apology fake and void. Definitely done with this...

Great location, amazing pastry, fresh breads. This review was 4 years ago, and a sad change has come to pass.

I took a friend and family here again this past Saturday, and CoVid has taken its toll. In the past, you could walk into the bakery in the morning to early afternoon and find the displays full. Saturday looked dismal, only 3 types of fresh bread, 2 plain croissants, a few Danish, and a lot of day old cookies. Not even the smell of fresh coffee or baking I used to get was there.

The eclairs looked tempting, and we ended up with 4, because they were always a step above most everywhere else, even specialty bakeries. The quality has gone the way of the dodo, the custard is packaged, which can be ok, not this time. Overcooked/heated, separated, grainy, chemical tasting yuck. The choux was stale before filling, only making the eclair that much worse. What used to be an amazing coating of ganache has degraded to a chocolate flavored frosting that doesn't hold up to temp/humidity fluctuation.

Items that used to bring students and staff in from OCC are now strictly special order, so if you're a fan, call ahead, place your order for when you can pick up, and double check that they completed the order before leaving, as some special orders are not being fulfilled properly, and worse, the errors are getting blamed on the customer.

I hope the owners take heart to these reviews, and work to earn the reputation...

They used to offer a uniquely special omelet cheese bread with a jalapeño option as a daily option and it would sell out every day. Now it is just special order but it is worth the trip and the special order. Enough so that when I travel from out of state, I schedule time nearly every trip to get to French's after calling a day in advance for the cheese bread, extra cheesy. It is about $7 a loaf and well worth it. Imagine a firm, pillowy textured bread with strong veins if golden cheddar mixed throughout a moist egg based dough. The mouth feel is excellent and the cheesy, slightly salty taste results in a total loaf being consumed as a meal substitute. Very hard to put down. Almost as if a deliciously cheesy quiche morphed into a loaf of bread.

French's was hit hard by covid and had to consolidate some stores. I worry some day it will no longer be around, similar to the classic Claim Jumper of old (bought out and commercialized elsewhere into a shell of its former self).

This is a bread that a cheese monger or bread lover should try before you die.

Other than that, French's has a large variety of baked treats, bread and they make excellent custom cakes. It might remind you of an actual French bakery you might encounter in Saint Germain.

Trust me and treat yourself to this delicacy, a treat I haven't encountered...