Douceur De France - Bakery & Brunch — Restaurant in Marietta

Second visit was a turnoff! We went for breakfast a couple of weeks ago and while waiting for a table, we browsed the bakery items. We ended up buying $50 worth of baked goods to take home with us -- beignets, croissants, lemon bar, chocolate mousse cake slice, etc. They were good albeit pricey. Thought it was a good use of time since we had to wait on a table. Plus, our hunger probably made us buy more than we needed. On our second visit, we had called ahead to see how busy they were -- it was 12 noon and the host said "Come on in". Needless to say when we go there, there was a wait. So we decided to go ahead and buy our to-go bakery items since we were waiting. Tall guy came out of the kitchen and asked if we were dining in or taking out. We said "Both. We're eating in but wanted to take away pastries." He proceeds to tell us that we need to order the bakery items from the server. We explained that we weren't going to eat these items, we wanted to take away. He insisted we order from the server. We couldn't comprehend why that was so. There were about 10 people in the front waiting for tables and NO ONE was in line to buy bakery items at all. It wasn't like we were holding up a line. When my husband came in, he proceeds to the case to order his "favorite" items. I followed him to see what this guy was going to say. He said the same thing to my husband. My husband, puzzled like we were, asked why we had to do that since we won't be able to see the items when we are at our table. The guy said "take a picture". Huh? We have to take photos f the items we want, bring it back to our table and then order the pastries TO GO? What? What kind of silly process is this? We wondered if this is a ruse to elevate the check amount and thus have to tip more for the to go items? We tip every time we buy to-go items. Is it to help move the line along? Well, there was no line at all. No one there at that time was buying to-go items. Even though the logic was incomprehensible, we obliged and decided we would get our to-go items after we had finished eating. So, when we got to our table, we ordered our entrees -- salmon eggs benedict, Canadian bacon eggs benedict, BLT&A and sweet crepes. Eggs benedict were good -- Canadian bacon was better than salmon. The salmon eggs benedict was missing something -- needed acid -- maybe capers? The handle of the soup spoon was submerged n the Hollandaise sauce rendering it useless. BLT&A was a little overcooked. Side of potatoes was totally inedible -- it was obviously cooked hours ago. Coffee was just average. When we finished eating, we flagged our server down to get the check and my husband asked her why we had to order pastries from servers. The server let us know that if we want pastries to go, we had to order from her -- she said "they prefer that you order it from me". OK -- so we ordered the only thing we could remember -- 5 beignets. Would have loved to order other items but since we can't see it, we didn't order them. Don't you know that people order food with their eyes? So instead of spending $50 on To-Go pastries, we spent $4.75. LOL -- who lost in this case? Might want to revisit your protocols to see if there is merit. I can see that if the store is super-crowded and you have a long line of people wanting to buy to-go pastries but when there is no one in line and only my family of 3 wanting to buy, perhaps you should adapt to the situation and not be so steadfast in your "rules". Due to the guy's insolent and non-existential customer service skills, we would have to consider hard if we want to revisit. We saw him talk about us to the female manager. Not sure why since we didn't put up a fuss -- we complied by not buying anything at the bakery counter. I believe that would be your loss. But I guess since you're always busy -- it doesn't matter. And, by the way, on both occasions, we notice that there are always several empty tables even though there is a wait. Is this the velvet rope syndrome to make your restaurant...

(Updated to respond to the owner’s reply below) I’d like to clarify a few points, as the owner’s response includes statements that don’t reflect what actually happened. I came in with a calm and pleasant mindset, like most people enjoying their Sunday. I wasn’t looking for perfection or luxury — I fully understand the concept of a casual French café. We live nearby and often visit similar places. I don’t expect violins playing or white tablecloths. What I do expect — especially at this price point — is decent food presentation and, most importantly, taste. To clarify: I had no issue with the service. The server was friendly, smiled, and asked if everything was okay. I said yes, thank you. Later, when she passed by again and asked if I liked the food, I answered honestly that I didn’t — and she simply moved on. That’s absolutely fine with me — I don’t dwell on that moment, because I completely understand that phrases like “How is everything?” are often asked out of habit and don’t really expect anything other than the standard “All good.” That’s the case in many public places, and I don’t hold it against her at all. I never blamed the server for the quality or presentation of the food — that’s beyond her control. In fact, I gave her 4 stars for service and left a generous tip to reflect that. A manager-like staff member also came by and asked if everything was okay. I said yes again. I wasn’t looking to escalate anything — I was still processing the experience. It was only when the gentleman who seated me (perhaps the host) asked about my visit that I shared my feedback directly: I found the food poorly presented, unappetizing in taste, and overall far from what I’d hoped for. The sandwich in particular was one of the worst I’ve seen or tasted — not by fine dining standards, but even for a local brunch spot. The coffee was okay. Your message refers to “elevated food in a relaxed atmosphere.” Unfortunately, neither the food nor the experience felt elevated. I’m not seeking snobbery or formality. I just expected something enjoyable — something that matched the glowing reviews and long lines. Sadly, it didn’t deliver. Again, I didn’t write my review to harm your business. I wrote it because I believe it’s important to be honest — and because guests deserve to know that expectations may not match reality.

I rarely leave reviews, but this time I feel it’s my duty to write one about Douceur de France café and bakery: the kind of place where there’s usually a line just to get a table for breakfast. On a Sunday morning, I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I just want to save people from waiting for something that doesn’t live up to the hype.

We tend to think: if the prices are high and people are lining up, it must be worth it. Well, I can say with confidence - it’s not. The food was presented so poorly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an unappealing sandwich. That’s something I’d expect from a random fast-food joint, not a French café.

For this price point, food should not be served on plastic plates, with the cheapest utensils, and a flimsy half-paper. It completely ruins the experience.

I understand that maybe in this area, with limited options, locals choose this spot out of habit. I had bought desserts here before and assumed that, since they cost noticeably more than in other places and the breakfast area was always packed, it must be good. But no. I won’t be coming back.

Even if a dish isn’t cooked perfectly ( say, instead of a runny egg you get an overcooked, shriveled one ) at the very least it should be presented nicely. A French café should create an atmosphere that makes the visit feel worthwhile. Instead, this feels like a diner charging restaurant prices.

It’s a shame that cutting corners on the little things robs guests of what should have been a pleasant, charming café experience. Too bad there isn’t an option to...

After dining in here with my wife, I can honestly say that I most likely will not be returning. I very much wish this wasn't the case, because the pastries were definitely some of the best options that Marietta has to offer, but I do not feel comfortable being a patron of a business with questionable business practices.

When we first arrived, we went over to look at all the different pastries that were displayed, and we were very pleased to see such a variety! Someone quickly came to ask if we needed any help and wanted to purchase any, and we most definitely did. After getting a box full of different sweets, we went to the host stand to be sat for a late lunch service. While the restaurant did have quite a few people dining, it was far from full, this is where things begin to go down hill.

We waited for a long enough period of time at the host stand to where we were considering leaving due to the fact that they were either severely backed up in the kitchen for some reason, or just understaffed for the day. The real reason is still unknown to us. After being seated, we then had to wait for quite a long time before our server, Emily, eventually came to take our drink order.

My wife asked for a café mocha, to which Emily replied that their espresso/latte machine was broken. This is no fault of Emily, but I do feel that the business should do frequent maintenance on their machines to ensure that they are consistently working properly. My wife switched her order to an orange juice, and I ordered a plain drip coffee.

It easily took 10 minutes for our drink order to finally be brought out to us, which as I stated earlier, is confusing due to the fact that the restaurant was not busy enough to warrant even close to this time frame. We quickly placed our food orders when she came with the drinks as we were concerned how long it would take to see her again, and it was most definitely the correct decision.

I got the eggs benedict, and I will say, it was a very, very good dish. Hollandaise is an easy sauce to ruin and a hard one to master, but theirs was absolutely delicious. My wife got the beef bourguignon, and while it wasn't exactly her cup of tea, I found it to be quite good as well.

Finally, we asked for the check, and here is what sealed my decision to most likely not return. Emily did not return with the check, but returned with a tray full of pastries and said "Would either of you like a free pastry?" I thought this to be a very kind gesture, but I was not interested in one myself, my wife did want one though and asked for the lemon bar after being assured they were free. After my wife said she wanted the lemon bar however, Emily then said "Well, I can give you the lemon bar if you leave a 5 star review that has my name in it." If this was handled differently, and we had been told of this before hand, I would have no issues. My wife said she would and Emily went to go box up her lemon bar. Upon returning, she asked if the review had been completed, and my wife said that she had finished it. Emily then asked to see the review to make sure it was 5 stars and had her name in it.

I believe that if your business is truly worthy of a 5 star review, you will get a 5 star review. You should not need to beg and bribe to accomplish this. I also believe that if your service is good enough to be referenced in a 5 star review, then you should preform 5...