Tous Les Jours — Restaurant in New Haven

Not worthy of (1) Star!!

The unethical and unsanitary handling of food is simply staggering; employees often forgo gloves, and when they do wear them, they remain unchanged throughout the day. There are no hairnets, no masks worn — why this negligence? When inquiries arise regarding ingredients or preparation methods, the staff responds with an unwelcoming rudeness, a serious concern for those with food allergies or even mere curiosity. Even more astonishing is the general ignorance displayed by the majority of the staff regarding the items they serve; there exists NO protocol for retrieving goods from the glass case, leading to a disconcerting directive to simply “grab whatever you want.” This not only reflects a lack of professionalism but, also raises significant hygiene concerns, as patrons indiscriminately touch items that will soon be consumed. Requests for specific packaging, like individual cake slices being boxed separately often meet with indifference, they too don't always provide candles and/or cake servers which is customary when purchasing whole cakes. Food item offerings can occasionally satisfy, yet what troubles me deeply is the blatant inflation of prices—absurdly high for what exactly? Overrated pastries/food items that are, more often than not, anything but fresh? It’s disheartening!

My experiences/purchases have been an array of pastries, whole cakes, cloud cake slices, and strawberry croissants which have been marred by their staleness—hard, unyielding remnants from the previous day’s unsold stock. However, far more disconcerting than the quality of the goods is the palpable lack of service; a disservice characterized by unprofessionalism and rudeness that permeates this establishment. The service is egregiously subpar; the staff, largely comprised of teenagers and young adults, exhibits a disheartening rudeness, an aloofness, and a blatant disregard for hospitality. It seems the proprietor, Bo, has chosen to cut costs by employing a youthful workforce, but this decision has rendered the service laughable, devoid of accountability, and lacking any semblance of true management—Bo himself being a rare presence in his own venture, which is perplexing. A few Hispanic women, one Hispanic male, and a Black male are frequently seen gossiping in corners or distracted by their phones, too preoccupied to assist customers, consistently unaccommodating and perpetually rude. They seem indifferent to in-store promotions, student discounts, or birthday specials, further exacerbating the discontent.

I have already addressed these issues with both the café manager and owner, Bo, regarding the unprofessional conduct and the freshness of the offerings, yet the problems remain obstinately unaddressed, an unconscionable oversight because Bo is more concerned with quantity "money/profits" than quality yet, paying customers as myself are putting money into his franchise and pockets. Bo could careless about the unprofessionalism provided as he is as ignorant as the workers he employs sadly! SMH

As a newcomer to New Haven, this establishment would do well to reconsider its approach to customer treatment and take proactive steps toward delivering the quality and freshness that paying patrons deserve, alongside a level of service that is nothing short of exceptional. The bakery is hardly inexpensive, and it is high time for management to reevaluate numerous aspects of their operation, including the competency of their staff and the quality of their products.

I will be contacting Tous Les Jours Corporate about this unfortunate oversite and inform them of this franchise business that is tarnishing an entire name of a overall good company; they obviously didn't vet Bo properly before giving the okay, I too will be contacting The Better Business Bureau and the Health Department. Bo you should be ashamed of yourself, my conversations with you both, via phone and text prove how unprofessional you truly are...

Food items are okay at times but, are considerably very overated and overpriced and sometimes not always fresh; unfortunately I've purchased a variety of cloud cakes and strawberry croissants that have been hard, stiff and not soft, but what's even more troubling aside from the quality issues is the disservice provided at this location. - The service is very substandard, the majority of the staff is quite rude, not very professional and/or hospitable including the teenage/young adult workers!

The unethical and unsanitary practices when handling food is beyond comprehension; workers literally use their bare hands with no gloves, no hairnets are worn and no masks.

The workers are considerably rude when inquiring about the food items offered, what ingredients are used and how the pastries, etc. are prepared. This is a serious issue for those who may have food allergies, etc. or for those who are just curious. What's even more baffling is the fact that the majority of staff present in the café/bakery aren't knowledgeable of the items offered or know how they are prepared, they don't even have a protocol when asking how to retrieve the items from the glass case. Workers have said to me repeatedly just grab whatever you want, this is not only rude but, unsanitary as patrons aren't cleaning their hands prior and are touching food items that are going to be consumed. There's even an issue when asking for items to be packaged how you would like including having cake slices packed separately.

Yesterday a Hispanic woman had an attitude when I asked for two separate boxes for the 2 cloud cakes I purchased. She even put the box she initially touched ungloved and used back into the cabinet for reuse which is ridiculous and yet again, unsanitary.

I've already talked with both, the café manager and pastry manager about one other worker, the unprofessionalism provided and the freshness/quality of items but, it seems like the issue(s) STILL persist which is quite upsetting. This place is fairly new to New Haven, they should seriously consider treating their paying customers better and take initiative in providing better service that is of quality and provide exceptional freshness and professionalism!!

The bakery is not at all cheap, I think management needs to rethink a few things including their workers, the freshness of items and the unsanitary practices...

Found this place on our way through New Haven on a road trip. After driving all day, we were excited for a snack. We like hot tea in the evening and saw they had a selection. The guy at the register was helpful and we picked out macrons to enjoy.

Reason for lower stars—

It was 30 minutes before closing so we figured we could eat 2 cookies and finish our tea in that time without disturbing the staff. The young black guy was sweet and patiently helped us. After we got our food… A young Asian man came and told us to get up and leave the restaurant. He said we were not allowed to sit and eat our food close to closing time.

I politely told him “It’s 2 cookies, we won’t make any mess and we will be out in 10 minutes. ” He said “No exceptions, you have to leave.”

I have never heard of a restaurant that kicks people out 20 minutes before they close.

We didn’t know the area so we tried to walk to the park down the street to finish our cookies and tea. It was full of homeless people and a woman stopped us and told us it’s not safe at night to be there. The cops were arresting people on the other side of the street.

We ended up having to go sit and finish our treats in our car. Pretty disappointing they couldn’t let us sit after spending $30. Some of the macrons were good. The tea was nice. (Kinda hard to mess up tea). Close at 8 pm or hire new staff that knows how to treat customers.

Went back in the next morning because we were passing by and told the manager. She looked at me like I was speaking a gibberish and defended the employee “well, they were closing…” Every single business I ever worked at, including many restaurants, we served the customers until the moment the place closed and didn’t make them eat outside. So now I know why the staff is ignorant. They have no management or customer...